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| Bud Robertson was instrumental in naming Virginia's state song (Va. Tech) |
James I.
“Bud” Robertson Jr., professor emeritus of history at Virginia Tech, is being
remembered for his legacy of vivid books, engaging lectures, battlefield tours and media
appearances about the Civil War. Robertson, 89, died Saturday after a long illness, the school announced.
The author of
40 books about the Civil War, Robertson is best known for one about Gen. Thomas
J. “Stonewall” Jackson. It won eight national awards and was a key source for
the 2003 movie “Gods and Generals.” During
the 100th anniversary of the Civil War, President John F. Kennedy asked
Robertson to serve as executive director of the United States Civil War
Centennial Commission.
“For fully six decades Bud Robertson was a dominant
figure in his field, and a great encouragement to all who would study our
turbulent past during the middle of the 19th century,” said William C. “Jack”
Davis, former director of the Virginia Center for Civil War Studies. “Moreover,
amid a conversation that can still become bitter and confrontational, his was a
voice for reason, patience, and understanding.”
Robertson had other interests, including football. He was an
Atlantic Coast Conference football referee for 16 years.
The Picket reached out to historians, authors and others to
talk about Robertson’s legacy. Their responses have been edited for brevity.
GORDON JONES, senior military
historian and curator, Atlanta History Center
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| Gordon Jones |
He was one of the greats, one of the names
that will live on in Civil War historiography for many years. He led a
magnificent life, filled with many and varied experiences that gave him a sort
of “every man” perspective in his work and teaching. Perhaps because of
this, his was a voice of calm, rational thought, full of practical insight into
human nature.
He once told me in detail what he had done to
organize John F. Kennedy’s funeral in 1963. Mrs. Kennedy (“Jackie”) had
requested that the funeral replicate many of the elements of Lincoln’s funeral
98 years earlier. Bud was much more closely involved in researching the
historical precedents for Kennedy’s funeral than I think anybody realizes. In
this instance especially, his historical work literally made history.
Personally, I think I enjoyed his football stories
as much as anything else. What a great guy -- he was just fun to be around.
JIM OGDEN, historian, Chickamauga and
Chattanooga National Military Park
Dr. Robertson was, is, one of the
giants. Amazon or Worldcat him. The lists of
books and works you get back will certainly show you that. How many people
did his history of the Stonewall Brigade or biography of T. J. Jackson or
volume on soldier life in the Time-Life series shape? A lot.
But even beyond the shelf of books he's left
those who are interested in the Civil War, for several generations of Civil War
buffs, it is his accessibility that stands out. He wasn't an academic
hiding away in some closet on their campus writing only for other
academics. He was engaged with the general history public.
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| Jim Ogden |
He was a
regular speaker on the Civil War round table circuit for decades and not just
at the "big" ones. The Virginia Tech Civil War Weekend he
started has been one of the most successful Civil War conferences there has
been. A "Civil War" group might have had him on the Delta Queen but other passengers often heard his lectures, his talks,
his conversations with those to whom he was speaking as
well.
He was one of the best Civil War speakers --
organized, clear, pointed, concise. For more than 50 years, from before
the Centennial to after the Sesquicentennial, Bud Robertson helped shape the
history of the Civil War and countless Civil War historians professional,
avocational, incidental and even accidental. He has set a fine standard
to emulate.
D. SCOTT HARTWIG, author and former
National Park Service ranger and historian
I found him to be a kind, good man, always approachable,
and with a great sense of humor. He was one of the giants in the Civil
War field and kindled an interest in the era in thousands of students and
others. We will long value his scholarship on the war but one of his
greatest legacies will be the work he did to advocate for understanding the war
and preserving its memory on the nation's landscape.
CHARLIE CRAWFORD,
president, Georgia Battlefields Association
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| Charlie Crawford |
I was grateful to meet Dr.
Bud Robertson over 20 years ago and interact with him several times
since. He always greeted me with a smile, and it made me feel good that
an eminent historian seemed to remember me, though I suspect he probably
greeted everyone with the same warmth.
