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VERY RARE AMBROTYPE OF VMI CADET W.P. ROBINSON – 1st LT. 13th BATTALION, VIRGINIA ARTILLERY (RINGGOLD’S BATTERY), PHOTO FEATURED IN CONFEDERATE VETERAN MAGAZINE

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This singular ¼ plate ambrotype photograph shows a future Confederate Lieutenant “Willie” Robinson standing proudly in his Virginia Military Institute uniform.  His hair is closely cropped, his cheeks are ruby, and the buttons on his jacket feature hand-applied gold accenting.  The contrasted resolution of the image is clear enough to show light freckles on the face of the young man.

The cadet’s image sits in a metallic frame of gold gilt with a geometric outer border and floral accent spray.  A glass outer layer protects the surface of the image.  The sloped scalloped edges of the interior frame/single layer metallic matting are surrounded by a single-line dotted pattern pressed into the metal. The back of the image is coated with period black paint for a positive display. The image and frame are mounted in a thermoplastic gutta percha case with a bountiful harvest motif on front and back, accented by an understated floral border and geometric pattern. A burgundy velvet cushion with a pressed floral design occupies the front of the case.

The case shows a chip near the lower hinge which has loosened the corresponding leaf from the body, and two slight cracks in the edge of the back half at low right near the mounting clasp and the low left corner. The fabric mounting edge is covered in a lighter beige cotton material that shows minor but typical wear at the corners – which is largely obscured when the photo is mounted.  A dark brown period fabric swatch backs and cushions the reverse of the plate in the case. All brass closure tabs remain securely attached.  There is some localized gilt loss in four small areas of the frame as shown.  The image itself is in great condition with a minor rubbed spot on the black coated reverse side just behind a portion of the young man’s face, which is only evident when removed from the case.  When mounted, the dark case color and dark fabric swatch backings make it virtually unnoticeable.

William Pleasant Robinson enlisted at 19 years old on February 15^th, 1862 in Danville, Virginia.  He was commissioned the same day as a 2^nd Lieutenant in Company B of the 13^th Battalion, Virginia Artillery – also known as Ringgold’s Battery.  Records indicate he was promoted to First Lieutenant on July 11th, 1863.

The Ringgold Light Artillery was organized in February, 1862. It was attached to the 13th Battalion Virginia Artillery but for some time operated as an independent command. The unit served in western Virginia and, assigned to J.F. King’s Battalion, sustained 5 casualties during the Kanawha Valley Campaign in present day West Virginia. During December of 1862 it was comprised of 3 officers and 87 men. Later it was involved in the Knoxville Campaign and fought at Cloyd’s Mountain and New River Bridge. The battery was then attached to W.H. Gibbes’ Battalion, Army of Northern Virginia, participated in the defense of Petersburg, and ended the war at Appomattox as infantry.

A fascinating chapter of their service occurred at Cloyd’s Mountain in Pulaski County, Virginia. “Willie” wrote a detailed account of the action which appears in Confederate Veteran Magazine, Volume XXXIII (1925), Pages 97 – 100, a photocopy of which accompanies the purchase of this image.. As the Ringgold Battery was making its way back from Tennessee, it was halted at the Dublin Depot Confederate supply and training center on May 6^th, 1864.  From there, it was ordered to Cloyd’s Farm near the sweeping Cloyd’s Mountain to meet a Union force of over 6,500 men under the command of Brigadier General George Crook, moving from the new state of West Virginia to threaten and destroy the Virginia and Tennessee rail lines - in support of Grant’s new offensive against the Army of Northern Virginia. At Cloyd’s Mountain, Willie commanded the first section of two 12lb Napoleons, initially to the left of the line.  As the outnumbered Confederate force was pressed on their right and began to fall back, Willie was ordered to move one of his guns to their support and fired over retreating comrades and into the advancing enemy to slow the assault. His section was among the last to retire from the mountain under the overwhelming Federal onslaught and likely inflicted the lion’s share of US casualties with a steady firing of case shot and canister. Opposing Lt. Robinson was the 23^rd Ohio, with future presidents Rutherford Hayes and William McKinley in the ranks as officers, who both survived charges against the fortified Confederate position along the mountain.  At times, Robinson’s guns were within 100 yards of advancing enemy troops and kept up a fire during a slow withdrawal to cover the Confederate retreat.  His section was part of the Confederate last stand on a hill 200 yards behind the initial line until being flanked on both sides and forced to retreat. Though the bulk of the fighting concluded within 90 minutes, it claimed 1,226 total casualties and forced infantry into brutal hand to hand combat.  The Confederate withdrawal allowed Crook to move on New River and accomplish his objective of burning one of the last vital rail bridges of the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad.  Willie’s detailed account of Cloyd’s Mountain formed a basis for our current understanding of the action and the movements of each army during this oft-overlooked prong of Grant’s strategic offensive of 1864.

After Cloyd’s Mountain, Lt. Robinson continued with his battalion to Virginia’s primary theater of war where he served at Petersburg and through the Appomattox Campaign. He was hospitalized for dysentery on July 22, 1864 in Richmond and placed on sick leave through July 28^th.  He was listed as absent with leave on January 31, 1865 near Richmond.

Willie was active in Confederate veteran affairs until his death on November 14^th, 1924.  He was buried in Green Hill Cemetery in Danville, VA and his gravesite is in plot E-12.

This is truly a unique ambrotype with many layers of history and documented publication in one of the most lauded post-war periodicals.  It would surely be a highlight of any collection with ties to VMI, the Confederacy, and the Civil War at large.  [cm][ph:L]

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