Aaron Anderson

Infobox Military Person
name=Aaron Anderson
born= 1811
died= unknown
placeofbirth=Plymouth, North Carolina
placeofdeath=


caption=US Navy poster featuring Landsman Aaron Anderson
nickname=
allegiance= United States of America
branch=United States Navy
serviceyears=
rank=Landsman
commands=
unit=USS "Wyandank"
battles=American Civil War
awards=Medal of Honor
laterwork=

Aaron Anderson or Sanderson (born 1811, date of death unknown) was a Union Navy sailor during the American Civil War and a recipient of America's highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor.

Civil War service

Anderson, an African American, was born on a farm in Plymouth, North Carolina, and moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as a young man. He worked as a cook before enlisting in the Navy at age 52 on April 17, 1863. He was assigned as a landsman to the USS "Wyandank", but his last name was erroneously entered into the ship's logs as "Sanderson". The "Wyandank" served as part of the Potomac River Flotilla, a group of ships which enforced the Union blockade against Confederate shipping on the Potomac River.Hanna, 11]

On March 17, 1865, less than one month before the end of the war, Anderson participated in a mission to attack Confederate forces in Mattox Creek, a tributary of the Potomac in Virginia. A boat equipped with a howitzer was launched from another ship of the Potomac Flotilla, the USS "Don", and a group of seventy men was sent to follow along the river bank on foot. Anderson and a number of other black landsmen worked the oars on the boat, while Boatswain's Mate Patrick Mullen manned the howitzer and one Ensign Summers acted as commander. As the boat and the accompanying foot soldiers made their way up the creek's right fork, the foot soldiers came under sporadic fire from snipers. Upon finding four small boats which had been abandoned by the Confederates, the soldiers on the river bank set about destroying them.Hanna, 11-12]

Meanwhile, the men in the boat rowed back down the creek and then up the left fork. Without a supporting land force, the boat was vulnerable to attack from Confederate soldiers on the river banks, and the deeper waters of the left fork meant that they might encounter a larger craft than their own. Indeed, upon coming around a bend in the creek, they saw three seemingly abandoned schooners moored on shore. As Mullen prepared to fire the howitzer at the three ships, the boat came under fire from about 400 Confederate soldiers on shore. Summers ordered Anderson and the other oarsmen to row towards the schooners, and, when close enough, Mullen tossed an incendiary device onto each. With the schooners in flames, the boat began retreating downstream through heavy fire from the Confederates. Half of the boat's oars and Summers' musket were destroyed by gunfire, and there were several bullet holes in the side of the boat. As Anderson and the other men who still had oars continued to row downstream, the rest of the oarsmen bailed water while Mullen fired the howitzer at the soldiers on shore. They successfully escaped from the Confederate force, and although the boat was badly damaged, the only casualty was one landsman slightly wounded.Hanna, 12-13]

Summers singled out Anderson and Mullen for their actions during the skirmish, and both men were awarded the Medal of Honor on June 22, 1865.Hanna, 13] [http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/civwarmz.html Civil War Medal of Honor Recipients (M-Z)] ] Anderson's award was issued under the name "Aaron Sanderson", the misspelling which had been entered into the "Wyandank's" logs. Mullen earned a second Medal of Honor less than two months after the Mattox Creek expedition, making him one of only nineteen two-time recipients.

Anderson left the Navy after his term of service expired. Nothing is known of his post-war life.Hanna, 13]

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and Organization: Landsman, United States Navy. Entered Service At: Philadelphia, Pa. Birth: North Carolina. G.O. No.: 59, June 22, 1865.

Citation:

Served on board the U.S.S. "Wyandank" during a boat expedition up Mattox Creek, March 17, 1865. Participating with a boat crew in the clearing of Mattox Creek, L/man Anderson carried out his duties courageously in the face of a devastating fire which cut away half the oars, pierced the launch in many places and cut the barrel off a musket being fired at the enemy.

ee also

*List of African American Medal of Honor recipients
*

Notes

References

*cite web
url = http://www.army.mil/cmh/html/moh/civwarmz.html
title = Civil War Medal of Honor Recipients (M-Z)
publisher = U.S. Army Center of Military History
date = July 16, 2007
accessdate= 2008-01-23

*cite book
last = Hanna
first = Charles W.
title = African American recipients of the Medal of Honor: a biographical dictionary, Civil War through Vietnam War
publisher = McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
year = 2002
location = Jefferson, North Carolina
pages = 11-13
isbn = 0-7864-1355-7

Persondata
NAME= Anderson, Aaron
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= United States Navy Medal of Honor recipient
DATE OF BIRTH=
PLACE OF BIRTH=
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=