Robert K. Byrd
| Robert K. Byrd | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Tennessee Senate from the Fifth District |
|
|
In office January 6, 1879 – January 2, 1881 |
|
| Preceded by | L.M. Wester |
| Succeeded by | L.T. Smith |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
November 4, 1823 Roane County, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Died | May 2, 1885 (aged 61) Roane County, Tennessee |
| Resting place | Bethel Cemetery Kingston, Tennessee |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Lea |
| Profession | Planter |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 United States of America
|
| Service/branch |
 United States Army
|
| Years of service | September 1, 1861 – September 17, 1864 |
| Rank |
 Colonel
|
| Commands | 1st Tennessee Volunteer Infantry |
| Battles/wars |
American Civil War • Mill Springs (1862) • Stones River (1862–3) • Knoxville Campaign (1863) • Atlanta Campaign (1864) |
Robert King Byrd (November 4, 1823 – May 2, 1885) was an American soldier and politician. A Southern Unionist, he commanded the Union Army's First Tennessee Infantry during the Civil War, and saw action at Cumberland Gap, Stones River, and in the Knoxville and Atlanta campaigns. He represented his native Roane County at the pro-Union East Tennessee Convention on the eve of the war in 1861, and at the Nashville convention that reorganized the Tennessee state government toward the end of the war in January 1865.
Byrd served one term (1879–1881) in the Tennessee Senate, and unsuccessfully sought the Democratic Party's nomination for governor in 1880. He was a persistent advocate for railroad construction and navigational improvements to the Tennessee River during the two decades following the war.
Byrd was born in Roane County, the son of Joseph and Ann (Pride) Byrd. The Byrds were one of the more prominent families in the county. Jesse Byrd, Robert's grandfather, established a ferry at Kingston in the 1790s, when Fort Southwest Point was still in operation. Joseph Byrd was a major landowner and county sheriff.
Robert K. Byrd fought in the Mexican-American War as a First Lieutenant in Company C of the 4th Tennessee Infantry. During the 1850s, he engaged in farming, and promoted railroad construction. In 1853, he was appointed to a seven-man commission tasked with fundraising and surveying a route for the proposed South Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky Railroad. He was an active member of the Roane County Agricultural Society in the mid-1850s, and was listed on the state militia register in 1855.
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