George Wilmer Robertson

George Wilmer Robertson was born on September 13, 1841 in Chesterfield County, Virginia. At age 16, Robertson attended the College of William and Mary and was a noted Latin scholar. When the Civil War broke out, he joined the Brunswick Guards on September 4, 1861. Serving in Company H of the Fifty-third Virginia Regiment, Robertson participated in Pickett's Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg and was promoted to Sergeant. After the Civil War, Robertson was granted an honorary degree from the College of William and Mary. Robertson was also a teacher and later principal at Ettrick in Chesterfield County. He and his wife, Sarah Maria Ivey, had eight children, Mary Adelaide, Wilmer Gibson, Nellie Wales, John Royal, George Walter, Robert Jeffries, Sarah Maria, and Bessie Leigh. George Wilmer Robertson died at the age of 73 in 1904 or 1905.

In 1914, William and Mary dedicated a plaque to honor the 60 or so students who volunteered to fight in the Civil War. Mr. Robertson's name is found on that plaque, which is located in the Wren Building.

References

• "Claude Reams Wood" Folder, University Archives Faculty-Alumni File Collection, Special Collections Research Center, Earl Gregg Swem Library, William & Mary.

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