As was noted in the official
announcement, he was selected as a young historian (in his early 30s) by
President Kennedy in 1961 to be executive director of the Civil War Centennial
Commission in an effort to overcome racial tensions generated by the refusal of
some hotels and restaurants to accommodate African-American members of the
Commission. That Bud, a Virginian, was able to salvage the commission’s
work is one testament to not only his credibility as a historian but also his
ability as a manager and conciliator.
Bud served for many years
as a college football official, which showed his versatility beyond the
classroom. This led to a long association with many coaches, including
Vince Dooley, himself a student of history with academic credentials. On
several occasions, I saw the two of them share conversations about the
capabilities of Civil War leaders mixed seamlessly with reminiscences of
coaches, teams and specific games.
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| Robertson at a 2015 talk (Gould Hagler) |
More than once, I heard Bud
say that anyone who asserts that slavery was not the root cause of the Civil War
is the F student of history. He was obviously well aware of the ancillary
causes, such as the rights of states versus the power of the federal
government, the divergent economic systems of the north and the south, the
radicalization of political leaders of both sections, the failure of the
founding fathers to resolve the slavery issue in the Constitution, etc.; but
Bud always pointed to slavery as underlying it all.
Bud was ordained in the
Episcopal Church, and at one historical conference I attended, he conducted a
Sunday morning service wearing his clerical collar and illustrating how the
prayers and services of the 1860s reflected that ministers both north and south
believed that God was on their side. This also demonstrated Bud’s versatility
as a teacher, as he was willing and able to employ techniques other than a
standard lecture format.
Many of his books received
excellent reviews, and I can testify that his biographies of Stonewall Jackson
and A.P. Hill strongly influenced my perceptions of both. His
presentations about Jackson’s character, personality, and idiosyncrasies were
particularly memorable.
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| Robertson (second from right) with JFK in 1962 (Va. Tech) |
Bud lost his first wife,
Libba, to illness in 2008. He attributed his recovery from his own subsequent
serious illness to the care and support he received from his second wife,
Betty. His devotion to both of them was often manifested in the credit he
gave them during his presentations. Bud
was a gentleman, courteous and personable, in his interactions with me, and I
witnessed the same consideration in his interactions with others over the
years.
DAVID EVANS, historian and author of "Sherman's Horsemen"
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| David Evans |
His contributions to Civil War historiography were both numerous and
noteworthy and his iconic biographies of “Stonewall” Jackson and A. P. Hill
will stand as lasting monuments to his diligent scholarship his discerning
analysis of people and events and his passion for Civil War history.
He
was an accomplished writer, much sought-after public speaker, and an inspiring
teacher. Rarely does one man so successfully combine the gifts of
talent and modesty, but Dr. Robertson did.
The skills he
brought to the study and understanding of our Civil War will be sorely missed
and not easily replaced.
AARON ASTOR, author and associate professor
of history, Maryville College
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| Aaron Astor |
I never knew Bud personally but I know many
people who did, and everybody spoke of him as a warm and friendly teacher and
scholar. His books were uniformly excellent. In fact, he was one of the most important
military historians of the Civil War that bridged the divide between public and
academic history.
As a public historian from the Centennial to the
Sesquicentennial, he really embodies the development of the field of Civil War
history.
His biographies were especially sharp, both in assessing the military
decision-making and the pre-war backgrounds of Confederate generals. I used his
book on AP Hill for my research into Gettysburg.
WILLIAM GARRETT PISTON, Professor Emeritus, Missouri State University
Bud Robertson was one of the foremost scholars in his field,
one of a generation of giants in Civil War literature who inspired those of us
who grew up during the Civil War centennial.
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| Tim Smith |
TIM SMITH, author and
faculty member at University of Tennessee Martin
(His
books) obviously are the staples of his career, especially the Jackson
biography. Amazingly, that continued on for years, including his recent editing
of the (J.B.) Jones diary and other books. In fact, I use the edited Jones
diary (a Confederate war department clerk) very often. Yet there was so much
more to his body of work, including his efforts in the centennial, his work in
film and his teaching at Virginia Tech. That's just the academic portion of it,
there being so much more to him such as sports and charitable work. Still, I
think the thing that most stood out to me was the voice and accent. He was a
lecturer's lecturer.
