Joseph Reid Anderson
Joseph Reid Anderson (born February 16, 1813 in Walnut Hill in Botetourt County , Virginia , † September 7, 1892 on the Isles of Shoals , New Hampshire ) was an American engineer, Brigadier General of the Confederate Army in the Civil War and independent entrepreneur.
Life
Anderson was born in Walnut Hill in 1813. He attended the Military Academy at West Point , New York , which he graduated in 1836 as the fourth best of his year with the rank of lieutenant. In 1837 he left the US Army and worked as an engineer in Virginia for the next 5 years. His connection with the Tredegar Iron Co. in Richmond , Virginia, began in 1841 and made him the greatest industrialists of the South at the time. He expanded the company to such an extent that by 1860 it became one of the leading manufacturers of locomotives, hardware, cables and cannons.
As a supporter of the secessionist government , he was appointed brigadier general on September 3, 1861, commanded first a brigade in North Carolina , then in Virginia. He fought several minor skirmishes during the Battle of Beaver Creek and Gaines Mill . He was wounded in June 1862 in the battle at White Oak Swamp . A little more than a month later, he resigned and took over the management of Tredegar Iron Co.
After that, the company became increasingly productive again, but was also hampered by the inability of the south to procure sufficient natural resources. After the fall of Richmond, the company was seized by the federal administration and not released until 1867, with Anderson at the top.
See also
Web links
- Joseph R. Anderson in the database of Find a Grave (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Anderson, Joseph Reid |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | General of the Confederate Army in the American Civil War |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 16, 1813 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Walnut Hill , Botetourt County , Virginia |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 7, 1892 |
| Place of death | Isles of Shoals , New Hampshire |