Introduction
Captain William H. H. Robins was born February 5, 1839 in Greenbrier County, Virginia. He was the son of William H. H. Robins Sr. and Eliza (Curtis) Robins. He had a sister, Mary A. (Robins) Hughes, born July 6, 1841, and a brother, Alfred A. C., born about 1843.
Sometime in the late 1840s the Robins family moved to Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky. Eliza (Curtis) Robins died soon after arriving in Lexington, and William Sr. married a second time to Mary Ann Curtis on July 11, 1849 in Fayette County. Mary Ann Curtis was probably the younger sister of William's first wife, Eliza. William Sr. and Mary Ann (Curtis) Robins had 4 children together: Lovella A. Robins born April 21, 1852; Florence B. Robins born about 1854, Fontaine Robins born December 27, 1858 and Ulysses S. Grant Robins born August 12, 1864. William H. H. Robins Sr. died June 3, 1864 and Mary Ann (Curtis) Robins died May 15, 1882. Both are buried in the Lexington Cemetery, Fayette County, Kentucky.
When the Civil War began, William Robins Jr. was a member of the "Lexington Rifles", led by John Hunt Morgan. Ironically, two years later Robins would ride with the troops who chased Morgan's Raiders during their raid through Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio in July, 1863. William Robins resigned from the Kentucky State Militia and with his brother, Alfred, enlisted in the 2nd Tennessee Infantry on August 10, 1861 in Morgan County, Tennessee. They mustered in August 20, 1861 at Camp Dick Robinson in Garrard County, Kentucky. William Robins rose rapidly through the ranks. He mustered in as a 1st Sergeant of Company B and was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant September 4, 1861. Seven months later he made 1st Lieutenant, and on May 10, 1862 he was promoted to Captain of Company I. Captain Robins was captured at Rogersville on November 6, 1863 and sent first to Libby Prison and then to Macon, Georgia in May, 1864. He was finally paroled at Charleston, South Carolina on August 3, 1864.
After the war, Captain Robins returned to Lexington and married Sarah Catherine Perkins there on March 9, 1876. We know very little about their lives after that, although they were apparently childless. In civilian life Captain Robins was a carriage trimmer, the same general occupation as his father. Robins' sister, Mary A. Robins, married Alexander M. Hughes and had six children. We do know that in 1870 and 1900 Captain Robins was living with the family of his sister. On August 14, 1904 Captain Robins moved to the National Soldiers Home in Dayton, Ohio. He died there of heart disease April 15, 1906 and is buried nearby in the Dayton National Cemetery.
The Robins Revolver
(See note below for credits)
This pistol is a Smith & Wesson No. 2 Army revolver. It is of standard configuration for the No. 2 Army. It has a 6-inch barrel with markings on the rib, "Smith & Wesson Springfield, Mass." The serial number "8215" is stamped on the butt strap and inside one grip. An apparent lot or museum number, "120B2T," is painted on the bottom flap of the obverse grip. The inscription on the side plate reads, "Capt. W. H. H. Robins, Co. I, 2nd Regt., E. T. V. I." It is still in fair condition, although it shows heavy wear and use.
Robins likely purchased the revolver in the late summer of 1862 from B. Kittredge and Co. located in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is a further irony that the revolver was confiscated from Robins by the 4th Kentucky Cavalry on November 6, 1863 at Rogersville, Tennessee and probably saw service later under John Hunt Morgan, Robins' former commander in the old Lexington Rifles.
Inscription on Side Plate
Note: The photograph and information regarding the Robins Revolver has been generously contributed by Mr. Wiley Sword, noted Civil War author, historian and present owner of the revolver. Three of Mr. Sword's books were recently included in the top 50 Civil War books of all time in a survey conducted by The Civil War Interactive Reader's Newspaper. They are: "Embrace an Angry Wind", "Shiloh: Bloody April" and "Mountains Touched with Fire." Much of the information about the Robins Revolver is from Mr. Sword's article "Guns That Talk" published in "The Gun Report", November, 1966, pages 16-18. Many thanks to Mr. Sword for his contribution!
Thanks also go out to Gordon Brooks and his daughter Lorri Roberts for the gravesite photo and some additional information about Captain Robins. They are descendants of Robins' half-brother, Fontaine Robins.