fighting he supported Gen. George E. Pickett’s
unsuccessful thrust against the Union center
and subsequently withdrew to Virginia with
the survivors of Lee’s forces.
The spring of 1864 witnessed the advent of
a new adversary, Ulysses S. Grant, who
launched an ambitious drive to capture Rich-
mond and end the war. Heavy fighting—and
losses—ensued for both sides at the Wilder-
ness, where Longstreet was wounded. Ander-
son received temporary promotion to lieu-
tenant general to succeed him and performed
his greatest work at the Battle of Spotsylvania
Court House. On May 7, 1864, his deployment
at a strategic road junction proved critical, for
by dint of hard marching he arrived just ahead
of Union forces converging there. This pre-
vented Union troops from cutting off the bulk
of Lee’s forces from Richmond. Once commit-
ted to combat, Anderson’s men were also ac-
tive in repulsing superior forces under Gens.
John Sedgewick and Gouverneur K. Warren in
another bloody stalemate. Longstreet re-
turned to the field that October, and Anderson
received command of the new Fourth Corps
of two divisions. With it he gained additional
distinction in the trenches before Petersburg
and Richmond. Once Lee was finally forced to
abandon the Confederate capital in April
1865, it fell upon Anderson to cover his with-
drawal. Unfortunately, he was set upon by su-
perior Union forces under Gen. Philip H.
Sheridan at Sayler’s Creek and soundly de-
feated on April 6, 1865. Anderson managed to
cut his way back to Lee’s lines, but a last-
minute consolidation of Confederate units
left him without a command. Lee then al-
lowed “Fighting Dick” to retire from the army
and return home, sparing him the final indig-
nity of Appomattox.
After the war, Anderson failed to make a
living as a planter and found himself in des-
perate straits financially. For months there-
after he had no recourse but to work as a
common laborer with the South Carolina Rail-
road in Camden. Modest and uncomplaining,
he lived in poverty with his ailing wife until
1875, when political allies secured him an ap-
pointment as state phosphate inspector. This
brought him a small measure of financial se-
curity, but Anderson died in near obscurity at
Beaufort, South Carolina, on June 26, 1879.
His battlefield record establishes him as one
of the finest divisional leaders among the
Confederate armies.See also
Bragg, Braxton; Lee, Robert E.; Longstreet, JamesBibliography
Elliott, Joseph C.Lieutenant General Richard Heron
Anderson: Lee’s Noble Soldier.Dayton, OH: Morn-
ingside House, 1985; Gallagher, Gary W. Lee and
His Army in Confederate History.Chapel Hill:
University of North Carolina Press, 2001; Gallagher,
Gary W., ed., The Second Day at Gettysburg: Es-
says on Confederate and Union Military Leader-
ship.Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 1993;
Hassler, William W. “‘Fighting Dick’ Anderson.”
Civil War Times Illustrated12, no. 2 (1974): 4–6,
40–43; Matter, William D. If It Takes All Summer:
The Battle for Spotsylvania.Chapel Hill: University
of North Carolina Press, 1988; Pfannes, Harry W.
Gettysburg—Culp’s Hill and Cemetery Ridge.
Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press,
1993; Rhea, Gordon C. The Battle of the Wilderness,
May 5–6, 1864.Baton Rouge: Louisiana State Uni-
versity Press, 1994; Sommers, Richard. Richmond
Redeemed: The Siege of Petersburg.Garden City,
NY: Doubleday, 1981; Trudeau, Noah A.The Last
Citadel: Petersburg, Virginia, June 1864–April
1865.Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University
Press, 1993; Weinert, Richard P. The Confederate
Regular Army.Shippensburg, PA: White Mane,
1991.ANDERSON, RICHARDHERON