Handicap Did Not Hold Back Early Texan

On Dec. 27, 1859, Texas laid to rest “Three-Legged Willie,” one of the most colorful and unforgettable figures of the revolutionary era.

Robert McAlpin Williamson enjoyed perfect health until the age of 15, when he contracted something people in those days called the “white swelling.” He spent the next two years in bed battling the potentially fatal ailment, which spared his life but robbed him of the use of his right leg.

The muscles of the afflicted limb shriveled below the knee and drew back at an odd angle. Rather than amputate the withered calf, the youth strapped it to his thigh and walked on a wooden leg.

Not long after his recovery, Williamson became involved in an impassioned love triangle. He killed his rival in a duel only to learn the fickle female had eloped with a third suitor. Deciding a change of scenery might heal his broken heart, he left his native Georgia and headed west.

Williamson picked provincial Texas as the place to put down new roots. In 1826 he joined Stephen F. Austin