Robert Anderson was a brigadier general

Brigadier General

Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...

 in the colonial militia and a surveyor

Surveying

See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...

. He was a lifelong friend of General Andrew Pickens

Andrew Pickens (congressman)

Andrew Pickens was a militia leader in the American Revolution and a member of the United States House of Representatives from South Carolina.-Early life:...

. Anderson, South Carolina

Anderson, South Carolina

Anderson is a city in and the county seat of Anderson County, South Carolina, United States. The population was estimated at 26,242 in 2006, and the city was the center of an urbanized area of 70,530...

, Anderson County, South Carolina

Anderson County, South Carolina

-Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 187,126 people and 70,597 households residing in the county. The population density was 260.6 people per square mile . There were 84,092 housing units...

, and the ghost town of Andersonville

Andersonville, South Carolina

Andersonville was a town in Anderson County, South Carolina, that was settled around 1800. It was named for Robert Anderson, who was a Revolutionary War veteran. Although it had been a thriving textile and trading community, it suffered from repeated floods and was bypassed by the railroad. The...

 are named for him.

Early life

He was born on November 15, 1741 in Augusta County, Virginia

Augusta County, Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 65,615 people, 24,818 households, and 18,911 families residing in the county. The population density was 68 people per square mile . There were 26,738 housing units at an average density of 28 per square mile...

. His parents were John and Jane Anderson who had immigrated from Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

. Before moving to Virginia, they had lived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

.

Marriage and children

He married Anne Thompson in 1765. They moved to South Carolina

South Carolina

South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

 and settled near his friend from Virginia, Andrew Pickens. She died after twenty-five years of marriage. They had five children:

• Robert, Jr., married Maria Thomas.
• Anne married Dr. William Hunter.
• Elizabeth married Robert Maxwell, who was killed in the Revolutionary War.
• Mary
• Elizabeth married Samuel Maverick. One child was Samuel Maverick
  Samuel Maverick
  Samuel Augustus Maverick was a Texas lawyer, politician, land baron and signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence...
  
  .

In 1793 Anderson married a second time, to Lydia Maverick, a widow in Pendleton, South Carolina

Pendleton, South Carolina

Pendleton is a town in Anderson County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 2,966 at the 2000 census. It is a sister city of Stornoway in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland....

. Her son, Samuel, married Robert's daughter Elizabeth.

After the death of his second wife, he married Mrs. Reece. She was the widow of Dr. Thomas Reece, who was the pastor of Old Stone Church.

Military career

In the Revolution War

American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...

, he joined the Fifth South Carolina Militia. He became a captain in the regiment commanded by his friend Andrew Pickens

Andrew Pickens (congressman)

Andrew Pickens was a militia leader in the American Revolution and a member of the United States House of Representatives from South Carolina.-Early life:...

 when they fought Boyd's Loyalists

Battle of Kettle Creek

The Battle of Kettle Creek was one of the most important battles of the American Revolutionary War to be fought in Georgia. The battle was fought on February 14, 1779, in Wilkes County about eight miles from present-day Washington, Georgia...

.

Anderson was one of the Patriots who gave their parole to the British as Ninety Six, South Carolina

Ninety Six, South Carolina

Ninety Six is a town in Greenwood County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 1,936 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Ninety Six is located at ....

. Many took up arms after the British disregarded their promises.

At the Battle of Cowpens

Battle of Cowpens

The Battle of Cowpens was a decisive victory by Patriot Revolutionary forces under Brigadier General Daniel Morgan, in the Southern campaign of the American Revolutionary War...

, Anderson was a colonel under Brigadier General Andrew Pickens. Anderson also served under Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee. He fought in the Battle of Eutaw Springs

Battle of Eutaw Springs

The Battle of Eutaw Springs was a battle of the American Revolutionary War, and was the last major engagement of the war in the Carolinas.-Background:...

, in which the British were victorious. Later, his regiment held the line against the British between Augusta, Georgia

Augusta, Georgia

Augusta is a consolidated city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located along the Savannah River. As of the 2010 census, the Augusta–Richmond County population was 195,844 not counting the unconsolidated cities of Hephzibah and Blythe.Augusta is the principal city of the Augusta-Richmond County...

 and Ninety Six.

After the Revolutionary War, he fought with Andrew Pickens against the Cherokees. A treaty signed in 1777 ceded most of the Cherokee lands in the present Anderson

Anderson County, South Carolina

-Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 187,126 people and 70,597 households residing in the county. The population density was 260.6 people per square mile . There were 84,092 housing units...

, Oconee, and Pickens counties.

Anderson was promoted to the rank of general in the state militia.

Civilian career

He served in the South Carolina House of Representatives

South Carolina General Assembly

The South Carolina General Assembly, also called the South Carolina Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of South Carolina. The legislature is bicameral and consists of the lower South Carolina House of Representatives and the upper South Carolina Senate. Altogether, the General...

 from 1791 to 1794 and from 1801 to 1802 from the Pendleton District

Pendleton District, South Carolina

Pendleton District is a former judicial district in South Carolina. It existed as a county or a district from 7 March 1789 to 20 December 1826....

. He was an elder of the Old Stone Church. In 1800, he was elector for Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...

 and Aaron Burr

Aaron Burr

Aaron Burr, Jr. was an important political figure in the early history of the United States of America. After serving as a Continental Army officer in the Revolutionary War, Burr became a successful lawyer and politician...

.

He owned 2100 acres (8 km²) in the current Anderson

Anderson County, South Carolina

-Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 187,126 people and 70,597 households residing in the county. The population density was 260.6 people per square mile . There were 84,092 housing units...

, Oconee, and Pickens counties including his home, Westville, on the west side of the Seneca River

Seneca River (Savannah River)

The Seneca River is created by the confluence of the Keowee River and Twelvemile Creek in northwestern South Carolina, downriver from Lake Keowee near Clemson. It is now entirely inundated by Lake Hartwell, forming a arm of the lake. The Seneca River and the Tugaloo River join to form the Savannah...

 across from Andrew Picken's home, Hopewell.

Death and afterward

He died at his home on January 9, 1813. Due to a flood, they were not able to bury him at Old Stone Church, and he was buried on his estate. During the construction of Lake Hartwell

Lake Hartwell

Lake Hartwell is a reservoir bordering Georgia and South Carolina on the Savannah, Tugaloo, and Seneca Rivers. The lake is created by Hartwell Dam located on the Savannah River seven miles below the point at which the Tugaloo and Seneca Rivers join to form the Savannah...

, his body was reinterred at Old Stone Church.

The ghost town of Andersonville

Andersonville, South Carolina

Andersonville was a town in Anderson County, South Carolina, that was settled around 1800. It was named for Robert Anderson, who was a Revolutionary War veteran. Although it had been a thriving textile and trading community, it suffered from repeated floods and was bypassed by the railroad. The...

, the City of Anderson

Anderson, South Carolina

Anderson is a city in and the county seat of Anderson County, South Carolina, United States. The population was estimated at 26,242 in 2006, and the city was the center of an urbanized area of 70,530...

, and Anderson County

Anderson County, South Carolina

-Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 187,126 people and 70,597 households residing in the county. The population density was 260.6 people per square mile . There were 84,092 housing units...

 were named for him.

External links

• Rootsweb Robert Anderson's grave.
• Historical Marker Database Anderson S.C.: The Electric City Historical Marker