Anderson, Robert

Anderson, Robert, 1805–71, American army officer, defender of Fort Sumter, b. near Louisville, Ky., grad. West Point, 1825. He fought in the Black Hawk, Seminole, and Mexican wars and was promoted to major in 1857. In Nov., 1860, he took command of the U.S. force in the harbor of Charleston, S.C., where he distinguished himself in the Fort Sumter controversy. Anderson, made a brigadier general in the regular army (May, 1861), commanded the Dept. of Kentucky (June–Oct.). He retired from active service in Oct., 1863. In Feb., 1865, he was brevetted major general for his gallant service in the defense of Fort Sumter.

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Anderson, Robert (1805–71) soldier; born near Louisville, Ky. A West Point graduate (1825) he served in the Mexican War. As an artillery officer, he commanded the Federal garrison at Fort Sumter, S.C., surrendering there on April 13, 1861, after a 34-hour bombardment that signaled the opening of the Civil War. He spent most of the rest of the war keeping Kentucky in the Union until disabilities forced his retirement in 1863. In April 1865 he returned to Fort Sumter for the raising of the original flag.

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Anderson, Robert (Woodruff) (1917–  ) playwright; born in New York City. Best known for Tea and Sympathy (1953), the story of a schoolboy accused of homosexuality, his later plays include You Know I Can't Hear You When the Water's Running (1967).