Thomas L. Rosser

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General Thomas Rosser (CSA)
Thomas L. Rosser, retired

Thomas Lafayette "Tex" Rosser (October 15, 1836 – March 29, 1910) owned the Rugby Estate on Preston Height's, was a celebrated Confederate major general during the War Between the States, and later a railroad construction engineer and in 1898 a brigadier general of volunteers in the United States Army during the Spanish–American War. A favorite of J.E.B. Stuart, he was recognized by "the Yankees" for his daring cavalry raids, efficiency in handling combat troops, and tactical brilliance during the Civil War (1861–1865).

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Early life and career

Rosser was born on a farm called "Catalpa Hill", in Campbell County, Virginia, the son of John and Martha Melvina (Johnson) Rosser. In 1849, the family relocated to a 640-acre farm in Panola County, Texas. Texas Congressman Lemuel D. Evans appointed Rosser to the United States Military Academy in 1856. However, Rosser did not complete the required five-year course of study, as Rosser, a supporter of Texas secession, resigned when Texas left the Union on April 22, 1861 two weeks before the scheduled graduation. Rosser traveled to Montgomery, Alabama, to enlist in the Confederate States Army. Thomas Rosser's flatmate at the academy, George Armstrong Custer was a close friend and despite being on opposing sides this friendship continued both during and after the Civil War ended. He was known for his “hit and run” raids.

Civil War

Rosser was commissioned a first lieutenant and became an instructor to the famed "Washington Artillery" of New Orleans. He commanded its Second Company at the First Battle of Manassas in July 1861. He was noted for shooting down one of George B. McClellan's observation balloons, a feat that won him promotion to captain. He commanded his battery during the Seven Days Battles of the Peninsula Campaign, and was severely wounded at Mechanicsville. Rosser was promoted to lieutenant colonel of artillery, and a few days later to colonel of the 5th Virginia Cavalry. At Antietam, his men screened Robert E. Lee's left flank. He temporarily assumed command of Fitzhugh Lee's brigade during the subsequent fighting against Alfred Pleasonton. He was again badly wounded at the Battle of Kelly's Ford and was disabled until the Gettysburg Campaign, where he commanded his regiment in the fighting at Hanover and the East Cavalry Field at Gettysburg. He was promoted to brigadier general of the "Laurel Brigade," which had gained fame under Turner Ashby. He was distinguished again in the 1864 Overland Campaign, driving back a large force of Union cavalry and artillery at the Battle of the Wilderness. Rosser was yet again wounded at Trevilian Station, where his brigade captured a number of prisoners from former West Point classmate and close personal friend George Armstrong Custer. His brigade later gallantly fought against Philip Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley, and he efficiently commanded Fitzhugh Lee's division at Cedar Creek. Rosser became known in the Southern press as the "Savior of the Valley," and was promoted to major general in November 1864.

  • "The Yankees in Charlottesville," an anonymous article published in the Richmond Daily Dispatch on March 15, 1865, reports on Union general Philip H. Sheridan's occupation of Charlottesville at the end of the War Between the States (1861–1865) and references General Rosser: 'The Yankees, while in Charlottesville, started to publish a paper, and seized the old Jeffersonian office for the purpose. They christened the journal "Third Cavalry Division Chronicle," and the only copy issued is dated Monday, March 6th. The contents are very slim, as the Yankees had to move before they could get out a full sheet. In it appears Custer's official report of his captures on the 2d instant. He claims to have eleven pieces of artillery, eight hundred horses and mules, and one hundred and twenty army wagons. On the 4th, he claims to have taken three more guns and destroyed four railroad bridges. Among the advertisements is one offering "Two Dollars Reward, Confederate Currency," for the whereabouts of "Jube, answering to the name of Early," and One Cent Reward for General Rosser.'[1]

Rosser was prominent during the Appomattox Campaign, capturing a Union general and rescuing a wagon train near Farmville. He led a daring early morning charge at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865, and escaped with his command as Lee surrendered the bulk of the Army of Northern Virginia. Under orders from the secretary of war, he began reorganizing the scattered remnants of Lee's army in a vain attempt to join Joseph E. Johnston's army in North Carolina. However, he surrendered at Staunton, Virginia, on May 4 and was paroled shortly afterwards.

Postbellum activities

Rosser was superintendent of the National Express Company, working for fellow ex-Confederate general Joe Johnston. Later he was chief engineer of the Canadian Pacific.

In 1883, Rosser and his family retired to their estate home "Rugby", a plantation he purchased just to the northeast of the town limits of Charlottesville, in what is today part of the Venable Neighborhood where he became a gentleman farmer. On June 10, 1898, President William McKinley appointed Rosser a brigadier general of United States volunteers during the Spanish–American War. His first task was training young cavalry recruits in a camp near the old Civil War battlefield of Chickamauga in northern Georgia. He was honorably discharged on October 31, 1898, and returned home.

He died at his "home Rugby on Preston Heights" [2] and the internment was at Riverview Cemetery, Charlottesville.

Namesakes

In the Venable Neighborhood, on land which was once part of the plantation owned by General Thomas L. Rosser (CSA), there are three streets named in his honor:

  1. Rosser Lane off of Winston Road running parallel to Rugby Avenue.
  2. Rosser Avenue West perpendicular to Rugby Avenue between Burnley Avenue and Preston Avenue.
  3. Rosser Avenue East runs between Preston Avenue and Twelfth Street NW, just south of the Zion Union Baptist Church property. The narrow street intersects with Preston Avenue) at the historic C. B. Holt Rock House located directly across from the land which would become Charlottesville’s all-black Booker T. Washington Park within sixteen years of Rosser's death. (African American Charles B. Holt owned a carpentry business in Charlottesville's Vinegar Hill neighborhood.)

Information for this article was taken from free sources on the internet.

References

  1. http://dlxs.richmond.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ddr;cc=ddr;q1=March%2015%2C%201865;rgn=div3;view=text;idno=ddr1351.0028.062;node=ddr1351.0028.062%3A10.1.2 Richmond Daily Dispatch, March 15, 1865, 3., Original Author: Richmond Daily Dispatch, Created: March 15, 1865, Medium: Newspaper, Courtesy of Richmond Daily Dispatch, 1860–1865
  2. https://search.lib.virginia.edu/catalog/uva-lib:2093243/view#openLayer/uva-lib:2093244/4752/1009/3/1/0

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