Private John M. McBryde of the 1st South Carolina Cavalry served in the cavalry of J. E. B. Stuart during the War Between The States. He was President of Virginia Tech from 1891 until 1907. He was not the only man who served under Stuart who made his way to Blacksburg, Virginia. “John McLaren McBryde, known as the “Father of VPI,” laid the foundation for modern Virginia Tech. He increased bachelor’s degree offerings, added graduate programs, created an infirmary, and christened the motto Ut Prosim (That I May Serve). He encouraged the formation and growth of student activities and was at the helm when the first football team was formed and the school colors of orange and maroon were adopted. In the Spring of 1982, I found myself in the first floor auditorium of McBryde Hall for a class I had signed up for per the recommendation of Tom Smith, who lived on the third floor of 9700 Foxridge Apartments Dr. James I. Robertson, Jr., walked into the classroom of 100 McBryde Hall at 9 am to teach his Civil War History class, and my life was changed forever.
I had Bud for two Civil War classes and one class called Representative Americans. Part of the grade for the latter was to teach the class one day during the quarter about a person from American History. Again, with apologies to Hokie Nation, I chose Thomas Jefferson. Never in my life have I been more mortified to stand up in front of a group of people and talk because I knew that if I did not do a good job, the sharp knife of Robertson was waiting to cut me into little pieces, eviscerate me. Until then, talking in front of a group of people terrified me, a surprise no doubt to those who hear me now, but that day changed my life too. If I can survive talking in front of “Bud,” no historical association or civil war roundtable will bother me. I survived, and now I think nothing of getting up in front of a group to talk about history. This is because I know my subject, and my confidence has grown. I came to feel that it was important to talk about the history that interested me.
I rekindled my interest in Laurel Hill in the late 1980s after having Dr. James I. Robertson, Jr. as a professor in the largest Civil War class in the nation and receiving a bachelor’s degree in history from Virginia Tech in December 1984. When we first started raising money to save Stuart’s Birthplace, one of the first people I called on for help was Robertson, and he never failed to step up for J. E. B. Stuart.
On October 19, 1990, Dr. James I. Robertson, Jr. made the first of many appearances for the Birthplace at the Reynolds Homestead in Critz, Virginia. Among his comments that night was, “In these days when Civil War sites are being developed and lost forever, it is good to see Patrick County taking an interest in preserving its past. The Stuart birthplace project is the most important historic project ever undertaken in Patrick County.” Dr. Robertson’s lecture raised $1,300 for the Birthplace, and the evening was even more special with the presence of Burke Davis.
James I. Robertson, Jr., Alumni Distinguished Professor of History at Virginia Tech, often speaks of Jackson and Stuart’s common heritage, both growing up in the western mountains of Virginia. Jackson felt Stuart was the best cavalryman he could call on, and his confidence in him never wavered. Both were West Point graduates who were aggressive and combative. Last, the two men shared a deep faith in God that affected everything they did on and off the battlefield.
Bud came to Laurel Hill to film a segment for his Forgotten Battlefields documentary about the Civil War in Southwest Virginia. By then, talking in front of a camera was not a problem for me or my Danville native professor. I donated all the papers relating to Stuart and the early days of the Birthplace to Special Collections in the Carol M. Newman Library at Virginia Tech.
In 2011, I went back to college. My professor was retiring from teaching the largest Civil War class in the country after over half a century at Virginia Tech. When Bud came in, I spoke to him briefly, and I was pleased to see his eight-decade old eyes light up and a big smile, saying he could not believe I would come to class as I had nearly thirty years earlier.
James I. Robertson, Jr. wrote, “For Johnny Rebs and Billy Yanks, Gettysburg was a test of what soldiers can bring themselves to attempt and what they can force themselves to endure. The major lesson from that great contest in Pennsylvania is the unforgettable one of men who demonstrated that they loved their country more than they loved their own lives. We remember because it would be profane to forget.”
James I. “Bud” Robertson, Jr. died on Saturday, November 2, 2019. The last time I saw him was in my mother’s hometown of Augusta, Georgia, where I was visiting family and noticed he was speaking to their Civil War Round Table. He looked at me and said, “What are you doing here?” I told him I had come for class. He liked that!
