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| Richard Heron Anderson | |
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| October 7, 1821 – June 26, 1879 | |
 Photo of Anderson taken during the American Civil War. |
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| Nickname | "Fighting Dick" |
| Place of birth | Hill Crest, South Carolina |
| Place of death | Beaufort, South Carolina |
| Allegiance | United States of America Confederate States of America |
| Service/branch | United States Army Confederate Army |
| Years of service | 1842–61 (USA) 1861–65 (CSA) |
| Rank | Captain (USA) Lieutenant General (CSA) |
| Commands held | Fourth Corps, Army of Northern Virginia |
| Battles/wars | Mexican-American War American Civil War |
Richard Heron Anderson (October 7, 1821 – June 26, 1879) was a career U.S. Army officer, fighting in the Mexican-American War, and a Confederate Army general officer during the American Civil War.
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Early life and career
Richard "Fighting Dick" Anderson was born in the High Hills of Santee at Borough House Plantation (Hill Crest), in Stateburg, South Carolina, the son of Dr. William Wallace Anderson and his wife, Mary Jane Mackensie.[1]
Anderson graduated 40th out of 56 cadets from the United States Military Academy in 1842, and was brevetted a second lieutenant in the 1st U.S. Dragoons, and was promoted to second lieutenant on July 16, 1844. In 1845 he joined the expedition for the military occupation of Texas.
In the Mexican-American War Anderson took part in the Siege of Veracruz in March 1847 and the various operations preceding and including the capture of the Mexico City from September 12 to September 14, 1847.[2] For gallantry during the fighting near San Agustin Altapulco on August 17, 1847 he was brevetted to the rank of first lieutenant.[3] Anderson was promoted to first lieutenant in the 2d Dragoons on July 13, 1848, and to captain on March 3, 1855.[2] He served frequently at the cavalry school for practice at Carlisle Barracks in Pennsylvania. Anderson was serving in Kansas during the border troubles of 1856-57, and was on duty at Fort Kearny, Nebraska, from 1859 to 1861.
Civil War service
1861–1862
On March 3, 1861, Anderson resigned from the U.S. Army to enter service with the Confederate Army, accepting a commission of colonel with the 1st South Carolina Infantry Regiment on January 28.[2] He was given command of the Charleston harbor area after the capture of Fort Sumter in April.[3] He was promoted to brigadier general on July 19 and transferred to Pensacola, Florida, where he was wounded in the left elbow during the Battle of Santa Rosa Island.[2]
After recovering, Anderson joined the Confederate Army of the Potomac in February 1862 (which was absorbed into the Army of Northern Virginia later in the spring) as a brigade commander. During the Peninsula Campaign, he distinguished himself at the Battle of Williamsburg in May, the Battle of Seven Pines, and in the Seven Days Battles in June and July. At Glendale, he took temporary command of James Longstreet's division. Because of his excellent performance on the Peninsula, he was promoted to major general on July 14, 1862, and given command of the 2nd Division of Longstreet's First Corps on July 14.[2]
At the Second Battle of Bull Run in August 1862, Anderson launched an attack that broke the Union lines and sent it retreating back toward the entrenchments around Washington, D.C. At the Battle of Antietam in September 1862, he was in overall command at the sunken road, or "Bloody Lane", in the center of the Confederate defense. He was wounded in the thigh and left the battle, without which his division began to falter and eventually succumb to Union flank attacks that routed them from their position. At the Battle of Fredericksburg that December his division was not heavily engaged.
1863 and Gettysburg
At the Battle of Chancellorsville in May 1863, while operating away from Longstreet's command (because Longstreet was on detached duty near Suffolk, Virginia, at the time), Anderson pressed the Union left while Lt. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson attacked the right. Anderson and Maj. Gen. Lafayette McLaws left the main battle line on May 3, 1863, and struck east to check the advance of Union Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick's VI Corps that would lead into Robert E. Lee's rear.
Following the death of Stonewall Jackson on May 10, Lee reorganized his army into three corps. Anderson was admired enough by Lee to be considered for corps command, but instead his division was assigned to the new Third Corps, commanded by now Lt. Gen A.P. Hill.
