Background
Robert Rodes was born on March 29, 1829, in Liberty, Bedford County, Virginia, United States. He was the son of General David Rodes and his wife Martha Yancey.
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Robert graduated with distinction from Virginia Military Institute in 1848.
Robert Rodes was born on March 29, 1829, in Liberty, Bedford County, Virginia, United States. He was the son of General David Rodes and his wife Martha Yancey.
Robert attended schools in Lynchburg and graduated with distinction from Virginia Military Institute in 1848.
In Virginia Military Institute, Robert Rodes also taught civil engineering from 1849 to 1851. He was an assistant engineer for the Southside Railroad in Richmond from 1851 to 1854. He also worked on railroad construction in Marshall, Tennessee, in 1855. In the following year, he helped to build the Alabama Great Southern Railroad.
Rodes was an engineer in North Carolina in 1856 and in Missouri in 1857. From 1857 to 1861, he was chief engineer for the lower portion of the Northwestern and Southwestern Railroad from Jefferson, Missouri, to Meridian, Mississippi. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he was a professor of applied mechanics at Virginia Military Institute.
When the Civil War began, he volunteered for duty in the Confederate Army. Rodes entered the army as a colonel of the 5th Alabama Infantry and was promoted to brigadier general on October 21, 1861. After fighting at the Battle of Seven Pines in May 1862, he was wounded at Fair Oaks. Before he had recovered sufficiently, Rodes again led his brigade at the battle of Gaines' Mill during the Seven Days and was ill for several months afterward. He was wounded a second time at the battle of Sharpsburg but fought again at Fredericksburg in December 1862. The following May Rodes led Daniel H. Hill’s Division in a flank march during the battle of Chancellorsville. Foreign his performance on this occasion, Rodes was promoted to major general on May 7, 1863, and he led the division thereafter at the battles of Gettysburg, the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and during Early's Valley campaign of 1864.
Robert earned a reputation as a courageous and inspiring leader who delivered hard-hitting attacks and rock steady defensive efforts.
Robert married Virginia Hortense Woodruff on September 10, 1857. The couple had two sons.
Major General