Handicap did not hold back “Three-Legged Willie”

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