Richard Clough Anderson Sr. (January 12, 1750 – October 16, 1826) was an American lawyer, soldier, politician, and surveyor from

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

Revolutionary War

He was chosen to be a captain in the

Hanover County Hanover County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 109,979. Its county seat is Hanover. Hanover County is a part of the Greater Richmond Region. History Located in the western Tidewater ...

5th Virginia Regiment The 5th Virginia Regiment was raised on December 28, 1775, at Richmond, Virginia, for service with the U.S. Continental Army. The regiment saw action at the Battle of Trenton, Battle of Princeton, Battle of Brandywine, Battle of Germantown, Ba ...

on January 29, 1776. After the

Siege of Savannah The siege of Savannah or the second battle of Savannah was an encounter of the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) in 1779. The year before, the city of Savannah, Georgia, had been captured by a British expeditionary corps under Lieutena ...

, was on board the ''Wasp'' when

Casimir Pulaski Kazimierz Michał Władysław Wiktor Pułaski (; March 4 or 6, 1745 October 11, 1779), anglicised as Casimir Pulaski ( ), was a Polish nobleman, soldier, and military commander who has been called "The Father of American cavalry" or "The So ...

was taken north to be treated for the mortal wound he received. He attended Pulaski in his last hours and received from him his sword as an evidence of friendship. Anderson fought in the battles of Brandywine and Germantown. He crossed the Delaware River with

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

. He was aide-de-camp to Lafayette at the

Battle of Yorktown The siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown and the surrender at Yorktown, was the final battle of the American Revolutionary War. It was won decisively by the Continental Army, led by George Washington, with support from the Mar ...

. At the end of the war, Anderson was promoted to lieutenant colonel.

Later years

In 1788 he was a member of the state convention, and in 1793 a presidential elector. He was the principal surveyor of the

Virginia Military District The Virginia Military District was an approximately 4.2 million acre (17,000 km2) area of land in what is now the state of Ohio that was reserved by Virginia to use as payment in lieu of cash for its veterans of the American Revolutionary ...

from 1783 until 1819. Anderson Township is named after him, as is Clough Creek. His first wife was Elizabeth Clark, sister of

George Rogers Clark George Rogers Clark (November 19, 1752 – February 13, 1818) was an American military officer and surveyor from Virginia who became the highest-ranking Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot military officer on the American frontier, nort ...

and

William Clark William Clark (August 1, 1770 – September 1, 1838) was an American explorer, soldier, Indian agent, and territorial governor. A native of Virginia, he grew up in pre-statehood Kentucky before later settling in what became the state of Misso ...

. His second wife was Sarah Marshall (1779–1854), a cousin of

John Marshall John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American statesman, jurist, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth chief justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remai ...

, the fourth

Chief Justice of the United States The chief justice of the United States is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States and is the highest-ranking officer of the U.S. federal judiciary. Appointments Clause, Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution g ...

. He is the father of Richard Clough Anderson Jr., Charles Anderson (27th governor of Ohio),

William Marshall Anderson William Marshall Anderson (1807–1881) was an American scholar, explorer and politician, noted for his detailed travel journals in the Rocky Mountains and Second Mexican Empire, Imperial Mexico. Background Anderson was born into a large and pro ...

, and Robert Anderson (who surrendered to Confederate forces at

Fort Sumter Fort Sumter is a historical Coastal defense and fortification#Sea forts, sea fort located near Charleston, South Carolina. Constructed on an artificial island at the entrance of Charleston Harbor in 1829, the fort was built in response to the W ...

). He is the great grandfather of

Larz Anderson Larz Anderson (August 15, 1866 – April 13, 1937) was an American diplomat and ''bon vivant''. He served as second secretary at the United States Legation to the Court of St James's, London; as first secretary and later ''chargé d'affaires ...

, an American diplomat involved in foreign affairs, who had the

Larz Anderson House Anderson House, also known as Larz Anderson House, is a Gilded Age mansion located at 2118 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, on Embassy Row in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It now houses the Society of the Cincinnati's internationa ...

built for him and his wife

Isabel Weld Perkins Isabel Anderson (March 29, 1876 – November 3, 1948), , was a Boston heiress, author, and society hostess who left a legacy to the public that includes a park and two museums. Life Early life Born at 284 Marlborough Street in Boston's B ...

, which was bequeathed to the

Society of Cincinnati The Society of the Cincinnati is a fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of military officers who ...

as their international headquarters. He is the father-in-law of Allen Latham who helped him with surveying and administered his estate. He was a charter member of the

. Their home near Louisville was known as " Soldiers' Retreat."

References

Books

* Anderson, Edward L.
''The Andersons of Gold Mine, Hanover County, Virginia''
1913. * Anderson, Edward L.
''Soldier And Pioneer: a Biographical Sketch of Lt.-Col. Richard C. Anderson of the Continental Army''
New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1879.
"Anderson, Richard Clough."
''Kentucky Encyclopedia''. John E. Kleber, Ed. University Press of Kentucky, 1992, p. 21. * Hill, Edwin C. ''The Historical Register: A Biographical Record of the Men of Our Time Who Have Contributed to the Making of America''. New York: 1919. Virginia militiamen in the American Revolution 1750 births 1826 deaths American surveyors {{US-law-bio-stub