Background
Jerome Robertson was born on March 14, 1815, in Woodford County, Kentucky, United States. He was the son of Cornelius and Clarissa Hill Robertson. He orphaned at the age of twelve.
300 N Broadway, Lexington, KY 40508, United States
Jerome studied medicine at Transylvania University in Kentucky and graduated in 1835.
Jerome Robertson was born on March 14, 1815, in Woodford County, Kentucky, United States. He was the son of Cornelius and Clarissa Hill Robertson. He orphaned at the age of twelve.
Jerome studied medicine at Transylvania University in Kentucky and graduated in 1835.
Robertson moved to Texas in 1835 and served as a captain in the Texas army during the war for independence. In 1837, he settled in Washington County, Texas, to practice medicine.
From 1838 to 1844, he was an Indian fighter, and in 1845, he moved to Independence, also in Washington County, where he developed a medical practice of some note. He also used his military reputation to gain political attention. Robertson was elected to the State House of Representatives in 1848 and to the State Senate in 1850.
He was a secessionist delegate to the state convention of 1861. When the Civil War began, he volunteered for service in the army. He served as a captain in the 5th Texas Infantry and rose to colonel by June 1862.
Robertson participated in the battles of the Seven Days, was wounded during the battle of Second Manassas in August 1862, but recovered sufficiently to fight at South Mountain in September before being promoted to brigadier general on November 1, 1862. The following July, he led Hood’s Texas Brigade, with whom he fought in some forty battles during the remainder of the war, including the battle of Gettysburg where he was again wounded. His clash with General James Longstreet, under whom he served at Chickamauga and during the Knoxville campaign, provoked a court-martial trial, and Robertson was temporarily removed from command.
Robertson spent the rest of the war in Texas and Arkansas, in the Trans-Mississippi Department in command of the Reserve Corps. There is no record of his surrender. After the war, he practiced medicine in Texas until 1868.
In 1874, he was superintendent of the State Bureau of Immigration, and from 1879 to 1890, he was a promoter of west Texas railroads. In 1879, Robertson moved to Waco, Texas.
Robertson was popular with his soldiers due to his unusual concern for their welfare, giving rise to his nickname, "Aunt Polly."
By Jerome's marriage to Mary Elizabeth Cummins on May 4, 1838, he had three children, one of whom was also a general in the Confederate Army. After her death, he married Mrs. Harriet Hendley Hook in 1879.