 Ross had always been an avid hunter, and he embarked on a hunting trip along the Navasota River with his son Neville and several family friends during Christmas vacation in 1897. While hunting, he suffered acute indigestion and a severe chill and decided to go home early while the others continued their sport. He arrived in College Station on December 30 and consulted a doctor. Ross remained in pain for several days, and in the early evening of January 3, 1898, he died, aged 59 years and 3 months. Although no death certificate was filed, "evidence points to a coronary heart attack as the probable cause of death." The entire Texas AMC student body accompanied Ross's body back to Waco, where Confederate veterans in gray uniforms formed an honor guard. Several thousand people attended Ross's burial at Oakwood Cemetery. To further memorialize him, students at Texas AMC held the first Silver Taps ceremony, a tradition still followed when a current student at Texas A & M dies.
