White served under the commands of Stonewall Jackson and Jubal Early and was responsible for the safekeeping of Hampshire County's land registration records from destruction by Union Army forces.

[4] He was likely named for his maternal grandfather Reverend Christian Streit, a Lutheran minister of Winchester, Virginia, who was of Swiss descent.

[10] Within four to five months, White was successively promoted through the non-commissioned officer ranks to sergeant major and acting adjutant of the 13th Virginia Infantry.

[1][3][11] Under the terms of his commission from President Davis, White raised a company of 200 cavalrymen for "special service" from within Union-controlled areas of Virginia.

[11] His company was charged with reconnaissance within the mountainous region of Virginia spanning Greenbrier, Pocahontas, Highland, Pendleton, Randolph, Hardy, and Hampshire counties.

[11] The remaining recruits sought service under D. E. Beall of Hampshire County, and subsequently joined the cavalry of General John D.

[4] Throughout his military service during the American Civil War, White served under the commands of Stonewall Jackson and Jubal Early.

[5] Following the surrender of General Robert E. Lee on April 9, 1865, White and the remaining part of his company traveled to North Carolina to join Confederate Army forces under the command of General Joseph E. Johnston, but Johnston and his forces had already surrendered before White and his troops could reach them.

His father proceeded to load land registration records ledger books onto wagons and had them transported to Winchester, Virginia, for safekeeping.

[17][18] When Front Royal became endangered by advancing Union Army forces, White had the records moved to Luray Caverns where they remained for several months.

[13][17][18] In fall 1864, the county's record books were rescued by White and his company as Union Army troops were in the process of destroying them.

[17][18] White's company loaded about 150 record books into a wagon and they were taken to North Carolina where they remained safely for the duration of the war.

[16] Following his return from the war to his hometown of Romney in June 1865, White was unable to recommence his practice of law or hold a public office due to the existing state laws of the Constitution of West Virginia which disbarred former Confederate States government and military personnel.

[3] White rented a farm in Hampshire County and engaged in successful agricultural pursuits until the disenfranchisement of former Confederates was struck from the state's constitution in 1872.

While holding this post, White organized and carried out extensive campaigning for West Virginia Democratic Party membership and political candidates.

[1][3] Tariff reform and anti-monopoly resolutions similar to White's proposal were adopted by the national Democratic Party as part of its 1888 platform.

[23] White had been among the first Democratic Party members in Hampshire County to openly declare his opposition to the fiscal policies of the administration of United States President Grover Cleveland.

[24] White and his two commissioner colleagues were "dedicated to their cause,"[28] but their beginning efforts faced opposition from public officials who did not understand the importance of the fish commission.

[28] White embarked upon a search for potential locations for a state fish hatchery, and in the summer of 1877, he purchased the Maguire Springs and 2.5 acres (1.0 ha) near Romney from Charles Harmison of Valley View.

[26] The West Virginia Fish Commission later purchased from White the Maguire Springs and the surrounding 0.75 acres (0.30 ha) for $550.

[29] By June 1886, the hatchery ponds at the Maguire Springs were enlarged and in 1891, a hatching house was built along with additions to the manager's residence, all under White's direction.

[29] By 1893, fish populations within the streams of West Virginia became self-sustaining and the hatchery operations at Maguire Springs were discontinued.

[25] In 1877, United States Fish Commissioner Spencer Fullerton Baird requested that West Virginia introduce the Chinook salmon into its streams.

"[31] Over a decade after his appointment to the commission, White and his colleagues continued to perform their duties of office without pay from the West Virginia Legislature.

[3][34] White and the committee was also responsible for the erection of a "great building or memorial hall" known as the "Battle Abbey of the South," which had been proposed by former Confederate States Army private Charles Broadway Rouss.

[4] Steele's father was a native of Dublin and was the first secretary of the Grand Lodge of Odd Fellows of West Virginia.

[59] Beneath the table's framework was pasted a small slip of paper on which Robert White signed his name and the date, 1789.