James I. Robertson Jr.
Bud Robertson in Lexington, Virginia, 2005
Bud Robertson in Lexington, Virginia, 2005
Born(1930-07-18)July 18, 1930
Danville, Virginia, U.S.
DiedNovember 2, 2019(2019-11-02) (aged 89)
Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
Pen nameBud Robertson
OccupationAuthor, professor
NationalityAmerican
Period1963–2019
SubjectAmerican Civil War
Website
www.history.vt.edu/Robertson/index.html

James Irvin "Bud" Robertson Jr. (July 18, 1930 – November 2, 2019) was an American historian on the American Civil War and professor at Virginia Tech.[1]

Early life and academic career

Robertson was born on July 18, 1930, and raised in Danville, Virginia.[2][3] He earned his bachelor's degree at Randolph-Macon College in 1955, and his master's degree and PhD. at Emory University in 1956 and 1959, respectively.[4] He earned his Litt.D. at Randolph-Macon in 1980.

Virginia Tech

Known as an excellent public speaker, Robertson made his career teaching thousands of college students in his Civil War and Reconstruction course at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, in Blacksburg, Virginia, as the Alumni Distinguished Professor in History from 1967 to 2011.[5][6]

Civil War achievements

Robertson was the founding executive director of the Virginia Center for Civil War Studies research and education center.[1] He was considered the preeminent scholar on Confederate Lieutenant General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson.[7] Robertson was the Chief Historical Consultant in the 2003 Warner Brothers film Gods and Generals, which prominently features Stonewall Jackson.[8] Robertson was also a member of the Board of Trustees at the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, Virginia.

Robertson authored 18 books including award-winners General A.P. Hill, Soldiers Blue and Gray, and Civil War! America Becomes One Nation. His biography Stonewall Jackson: The Man, The Soldier, The Legend, won eight national awards including the American Library Association's Best Book for Young Readers Award. Robertson also edited an additional 18 books on the Civil War.[9]

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy nominated Robertson to serve as the executive director of the U.S. Civil War Centennial Commission, a federal committee that was foundering under the pressures of regional differences and the emerging civil rights movement, unable to organize a dignified commemoration of the war era. Robertson worked effectively with 34 state and 100 local centennial committees to create a successful result.[5] Fifty years later, he was named a charter member of the Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission.[8]

In 1963 he worked with David Mearns, director of the Library of Congress, to assist in the planning of Kennedy's funeral by researching the funeral of Abraham Lincoln, after which Kennedy's was patterned. Robertson and Mearns referenced Frank Leslie's Weekly and Harper's Weekly for details of the 1865 funeral that were used to transform the East Room of the White House.[10]

In 2011, Robertson wrote and hosted, with William C. "Jack" Davis, the 3-hour documentary "Virginia in the Civil War: A Sesquicentennial Remembrance".[11]

In 2016, Robertson received The Lincoln Forum's Richard Nelson Current Award of Achievement.[12]

Robertson Award

Since 2000, Robertson also sponsored an award in his name honoring scholarship in the field of Confederate history.[13]

Athletics

Along with his academic career, he spent several years as a faculty representative from Virginia Tech to the NCAA. Robertson's work as Faculty Chairman of Athletics and President of the Virginia Tech Athletic Association from 1979–91[14] helped Virginia Tech join the Big East athletic conference. Robertson was elected to the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 2008.[15]

His main other contribution to college athletics was by being an Atlantic Coast Conference football referee for 16 years.[14]

Selected works

Notable among Robertson's list of more than 20 publications are:[16][9]

As author

  • The Stonewall Brigade (1963)
  • General A.P. Hill (1987)
  • Soldiers, Blue and Gray (1988)
  • Civil War! America Becomes One Nation (1992)
  • Stonewall Jackson: The Man, The Soldier, The Legend (1997)
  • Robert E. Lee: Virginian Soldier, American Citizen (2005)

As editor

Death

Robertson died on November 2, 2019,[18] from complications from cancer, in Richmond, Virginia.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 "James 'Bud' Robertson Jr. honored with emeritus status". Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. June 8, 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  2. ↑ Publications, Europa (2003). International Who's Who of Authors and Writers 2004. ISBN 9781857431797.
  3. ↑ Virginia Tech University Libraries Special Collections Department
  4. 1 2 Slotnik, Daniel E. (2019-11-14). "James I. Robertson Jr., Exacting Civil War Historian, Dies at 89". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-11-17.
  5. 1 2 "Popular Civil War Professor prepares for retirement," Virginia Tech website, accessed May 6, 2011, archive-url
  6. ↑ "Dept of History - Emeriti". Virginia Tech. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  7. ↑ Sears, Stephen (16 March 1997). "Onward, Christian Soldier". Internet Archive. New York Times. Archived from the original on 27 May 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  8. 1 2 "Biography". Virginia Tech. Retrieved 2011-05-06.
  9. 1 2 "James I Robertson". Roanoke Times. Jan 28, 2008. Archived from the original on September 11, 2012. Retrieved 2009-08-30.
  10. ↑ "President John Fitzgerald Kennedy". Visitor Information. Arlington National Cemetery. Archived from the original on 2008-10-14. Retrieved 2009-08-30.
  11. ↑ "Library of Congress selects "Virginia in the Civil War" for Web Archives". Blue Ridge PBS. Archived from the original on 2016-04-20. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  12. ↑ The Lincoln Forum
  13. ↑ "Virginia author to receive 2005 Robertson Prize". Free Lance Star. 2005-10-22. Archived from the original on 2012-07-08. Retrieved 2009-08-30.
  14. 1 2 Borysewicz, Matt (23 September 2010). "Civil War scholar James Robertson to leave lasting legacy at Virginia Tech". Collegiate Times. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  15. ↑ "Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame". Va. Tech. Archived from the original on 23 April 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  16. ↑ "People". Virginia Center for Civil War Studies. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  17. ↑ Calos, Katherine (August 18, 2016). "Civil War documents brought to light in 150th anniversary collected into book". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  18. ↑ Seidel, David (4 November 2019). "Civil War historian, Virginia Tech professor Bud Robertson dies". www.wvtf.org. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
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