General Richard Anderson, CSA

[Cek3]

I was curious if anyone has any info on the Genreal post war. It seems he failed at farming; got fired at his railroad job, why?; and then died suddenly. I thought i remember that Lee sent him some money once. Just wondered if anyone has some additional info on him as it seems he was a bit unlucky after the war.

 

[Nathan Stuart]

To kick it off, found a few scant details about Anderson's activities after the war.

Think to understand the course of his largely unsuccessful postwar career, one needs to firstly appreciate that Anderson's only occupation (for 25 years) prior to the end of the war, was as a professional army officer.

When the war ended, the 45 years old Anderson returned to his ancestral homeplace, Home Crest, and attempted to plant and grow cotton at a nearby plantation over the next couple of years. The plantation failed because of his lack of agricultural knowledge/training and ended in his bankruptcy.

Following his plantation failure, over the next decade Anderson worked for the South Carolina Railroad, starting as a day laborer before being later promoted to the position of the Railroad's Camden agent. Apparently he was held responsible for the dishonesty of an employee, and consequently lost his job in 1878.

During his period of employment with the Railroad, his first wife died in 1872 (and he remarried in 1874).

Around early 1879, and in recognition of his previous military service, the State of South Carolina appointed him as a Phosphate Inspector, based at Beaufort. After only a few months in this job, however, Anderson died suddenly on June 25, 1879, from an attack of apoplexy (a stroke). He was supposedly struck down on his way home from work on a very hot day.

 

[Cek3]

Well that was helpful. He just seemed to have had bad luck. Any thoughts on Lee sending him money once?

 

[major bill]

Richard Anderson seen a lot in his short life. He appears to have been a competent officer before and during the Civil War. One must wonder why he seemed to have struggled after the Civil War. Could have his experiences during the Civil War contributed to his post Civil War problems? Anderson would have not been the first veteran that left the War a changed man. Has anyone read a book about him?

 

[Cek3]

Richard Anderson seen a lot in his short life. He appears to have been a competent officer before and during the Civil War. One must wonder why he seemed to have struggled after the Civil War. Could have his experiences during the Civil War contributed to his post Civil War problems? Anderson would have not been the first veteran that left the War a changed man. Has anyone read a book about him?

I thought I read once that after the war Lee sent him some money. I have not stumbled across any books on him. I googled him and its all pretty generic info.

 

[Jamieva]

Book Review: Soldier of the South: Lieutenant General Richard H. Anderson at War and Peace - Emerging Civil War

Soldier of the South: Lieutenant General Richard H. Anderson at War and Peace. By Edward J. Hagerty. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2026. Hardback, 438 pp. $36.99 Reviewed by Sean Michael Chick The list of battles that Richard H. Anderson fought in reads like a catalogue of the...

emergingcivilwar.com

New biography might help