Message #230171

[Ashley Washington]

Major Robert Anderson, Fort Sumter

Image Courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

Thrust reluctantly onto center stage during one of America’s most turbulent chapters, Maj. Robert Anderson was given command of the Charleston defenses on November 15, 1860, just as the secession crisis entered its most critical phase.

A graduate of West Point and veteran of several campaigns, Anderson remained fiercely loyal to the Union despite his Kentucky roots and pro-slavery leanings. His defiant professionalism during the standoff at Fort Sumter earned him the status of the Union’s first Civil War hero.

(See Civil War reenactment pictures.)

Updated April 12, 2011