Representative Edward White Robertson

Edward White Robertson (June 13, 1823 – August 2, 1887) was a United States representative from Louisiana and a member of the Democratic Party who served four terms in Congress. He was also the father of Samuel Matthews Robertson, who would later succeed him in representing Louisiana in the U.S. House of Representatives. Robertson’s congressional service occurred during a significant period in American history, spanning the post–Reconstruction era and the continuing political and economic development of the South, during which he participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of his Louisiana constituents.

Robertson was born near Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee, on June 13, 1823. In 1825 he moved with his parents to Iberville Parish, Louisiana, where he was raised. He attended local country schools and later pursued more formal education in the preparatory department of Centenary College in Jackson, Louisiana. In 1842 he attended Augusta College in Augusta, Kentucky, reflecting an early commitment to higher learning. He subsequently entered Nashville University, where he commenced the study of law in 1845, laying the foundation for the legal and political career that would follow.

With the outbreak of the Mexican–American War, Robertson entered military service in 1846. He served as an orderly sergeant in the Second Regiment, Louisiana Volunteers, gaining early experience in public service and leadership. After the war, he returned to Louisiana and entered state politics. He was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives, serving from 1847 to 1849. Seeking to formalize his legal training, he enrolled in the law department of the University of Louisiana (now Tulane University) and graduated in 1850. That same year he was admitted to the bar and began practicing law in Iberville and East Baton Rouge Parishes. His political career advanced further when he was again elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives in 1853, and he later held statewide office as Louisiana’s Auditor of Public Accounts from 1857 to 1862.

During the American Civil War, Robertson entered Confederate service in March 1862. He raised a company for the Twenty-seventh Regiment, Louisiana Infantry, and served as its captain. Following his Confederate service and the end of the war, he resumed the practice of law in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. In the difficult Reconstruction and post-Reconstruction years, he reestablished himself as a lawyer and Democratic leader in the state, positioning himself for election to national office as Louisiana’s political order was being reshaped.

Elected as a Democrat to the United States House of Representatives, Robertson served in the Forty-fifth, Forty-sixth, and Forty-seventh Congresses from March 4, 1877, to March 3, 1883. His tenure coincided with the end of federal Reconstruction policies and the reassertion of Democratic control in much of the South. In Congress, he played a notable role in matters related to the Mississippi River, a vital economic artery for Louisiana and the surrounding region. He served as chairman of the Committee on the Mississippi Levees in the Forty-fifth Congress and as a member of the Committee on Levees and Improvements of the Mississippi River in the Forty-sixth Congress, working on legislation concerning flood control, river navigation, and infrastructure improvements. Despite his active committee work and regional influence, he was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1882 to the Forty-eighth Congress, temporarily interrupting his service in the House.

Robertson returned to Congress when he was elected to the Fiftieth Congress as a Democrat, taking office on March 4, 1887. This final term marked his fourth in the House of Representatives and continued his involvement in the legislative affairs of the late nineteenth century, particularly as they affected Louisiana and the lower Mississippi Valley. His renewed service, however, was cut short when he died in office later that year.

Edward White Robertson died in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on August 2, 1887, while still serving as a member of the Fiftieth Congress. He was interred in Magnolia Cemetery in Baton Rouge. His death placed him among the members of the United States Congress who died in office in the nineteenth century and marked the close of a career that spanned state and national service, military duty in two major American conflicts of the nineteenth century, and significant involvement in the political and infrastructural development of Louisiana.