Collegiate Times

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James “Bud” Robertson is living history at Virginia Tech.

“If we don’t know where we’ve been, there’s no way to predict where we’re going,” Robertson said.

Robertson has been at Tech for 43 years. He has been a preeminent Civil War scholar, teacher and lecturer. He has also been on the gridiron — as a referee. He has been on the set, as a technical director for Hollywood films. He has been on campus, a staple of Tech during both triumphant and trying times.

Robertson, the university’s oldest faculty member, plans to retire at the end of the current academic year. Robertson will be finishing his career teaching his acclaimed Civil War history class, a long-time favorite of Tech students.

Living in a society that is always looking to the future and is constantly obsessed with the “newest thing,” Robertson continues to teach about the Civil War because he feels it is very relevant in this day and age.

“The most rewarding part of teaching is putting into the mind of students an appreciation of history,” he said.

His reputation as a lecturer stretches across departmental boundaries and attracts many non-history majors as well, such as junior aerospace engineering major Katie Hall.

“I’m interested in Civil War history, and I’ve heard that professor Robertson is a nationally known historian and orator, so I thought it would be a perfect fit,” Hall said.

The Civil War established the supremacy of the federal government over state governments. If it weren’t for the Civil War, slavery wouldn’t have been abolished. But the Civil War also established other cultural icons, including standard time, pre-sized clothing, canned goods and even Santa Claus.

Robertson was raised in the first capital of the Confederacy, Danville, Va., and has always been fascinated by the Civil War.

“I grew up listening to stories of my grandfather and what he did during the war,” he said. “It’s all around you. You can’t escape it around here (in Virginia).”

After graduating in 1955, with a bachelor’s degree from Randolph-Macon College, Robertson went on to complete his master’s and doctoral degrees at Emory University. His fascination with the most fragile chapter of American history has led to more than 20 books bearing his name as either author or editor.

He spent more than eight years authoring his favorite book, “Stonewall Jackson: The Man, the Soldier, The Legend.”

Robertson’s expertise isn’t strictly reserved for books. He served as the chief historical consultant for the 2003 film “Gods and Generals,” prequel to the 1993 hit “Gettysburg.” To this day he remains friends with actor Robert Duvall, who gained fame playing roles in “The Godfather” and “Apocalypse Now.”

But this professor’s past has more to it than history.

He served as an Atlantic Coast Conference football referee for 16 years. Robertson’s love of sports also led him to become Tech’s faculty chairman of athletics and then president of the Tech athletic association from 1979 to 1991.

As faculty chairman of athletics, Robertson sat on the board that decided to hire football coach Frank Beamer. Robertson was honorably inducted into the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 2008.

Robertson, as an alumni distinguished professor, has also served as an ambassador for Tech, speaking at conferences for alumni chapters and historical groups nationwide. Now, 20 years past the age when many Americans retire, Robertson is beginning to settle down.

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A version of this article appeared in the Sep 24 issue of the Collegiate Times.