Robert Anderson (Civil War)

Robert Anderson
Lithograph of Major Robert Anderson
Allegiance	U.S. Army
Years of service	1825 – 1863
Rank	Brevet Major General
Commands	Fort Sumter
Battles / wars	Seminole War Mexican-American War American Civil War *Battle of Fort Sumter

File:Andersonr22r.jpg

Anderson after the War

Robert Anderson (June 14, 1805 – October 26, 1871) was a Union Army officer in the American Civil War, known for his command of Fort Sumter at the start of the war. He is often referred to using his rank of that time, Major Robert Anderson.

Early Life

Anderson was born in "Soldier's Retreat," near Louisville, Kentucky. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1825 and received a commission as a brevet second lieutenant in the 2nd U.S. Artillery. He served in the Black Hawk War of 1832 as a colonel of Illinois volunteers, where he had the distinction of twice mustering Captain Abraham Lincoln in and out of army service. Returning to the U.S. Army as a first lieutenant in 1833, he served in the second Seminole War, as an assistant adjutant general on General Winfield Scott's staff, and in the Mexican-American War, where he was severely wounded at Molino del Rey, and for which he received a brevet promotion to major. He eventually received a permanent promotion to major of the 1st U.S. Artillery in the regular army on October 5, 1857. He was the author of Instruction for Field Artillery, Horse and Foot in 1839.

Civil War

As Southern states began to secede, Major Anderson remained loyal to the Union. He was the commanding officer of Fort Sumter in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina, at the time it was bombarded by forces of the Confederate States of America. The artillery attack was commanded by Brig. Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard, who had been Anderson's student at West Point. The attack began April 12, 1861, and continued until Anderson, badly outnumbered and outgunned, surrendered the fort on April 14, 1861. The battle began the American Civil War. He was promoted to brigadier general on May 15. Major Anderson had orders to stay in the fort, because it was built when the area was part of the Union so it was Union property. No person was killed in the battle on either side during the battle, but one Union soldier was killed during a 100 gun salute. The people of Charleston watched the battle on their roofs.

Later life

Anderson took the fort's 33-star flag with him to New York City, where he participated in a Union Square patriotic rally that is thought to have been the largest public gathering in North America up to then. Anderson then went on a highly successful recruiting tour of the North before taking a leave of absence because of to ill health. He retired from the Army on October 27, 1863.

Days after Robert E. Lee's surrender and the effective conclusion of the war, Anderson returned to Charleston in the uniform of a brevet major general (ranking as of February 3, 1865) and, four years after lowering the 33-star flag in surrender, raised it in triumph over the recaptured but badly battered Fort Sumter during ceremonies there. That same evening, April 14, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was shot.

Anderson died in Nice, France, and is buried at West Point Cemetery.

Family

Anderson's brother, Charles Anderson, served as Governor of Ohio from 1865 to 1866. Another brother, the Rev. William C. Anderson, served as President of Miami University from 1849–1854. Their nephew, Thomas M. Anderson, was a brigadier general who fought in the Spanish-American War and Philippine-American War.

Major Robert Anderson was the great-grandfather of actor Montgomery Clift. He was also the first cousin twice removed of William Clark and George Rogers Clark.

References

• Eicher, John H., and Eicher, David J., Civil War High Commands, Stanford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.
• Lawton, Eba Anderson, Major Robert Anderson and Fort Sumter, 1861 (New York, 1911).
• "Robert Anderson Biography". Retrieved 2006-10-01.
• "Hollywood Gothic" and the Alabama Three