Thomas Oakley Anderson was an American naval officer, involved in the raiding party, led by Stephen Decatur

Stephen Decatur

Stephen Decatur, Jr. , was an American naval officer notable for his many naval victories in the early 19th century. He was born on the eastern shore of Maryland, Worcester county, the son of a U.S. Naval Officer who served during the American Revolution. Shortly after attending college Decatur...

 on 16 February 1804, to destroy the U.S. frigate Philadelphia

USS Philadelphia (1799)

The second USS Philadelphia was a 1240-ton, 36-gun sailing frigate of the United States Navy.Originally named City of Philadelphia, she was built in 1798–1799 for the United States government by the citizens of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Funding for her construction was the result of a...

which ran aground in Tripoli harbor during the First Barbary War

First Barbary War

The First Barbary War , also known as the Barbary Coast War or the Tripolitan War, was the first of two wars fought between the United States and the North African Berber Muslim states known collectively as the Barbary States...

.

Biography

Born in Sussex Court House

Newton, New Jersey

Newton is a town in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the town population was 8,244. It is the county seat of Sussex County....

 (now Newton), in Sussex County, New Jersey

Sussex County, New Jersey

The County of Sussex is the northernmost county in the State of New Jersey. It is part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 Federal decennial census, 149,265 persons resided in Sussex County...

, Anderson was the son of Colonel Thomas Anderson, Esq. (1743–1805), an attorney and quartermaster

Quartermaster

Quartermaster refers to two different military occupations depending on if the assigned unit is land based or naval.In land armies, especially US units, it is a term referring to either an individual soldier or a unit who specializes in distributing supplies and provisions to troops. The senior...

 in the Continental Army

Continental Army

The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...

 during the American Revolution

American Revolution

The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...

.

Anderson died on April 11, 1844 in Newton, New Jersey

Newton, New Jersey

Newton is a town in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the town population was 8,244. It is the county seat of Sussex County....

 and is buried in the Old Newton Cemetery, off U.S. Route 206

U.S. Route 206

U.S. Route 206 is a long north–south United States highway in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, United States. Only about a half a mile of its length is in Pennsylvania; the Milford-Montague Toll Bridge carries it over the Delaware River into New Jersey, where it is the remainder of the route...

. His tombstone reads:

In Memory of Thomas Oakley Anderson who was born in this town on July, 3, 1783

and died April, 14, 1844. He was formerly an officer in the Navy and engaged with

Com. Decator in his daring achievement of the capture and destruction of the

frigate "Philadelphia" in the harbor of Tripoli in 1804.