Mexican War. He landed with Scott’s army at
Vera Cruz, fought his way inland, and won
brevet promotion to first lieutenant for distin-
guished service at St. Augustin Atlapulco on
August 17, 1847. After the war, Anderson
transferred north as a cavalry instructor at
Carlisle until 1852. That year he joined the
Second U.S. Dragoons, rose to captain in
1855, and fulfilled routine garrison duty at var-
ious posts in Texas, New Mexico, and Kansas
until 1857. Following a brief return to Carlisle,
Anderson next accompanied Col. Albert Sid-
ney Johnston on an expedition against the
Mormons in Utah in 1858–1859. The following
year he was posted to Fort Kearney, Ne-
braska, where he remained until the eve of
the Civil War.
South Carolina seceded from the Union in
December 1860, an act placing Anderson’s
family under tremendous strain. Although a
Southerner, he disapproved of slavery and
was lukewarm toward secession. However,
peer pressure convinced him to resign his
commission in February 1861 and support the
Confederate cause. Accordingly, he became
colonel of the First South Carolina Regiment
and was present under Gen. Pierre G.T. Beau-
regard during the fateful bombardment of
Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861. The following
month he succeeded Beauregard as com-
mander at Charleston, was raised to brigadier
general, and then ordered to Florida under
Gen. Braxton Bragg. On October 9, 1861,
Anderson directed a moderately successful
night attack upon Union forces outside Fort
Pickens, although he sustained an arm injury.
In the spring of 1862 Anderson’s military for-
tunes greatly advanced when he was ordered
to Virginia as part of a division commander by
a former West Point classmate, Gen. James
Longstreet. He was now part of the soon-to-
be legendary Army of Northern Virginia.
Throughout the spring of 1862, Anderson’s
brigade was heavily engaged in fighting
around Richmond, the Confederate capital.
He skillfully directed his troops during defen-
sive actions at Williamsburg on May 5, 1862,
and at Seven Pines, three weeks later, his men
scored the deepest penetration of Union lines.
“The attack of the two brigades under Gen.
R. H. Anderson was made with such spirit and
regularity as to have driven back the most de-
termined foe,” Longstreet reported. “This de-
cided the day in our favor.” Having further dis-
tinguished himself during the Seven Days
battles against the army of Gen. George B.
McClellan, Anderson gained promotion to
major general as of July 14, 1862, and also as-
sumed command of the division under Ben-
jamin Huger. He was in the thick of fighting
at Second Manassas in August 1861, where
Union forces under Gen. John Pope were
routed, and also accompanied Gen. Thomas
“Stonewall” Jackson’s movement against
Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. With that vital
objective secured, Anderson next conducted
a rapid forced march to rejoin Robert E. Lee’s
army at Antietam on September 17, 1862. His
troops were welcome reinforcements for the
hard-pressed forces of Gen. Daniel H. Hill,
but he was only on the field for a few minutes
before sustaining serious injuries. Anderson
recovered within weeks and was present at
the December 13, 1862, Battle of Fredericks-
burg, although lightly engaged. However, his
actions of the previous year established him
as a fine battle captain. Anderson was roundly
praised by fellow generals for aplomb under
fire, and they gave him the simple but effec-
tive sobriquet “Fighting Dick.”
In May 1863, Anderson’s three brigades
proved instrumental in fending off the ad-
vance of Gen. Joseph Hooker at Chancel-
lorsville and later contributed to the defeat of
the Union VI Corps. Lee reorganized his army
following the death of Stonewall Jackson
(who was accidentally shot by his own troops
at Chancellorsville), and Anderson’s division
was shifted over to a corps commanded by
Gen. Ambrose P. Hill. In this capacity he was
heavily engaged in the second day of fighting
at Gettysburg. After much hard fighting, An-
derson’s men swept Gen. Daniel Sickles off
Seminary Ridge and briefly occupied the
strategic heights of Cemetery Hill before
being repulsed. On the climactic third day ofANDERSON, RICHARDHERON