George W. Roberts

George Washington Roberts (October 2, 1833 – December 31, 1862) was an American military officer who served as colonel and commanding officer of a Union Army brigade in the Army of the Cumberland during the American Civil War. Roberts was killed in action leading his troops to repel Confederate attacks at the Battle of Stones River in 1862.

Early life Roberts was born on his family's farm in East Goshen Township, Pennsylvania. He was the eldest son of Pratt and Ann Wilson Roberts, of Welsh descent. He graduated with high honors from Yale University in 1857 and was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon. He read law in West Chester under Joseph J. Lewis and gained admittance to the bar on January 8, 1858. He practiced law in West Chester until March 1, 1859, when he moved to Chicago and joined the law firm of E. S. Smith, where he swiftly developed a reputation for professional excellence.

Civil War When the Civil War erupted, Roberts helped David Stuart raise the 42nd Illinois Infantry Regiment of volunteers. On July 22, 1861, he received a commission as regimental colonel and on September 17 was elected lieutenant colonel. After Colonel William Webb's death from illness, he was promoted to full colonel on Christmas Eve 1861.

Assigned to the Department of the Missouri, Roberts and his regiment served in John C. Fremont's Missouri campaigns in 1861. While billeted at Stockton, in December 1861, Roberts faced a court-martial for, among other charges, shaking a German-American civilian named William Beck and calling him a "damned liar" and "infernal Dutch hound." Roberts was promptly acquitted. He went on to command garrisons at Holt, Missouri, and Columbus, Kentucky. At Holt he commanded the 42nd Illinois, the 8th Ohio Infantry Regiment, and a battery of the 2nd Illinois Artillery Regiment.

Death and legacy The Confederate Army of Tennessee interred Roberts' body with military honors on the field where he fell. A large stone with a rough-hewn inscription was placed atop his hastily dug grave. Roberts' remains were later disinterred and returned for burial to his home state of Pennsylvania.