Robertson
Waco, McLennan County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The only father-son generals in the Civil War, except for Robert E. Lee and his son, are buried 1 block south. Gen. Jerome B. Robertson, Commander of Hood's Texas Brigade, Nov. 1862 to Jan. 1864, died in Waco Jan. 7, 1890. His son, Gen. Felix H. Robertson, Army of Tenn., died in Waco on April 20, 1928. (1965)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
A block south lie two of the Confederacy's rare father-and-son generals — the only such pair besides Robert E. Lee and his son. Jerome B. Robertson led Hood's famed Texas Brigade from 1862 to 1864 before settling in Waco, where he died in 1890; his son Felix, who served in the Army of Tennessee, followed decades later in 1928. Together their graves knit a single Waco family into the larger drama of the Civil War.
Why it matters
The Robertsons' shared generalships offer an unusually intimate window into how the Civil War drew whole families into its command ranks.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · Jerome B. Robertson
- · Felix H. Robertson
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Dr. John Henry Sears
Waco, TX
Born in Virginia and trained in medicine in South Carolina, Dr. John Henry Sears settled in Waco in 1854 and built a practice there. He served as a Confederate surgeon during the Civil War, then returned to help found both the Waco Medical Association in 1866 and the Texas Medical Association in 1869. His work helped organize the medical profession in a still-young state.
Dr. David Richard Wallace
Waco, TX
North Carolina–born physician David Richard Wallace came to Texas in the 1850s, taught at Baylor University, and served during the Civil War before becoming one of Waco's most prominent doctors and civic leaders. He helped organize state and local medical associations and, as an early pioneer in psychiatry, was chosen to head the state asylums at Austin and Terrell. His career spans the professionalization of medicine—and of mental-health care—in nineteenth-century Texas.
Earle-Napier-Kinnard House
Waco, TX
This Waco house grew in stages across turbulent decades: John Baylis Earle built its first two rooms in the 1850s and, in a mill raised in 1861, manufactured uniforms for the Confederacy. The main house followed in 1868 for the Napier family, newly arrived from Alabama, and a Napier daughter lived here until 1957.
Samuel Johan Forsgard
Waco, TX
Born in Sweden in 1828, Samuel Johan Forsgard joined the first wave of Swedish immigration to Texas in 1855 and settled in Waco, where he opened a bakery, restaurant, and confectionery. He served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War, then returned to business, patented farming equipment, and helped establish a sporting goods company. Over more than fifty years he became a well-known figure in the city's 19th-century growth.