At the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863, Anderson's division was third in line of march approaching the town from the west on July 1, so they arrived late and had little involvement in the start of the battle. (Lee had ordered Anderson into bivouac to rest up for the next day, which could be considered a tactical error on his part. If Anderson had been ordered to attack Cemetery Hill from the west, and if Lee could have moved Richard S. Ewell to the do the same from the north, the Union lines might have broken and the battle—even the war—might have been won). On the second day of battle, Anderson's division attacked near the Union center, following on from attacks by Longstreet (the divisions of John B. Hood and McLaws) to his right. Anderson's right was successful attacking Andrew A. Humphreys's III Corps division along the Emmitsburg Road. His center, under Ambrose R. Wright, penetrated the lightly defended Cemetery Ridge, making better progress than Pickett's Charge would make the following day. However, his left did not keep up the momentum that was needed. Carnot Posey moved haltingly and William Mahone did not move from Seminary Ridge at all. Union reinforcements rushed to counter Wright and he was repulsed. Anderson was criticized for his command during this day of battle. He had little effective control of his brigades and his plan to attack all his brigades in line, without a reserve to capitalize on success, was not well conceived.citation needed On July 3, Anderson's brigades under Cadmus M. Wilcox and David Lang participated in the waning minutes of Pickett's Charge, but both were driven back.
1864–1865
During the spring of 1864, at the Battle of the Wilderness, Longstreet was severely wounded and Anderson took command of the First Corps, leading it throughout the Overland Campaign. After the Wilderness he fought well at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House. Anderson and his corps executed an all-night forced march on May 7 that secured that important position (reinforcing the Confederate cavalry earlier sent there), and arrived just before Union soldiers did. Reaching and defending this spot denied the Federals a way around Lee's army towards Richmond, and Anderson held it during heavy fighting from May 8 to May 12. He then fought at the Battle of Cold Harbor in early June, and participated in the rest of the Army of Northern Virginia's operations to the south of Petersburg, Virginia from mid-June until October.[3] Anderson was promoted to temporary lieutenant general on May 31,[4]
When Longstreet returned from his convalescence on October 19, 1864, Anderson reverted to the rank of major general but led the newly created Fourth Corps through the Siege of Petersburg and the retreat towards Appomattox Court House in 1865. As the army's rear guard the corps halted and fought at Sayler's Creek on April 6, and what was left of the Third Corps was merged with the Second Corps on April 8.[5] This left Anderson without a command and he proceeded home to South Carolina. Anderson was pardoned on September 27, 1865, although there is no record of his parole.[2]
Postbellum
After the war, Anderson was a railroad official and later a state phosphate inspector/agent in South Carolina.[6] He died in Beaufort and is buried there in the churchyard of St. Helena's Episcopal Church.[1]
Personal
Quite the opposite of the "fiery Southerner" of the times, Anderson was known throughout the Army of Northern Virginia for his kindness, gentleness and humility. His modesty towards his own actions[7] often caused distress to his commanders, as he would leave any mention of self-notoriety out of his official reports.
See also
References
- Eicher, John H., and Eicher, David J., Civil War High Commands, Stanford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.
- Dupuy, Trevor N., Johnson, Curt, and Bongard, David L., Harper Encyclopedia of Military Biography, Castle Books, 1992, 1st Ed., ISBN 0-7858-0437-4.
- Tagg, Larry, The Generals of Gettysburg, Savas Publishing, 1998, ISBN 1-882810-30-9.
- Dick Anderson Chapter #75, United Daughters of the Confederacy.
Notes
- ^ a b UDC website
- ^ a b c d e f Eicher, p. 105.
- ^ a b c Dupuy, p. 40.
- ^ Dupuy, p. 40. His appointment to Lt. Gen., however, was never confirmed by the Confederate Congress.
- ^ Eicher, p. 889
- ^ Dupuy, p. 40., Eicher, p. 105.
- ^ Dupuy, p. 40. "...capable and resourceful divisional commander, personally modest."
External links
