Jerome Bonaparte Robertson
Nickname	"Aunt Polly"
Born	(1815-03-14)March 14, 1815 Woodford County,Kentucky
Died	January 7, 1890(1890-01-07) (aged 74) Waco,Texas
Place of burial	Oakwood Cemetery, Waco, Texas
Allegiance	Republic of Texas Confederate States of America
Branch	Army of the Republic of Texas  Confederate States Army
Years of service	1836–1837 (Texas), 1861–1865 (CSA)
Rank	Brigadier General (CSA)
Commands	Texas Brigade
Battles / wars	American Civil War Peninsula Campaign Northern Virginia Campaign Maryland Campaign Battle of Fredericksburg Gettysburg campaign Battle of Chickamauga

Jerome Bonaparte Robertson (March 14, 1815 – January 7, 1890) was a doctor, soldier, and politician who served as a general in theConfederate States Army during theAmerican Civil War. He was noted for his service in the famedTexas Brigade in theArmy of Northern Virginia.

Robertson was born inWoodford County, Kentucky, the son of Scottish immigrant Cornelius Robertson and his wife Clarissa Hill (Keech) Robertson. When Robertson was only four years old, his father died, leaving his mother almost penniless. Unable to properly support her family, she apprenticed young Robertson four years later to a hatter, who moved with the boy in 1824 toSt. Louis. After studying medicine atTransylvania University inKentucky, Robertson graduated in 1835. With theTexas Revolution emerging as a national topic, Robertson joined a company of Kentucky volunteers as a lieutenant and made plans to travel to Texas. However, they were delayed inNew Orleans and did not arrive in theRepublic of Texas until September 1836. There, he joined the Army of Texas and was commissioned as acaptain.

In 1837, with Texas Revolutionary hostilities essentially ended, Robertson resigned his Texas commission and returned to Kentucky, where he married Mary Elizabeth Cummins. He returned with his wife and several relatives to Texas in December 1837, buying land and settling inWashington-on-the Brazos. He established a medical practice, and became known on the frontier as an Indian fighter through six years of sporadic campaigning. Furthermore, he also served in the military forces that helped repel two invasions by the Mexican army in 1842. After stints as the town's coroner, mayor, and postmaster, Robertson built a home inIndependence in 1845. By this time, the Republic of Texas was on the verge of becoming theState ofTexas. Robertson was elected in 1847 to theTexas House of Representatives and in 1849 to theTexas State Senate.

He and his wife Mary had three children, one of whom died in infancy. His sonFelix Huston Robertson eventually became a brigadier general in the Confederate army.

Robertson was a delegate to the stateSecession Convention in January 1861, and subsequently raised a company of volunteers for the Confederate army and was elected as its captain when it became a formal part of the newly raised5th Texas Infantry Regiment in thebrigade ofJohn Bell Hood. In November 1861, Robertson was elevated tolieutenant colonel, and then on June 1, 1862, tocolonel and command of the regiment. He was in thePeninsula Campaign, serving with distinction during theSeven Days Battles and leading his regiment in a successful charge during theBattle of Gaines' Mill that split the Union lines.

Robertson became popular with his soldiers due to his unusual concern for their welfare, giving rise to his nickname, "Aunt Polly." He served in theNorthern Virginia Campaign and theMaryland Campaign, where his health was failing due to months of steady campaigning. During theBattle of South Mountain, he was overcome by exhaustion and had to be carried from the field. He did not rejoin his regiment until after the subsequentBattle of Antietam. However, by then his reputation as a fighter had been noted, and with the promotion of Hood to division command, Robertson was named as his successor and was promoted tobrigadier general on November 1, 1862. He saw his first action as a brigade commander during theBattle of Fredericksburg.

In the summer of 1863, Robertson led his brigade intoPennsylvania during theGettysburg campaign. Hood's Division arrived too late for the first day's fighting during theBattle of Gettysburg, but they played a prominent role on thesecond day, where Robertson led his brigade in a series of hard-hitting, but ultimately unsuccessful, attacks onLittle Round Top. Those attacks culminated with the fight forDevil's Den, during which his 1st, 4th, and 5th Texas regiments, as well as his3rd Arkansas Infantry, took heavy casualties that ultimately resulted in their taking their objective, despite being greatly outnumbered by Union forces. Robertson was wounded along with several of his officers during that action, which he later described as "one of the hottest contests I have ever witnessed."

In September, along with the rest ofLt. Gen.James Longstreet's corps, Robertson and the Texas Brigade were moved toTennessee to reinforce theArmy of Tennessee, fighting with distinction atChickamauga. However, Robertson's performance in the subsequent East Tennessee campaign invoked the wrath of both Longstreet and division commanderMicah Jenkins. Longstreet filed formalcourt-martial charges against General Robertson, alleging dereliction of duty and accusing him of pessimistic remarks. Shortly before, Robertson had joined the other brigadiers in the division in support ofEvander M. Law over Longstreet's protégé Jenkins as division commander, which undoubtedly influenced Longstreet, who was in a bitter argument with Law. Robertson was reprimanded, replaced as commander of the Texas Brigade, and transferred to Texas, where he commanded the state reserve forces until the end of the war.

Following the collapse of the Confederacy and the surrender of the remaining Texas forces, Robertson returned to his home in Independence and resumed his medical practice, a period marked by mourning when his wife died in 1868. He re-entered politics in 1874, being named as superintendent of the Texas Bureau of Immigration for two years. Two years later, he served as passenger and emigration agent for theHouston and Texas Central Railroad. Robertson married a widow, Mrs. Hattie Hendley Hook, in 1878 and relocated toWaco a year later. There, he continued to promote railroad construction inwest Texas.

He held several highMasonic offices, including deputy grand master of the Third Masonic District and of the Twenty-ninth Masonic District. He was an organizer of the Hood's Texas Brigade Association, which he served as president many times.

He was initially buried at Independence next to his first wife and his mother. In 1894 his son had all three bodies moved toOakwood Cemetery (Waco, Texas).

• List of American Civil War generals (Confederate)

• Eicher, John H., andDavid J. Eicher,Civil War High Commands. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001.ISBN 978-0-8047-3641-1.
• Sifakis, Stewart.Who Was Who in the Civil War. New York: Facts On File, 1988.ISBN 978-0-8160-1055-4.
• Freeman, Douglas S.Lee's Lieutenants: A Study in Command. 3 vols. New York: Scribner, 1946.ISBN 0-684-85979-3.
• Warner, Ezra J.Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959.ISBN 978-0-8071-0823-9.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toJerome Bonaparte Robertson.

• Jerome B. Robertson atFind a Grave
• Brigadier Gen. J.B. Robertson after action report, Devil's Den
• 3rd Arkansas at Gettysburg, under Brig. Gen. J.B. Robertson

• 1815 births
• 1890 deaths
• Burials at Oakwood Cemetery (Waco, Texas)
• People from Woodford County, Kentucky
• Texas state senators
• Confederate States Army brigadier generals
• People of Texas in the American Civil War
• Texas Brigade
• Transylvania University alumni
• People from Independence, Texas
• People from Washington-on-the-Brazos, Texas
• 19th-century members of the Texas Legislature

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