Charles DeWitt Anderson
(July 7, 1828 – November 21, 1901)
In 1846 Anderson became the
first Texan appointed to the
United States Military Academy at
West Point. He had been recommended by Texas' founder,
Sam Houston, . . .
Anderson struggled academically at West Point; during his sophomore year he was found "deficient" in both French and mathematics, . . .
Despite this, in 1856 Anderson was directly commissioned into the U.S. Army as a
second lieutenant on June 27.
??? . . . "my first
command consisted, not counting officers, of
9 men." . . . ???
At the beginning of the American Civil War in 1861, Anderson chose to follow his home state and the Confederate cause. On March 16 he was appointed a
first lieutenant in the Regular Confederate Artillery.
[6] His first assignment was at
Fort Morgan, guarding the entrance to
Mobile Bay,
Alabama. There he was given command a regular detachment, organized separately from the volunteer forces but attached to the
2nd Alabama Infantry, and was responsible for the installation's
ordnance. His
total force consisted of the remaining regular recruits from the
Mount Vernon Arsenal in Alabama, and numbered
only two officers and nine enlisted men.
??? ". . . I was part of a staff when my general was mortally wounded
" What-If " . . ??? Shiloh ?,,,
. . . . staff of Brig. Gen. Adley H. Gladden, . . . during the Battle of Shiloh, Anderson acted as his assistant adjutant general, but following
Gladden's death in the battle the staff was broken up.
? ". . . I became
mobile and
not." ? ???. .
The following month Anderson took command of the 21st Alabama Infantry, elected its
colonel on May 8. The regiment became part of the
defenses of Mobile, with Anderson commanding it for the remainder of 1862, all of 1863, and into 1864.
[8]
? ". . . When all elements were against me
3 days were all I got before
being made immobile until the end of the war . . . " ???
Upon the Union bombardment of Fort Gaines, Anderson's men (mostly "a superfluous number of conscripts and reservists, many mere boys, who could find no shelter from the shelling.") realizing his command was about to mutiny he conceded defeat on August 8, after
three days of shelling.
[8]
??? " . . . . I spent the rest of my days working for
mobility and
shine. ". . . ???
railroads and
lighthouses
Returning to Texas after the conflict ended in 1865, Anderson found
work in the construction of railroads. He was then elected for two terms as
Austin's chief engineer. Anderson next went back to Galveston, Texas, where he built the
Galveston Island Lighthouse.
Anderson spent the last six years of his life again on the federal payroll, as keeper of the
Fort Point Lighthouse.
https://deadconfederates.com/2011/05/27/headstones-and-the-stories-untold/
various sources West Point appointments, CSA West Point education, wiki
Great question, play on words and word phrases