Peach-Houston-Bibb County GaArchives Biographies.....Anderson, William Jackson January 5, 1815 - March 8, 1890 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Stephanie Lincecum SLincecum73@aol.com March 16, 2005, 11:38 pm Author: Governor Treutlen Chapter, D. A. R. Among the prominent ante-bellum residents of Fort Valley was William Jackson Anderson. His parents, William Robert and Annie (Coker) Anderson, had moved from South Carolina to Stone Mountain and thence to Indian Springs. As a boy of fourteen William J. Anderson went to what is now Alabama, where the Indians taught him their language and the art of wrestling. In 1836, one arm having been crippled, he settled in Macon and took up merchandising. During the financial crisis of 1838-39 he lost everything he had. In 1840, poor and heavily in debt, he moved to Fort Valley. Young William soon established a mercantile and cotton warehouse business. A buyer of cotton throughout the plantation area of Middle and Southwest Georgia, he used a loading station on the Central of Georgia Railroad which became known as Anderson Crossing; for more than a century since then it has been identified as Andersonville. W. J. Anderson established the Planter's Bank, Fort Valley's first bank, and was its president. For over twenty-five years he was superintendent of the Sunday school in the Fort Valley Methodist church, where there is a stained glass window honoring him. Known for his hospitality, he was regarded as one of the pioneer merchants and business men of Fort Valley. William Jackson Anderson married Rebecca Caroline Hollinshead of Fort Valley. Their home on the Atlanta Highway was nearer to town than the Everett house. Although built for the farm superintendent, it was later converted into the owner's home. Set in a grove of magnificent oaks and on a slight rise, it overlooked the A. and F. Railroad and the growing town. Surrounded now by large pecan groves and modernized throughout, it is the home of the William J. Wilsons. In one of the living rooms hang the portraits of William Jackson Anderson and his wife, Rebecca Hollinshead, the great-grandparents of William J. Wilson. With four rooms on the first floor, all separated by cross-halls, this is the only house in Fort Valley so built. The east-west hall now has been closed at its ends by windows. Mrs. Anderson's first cousin, Mary Caroline Hiley, later became the wife of Mr. Anderson's younger brother, Charles David. The Anderson brothers, twelve years apart in age, became business partners and owned the first newspaper in Fort Valley. Charles D. was a charter member of the Fort Valley Masonic Lodge. In the 1850's he was judge of the Inferior Court and mayor of Fort Valley. During his administration Oaklawn Cemetery was laid out to replace Old Pond Cemetery. Perhaps because of his early arm injury, William J. Anderson did not go to war. Charles D., however, was one of the first to answer Governor Brown's call for troops. He organized a company and was captain of the "Beauregard Volunteers." He served in all the campaigns of the Army of Northern Virginia. At Antietam nearly all of his company were killed or wounded, and Captain Anderson was taken prisoner. Exchanged in thirty days, he joined his command at Fredericksburg. There his men were in the first and second battles, and he was promoted to major and then to lieutenant colonel. The night General Stonewall Jackson was wounded, Colonel Anderson was commanding the picket of the Sixth Georgia Regiment within a few yards of where Jackson fell. At Chancellorsville Colonel Charles D. Anderson was severely wounded and lost a finger on his left hand. After partial recovery, he joined his command in South Carolina. While there on James Island, he was unanimously elected to the Georgia Legislature without his knowledge and was appointed Aide-de-Camp to Governor Brown. When Georgia was threatened by invasion, Governor Brown ordered out the militia. Colonel Anderson assisted in organizing the troops and was elected colonel of the Fifth Regiment and soon after was made brigadier general of the Third Brigade of the Georgia State Forces. He was sent to meet General Johnston, who was retreating. There followed days of heavy fighting, during which Anderson's command was left to protect Johnston's rear and to guard the Chattahoochee to prevent the enemy from crossing. Ordered to West Point to quell a cavalry raid, his troops advanced to Atlanta, where they were actively engaged during the siege. When Atlanta was evacuated, the Third and Fourth Brigades of Militia were sent to follow Sherman and prevent the scattering of northern troops. At Griswoldville, near Macon, the men were outnumbered ten to one and suffered severely. Anderson's horse was shot from under him; his hat and clothes were riddled with bullets. Going to Savannah via Albany and Thomasville, he and his troops joined near Savannah a heavy detachment sent out to meet General Sherman, but they were driven back with heavy loss. When Sherman took Savannah, Anderson's brigade was ordered to Augusta, then to Macon, where is was disbanded. After the war, the Anderson brothers shipped 150 bales of cotton saved from the wreckage to pay the New York creditors of their once-flourishing mercantile establishment. Broken in health and fortune, Charles D. Anderson formed a partnership with Judge Day of Perry and carried on a cotton warehouse and farmers' supply business in Macon. When this firm failed during the Reconstruction period he returned to Fort Valley and spent his latter days in county politics, holding continuously the offices of Tax Collector and Tax Receiver. The UDC Chapter in Fort Valley was named for Brigadier General Charles David Anderson. Additional Comments: Source: History of Peach County, Georgia Governer Treutlen Chapter, D. A. R. 1972 pgs 75-78 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/peach/bios/anderson767gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/gafiles/ File size: 6.3 Kb