Talk:Richard H. Anderson (general)

Untitled
The following text in the article is very misleading:

At the Second Battle of Bull Run, Anderson launched an attack that broke the Union lines and sent it retreating back to Washington, D. C.

R. H. Anderson’s Division did not arrive on the Second Bull Run battlefield until the very early hours of August 30, 1862. About 3:00 p.m. on the 30th General James Longstreet initiated with Lee’s approval an overwhelming attack against the depleted left flank of General John Pope’s Army of Virginia. The divisions of C. M. Wilcox, J. B. Hood, James Kemper and D. R. Jones led the assault. R. H. Anderson’s Division of three brigades followed. The leading divisions subdued Federal resistance on Chinn Ridge and the brigades of G. T. Anderson and Henry L Benning engaged with some success the enemy on the Sudley Road at the base of Henry Hill. Anderson’s Division arrived in support. Anderson placed A. R. Wright’s Brigade in support of G. T. Anderson’s Brigade and extended the line to the right with L. A. Armistead’s and William Mahone’s Brigades. The addition of Anderson’s troops should have been sufficient strength to overwhelm the Federal resistance on Sudley Road and gain the crest of Henry Hill. This was particularly true since Mahone’s Brigade occupied a position east of Sudley Road which would have allowed his troops to assault the flank and rear of the Union troops defending the Sudley Road at the base of Henry Hill. This would have enabled the Confederate high command to place artillery on the hill and take the Stone Bridge over Bull Run under fire preventing the escape of Pope’s Army. General R. H. Anderson failed to recognize the opportunity and failed to attack with his full strength. The Federal defenders retained control of Henry Hill until most of the defeated Army of Virginia had escaped over the Stone Bridge.

The following sentence is grossly inaccurate:

At Antietam, he was in overall command at the sunken road, or “Bloody Lane”, in the center of the Confederate defense.

General R. H. Anderson was never in overall command of the Confederate center at the Battle of Antietam or Sharpsburg. General D. H. Hill was primarily responsible for this sector. The “Bloody Lane” was held by the Brigades’ of R. E. Rodes and G. B. Anderson of Hill’s Division. R. H. Anderson’s Division arrived with Lafayette McLaws’ Division after daylight on September 17, 1862. The battle raged on the Confederate left and began to shift to the center. McLaws was directed to bolster the left and R. H. Anderson proceeded to the “Bloody Lane.” Before any of his troops deployed Anderson was wounded and disabled in the apple orchard belonging to Mr. Henry Piper. The senior brigade commander, Roger A. Pryor, was a noted journalist, congressman and gun fighter but his military skill was not sufficient to lead the four brigades under severe fire and he botched the deployment. A. R. Wright’s Brigade deployed to the right of G. B. Anderson’s Brigade and may have been of some value but the others did not enter the battle at all or at the wrong positions causing overcrowding and much confusion. Anderson’s Division may have weakened the defense rather than strengthen.

R. H. Anderson was not with the Army of Northern Virginia when it surrendered at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865. He was dismissed by General Lee and left the army after the Battle of Saylor’s Creek.

Thomas Miller Mühlbachstr. 11 89250 Senden Federal Republic of Germany

E-mail: Miller.Senden@t-online.de


 * Well, make the appropriate edits. You probably could have done that faster than writing this extensive Talk page. Hal Jespersen 17:50, 28 December 2005 (UTC)

Reverted to Major General
I find no evidence RH Anderson reverted to Major General when Longstreet returned. The record shows IV (usually called "Anderson's Corps" was created instead to keep him as a LTG. See http://civilwarlandscapes.org/cwla/per/armies/confed/ac_anv_and/ac_anv_and.htm, "Robert E. Lee and the Fall of the Confederacy: 1863 - 1865", p 225 (at Google Books). I have corrected the cite here. 72.86.42.38 (talk) 19:46, 11 May 2013 (UTC)