Felix Huston Robertson (March 9, 1839 – April 20, 1928) was a

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

military officer who was known for being the only native-born Texan to serve as a general in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. He was noted for the controversial behavior of his troops at the Battle of Saltville, where an estimated 10–50 wounded Union soldiers of the 5th United States Colored Cavalry were killed on the battlefield and in the field hospital after the fighting.

Early life

Robertson was born in

Washington-on-the-Brazos, Texas Washington-on-the-Brazos is an unincorporated community along the Brazos River in Washington County, Texas, United States. The town is best known for being the site of the Convention of 1836 and the signing of the Texas Declaration of Independ ...

, to Mary (Cummins) and Jerome B. Robertson, who would also serve as a Confederate general. He attended

Baylor University Baylor University is a Private university, private Baptist research university in Waco, Texas, United States. It was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Te ...

and went to

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

in 1857, but left before graduation to serve the Confederacy.

Civil War

Robertson was initially commissioned as a second lieutenant in the

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

of the Confederate Army, Robertson went to

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

, and participated in the shelling of Fort Sumter. He then went to

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, where he served as a staff officer for Brigadier General Adley H. Gladden at

Pensacola Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only city in Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Pensacola metropolitan area, which ha ...

. In early 1862, Robertson became

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of an

artillery battery In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit or multiple systems of artillery, mortar systems, rocket artillery, multiple rocket launchers, surface-to-surface missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, etc., so grouped to f ...

from

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

and fought at the

Battle of Shiloh The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the American Civil War fought on April 6–7, 1862. The fighting took place in southwestern Tennessee, which was part of the war's Western Theater of the ...

in April. He served at the

Battle of Stones River The Battle of Stones River, also known as the Second Battle of Murfreesboro, was fought from December 31, 1862, to January 2, 1863, in Middle Tennessee, as the culmination of the Stones River Campaign in the Western Theater of the American Ci ...

at the end of the year. He was promoted by

Braxton Bragg Braxton Bragg (March 22, 1817 – September 27, 1876) was an American army Officer (armed forces), officer during the Second Seminole War and Mexican–American War and Confederate General officers in the Confederate States Army, general in th ...

to the rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

and given command of the reserve artillery

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

of the

Army of Tennessee The Army of Tennessee was a Field army, field army of the Confederate States Army in the Western theater of the American Civil War, Western Theater of the American Civil War. Named for the Confederate States of America, Confederate state of Tenn ...

, which he led at Chickamauga in September 1863. Robertson was subsequently promoted to lieutenant colonel and reassigned to command the Confederate

horse artillery Horse artillery was a type of light, fast-moving, and fast-firing field artillery that consisted of light cannons or howitzers attached to light but sturdy two-wheeled carriages called caissons or limbers, with the individual crewmen riding on h ...

under

Joseph Wheeler Joseph "Fighting Joe" Wheeler (September 10, 1836 – January 25, 1906) was a military commander and politician of the Confederate States of America. He was a cavalry general in the Confederate States Army in the 1860s during the American Civil ...

. He participated in the 1864 Atlanta Campaign. Robertson's performance drew the attention of senior commanders, and on July 26, 1864, he was appointed brigadier general (temporary). He became Wheeler's

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

. He married Sarah Davis while on a furlough. Late in the year, Robertson was assigned a field command, leading first a

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military unit, military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute ...

and later a division of cavalry. Robertson participated in a victory over Union troops at the

First Battle of Saltville The First Battle of Saltville (October 2, 1864) was fought near the town of Saltville, Virginia, during the American Civil War. The battle over significant Confederate saltworks in town was fought by both regular and Home Guard Confederate un ...

Smyth County, Virginia Smyth County is a county located in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 29,800. Its county seat is Marion. History Smyth County was formed on February 23, 1832, from Washington and Wythe counties. The coun ...

on October 2. Many of the Federal troops participating were Black Americans, and over 100 were massacred by a group of guerillas associated with Robertson's troops on October 3. Robertson had bragged to another officer that "he had killed nearly all the Negroes.""Was there a Saltville Massacre in 1864?" David Brown's analysis
His conduct was such that when

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...

learned of it he communicated to General John C. Breckinridge his dismay "that a general officer should have been guilty of the crime you mention" and instructed Breckinridge to "prefer charges against him and bring him to trial." One of his subordinate officers,

Champ Ferguson Samuel "Champ" Ferguson (November 29, 1821 – October 20, 1865) was a notorious Confederate States of America, Confederate Guerrilla warfare in the American Civil War, guerrilla during the American Civil War. He claimed to have killed over 100 U ...

, was executed by hanging after the war for his part in what the Northern press deemed the "Saltville Massacre." Historian William C. Davis, in his book ''An Honorable Defeat. The Last Days of the Confederate Government'' (2001), said that Robertson personally "join(ed) in the act of villainy", although he escaped prosecution. Robertson was severely wounded in the elbow during the Battle of Buck Head Creek near

Augusta, Georgia Augusta is a city on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies directly across the Savannah River from North Augusta, South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Augusta, the third mos ...

, in late November 1864. He lived, but never resumed field duty. On February 22, 1865, the Confederate Senate rejected Robertson's nomination to the grade of brigadier general.Eicher, 2001, p. 609. He was captured in

Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. Situated near the Atlantic Seaboard fall line, fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is southeast of Atlanta and near the ...

on April 20, 1865. No record of his parole has been found.

Postbellum career

After the war, Robertson returned to Texas and settled in Waco. He studied law, passed his

bar exam A bar examination is an examination administered by the bar association of a jurisdiction that a lawyer must pass in order to be admitted to the bar of that jurisdiction. Australia Administering bar exams is the responsibility of the bar associat ...

, and established a profitable legal practice. He and his father speculated in real estate and invested in several local railroads. After the death of his wife, Robertson remarried in 1892. Robertson attempted to enter local politics in 1902 as he ran for mayor of Waco in the Democratic primaries. However, he was defeated by incumbent J. W. Riggins. Robertson became the commander of the local United Confederate Veterans in 1911. In 1913, Texas Governor Oscar B. Colquitt appointed him as the Texas Representative for the Battle of Gettysburg Commission, a national group that commemorated the battle's fiftieth anniversary in July 1913 with several days of a Great Camp at the battlefield."Address to Veterans," ''Dallas Morning News'', 7 May 1913; "Gen. Robertson Appointed," ''Dallas Morning News'', 21 May 1912; Fair, Richard H. "The Good Angel of Practical Fraternity," 107. He died in

Waco, Texas Waco ( ) is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and Interstate 35, I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin, Texas, Austin. The city had a U.S. census estimated 2024 popul ...

on April 20, 1928, and was buried in Oakwood Cemetery there.

Notes

References

* Colgin, James H. "The Life Story of Brig. Gen. Felix Robertson." ''Texana'' 8 no. 2 (1970): 154–182. * Davis, William C., "Felix Huston Robertson", ''The Confederate General'', Vol. 5, Davis, William C., and Julie Hoffman (eds.), National Historical Society, 1991, . * Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, ''Civil War High Commands.'' Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. . * Fair, Richard H. "The Good Angel of Practical Fraternity: The Ku Klux Klan in McLennan County, 1915–1924," Master's Thesis, Baylor University, Waco, Texas, 2009. * Sifakis, Stewart. ''Who Was Who in the Civil War.'' New York: Facts On File, 1988. . * Warner, Ezra J. ''Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders.'' Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959. .

External links