James Patton Anderson Papers

Biographical Note:
James Patton Anderson was born in Franklin County, Tennessee on February 16, 1822. He was admitted to the bar in 1843 and practiced law in DeSoto County, Mississippi. In 1847, he was asked by Governor A.G. Brown to raise and eventually command the 1st Battalion Mississippi Rifles in the Mexican War with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Anderson returned from Mexico and spent one term in the Mississippi legislature, where he made the acquaintance of Jefferson Davis, who was soon to be President Pierce's Secretary of War. Through Davis' assistance, he was soon appointed by President Pierce as Marshal for Washington Territory, from which he was elected as delegate to Congress.
Believing that the Union was collapsing, and not wanting to be far from the south, he refused a second appointment to Washington and moved to Florida in the late 1850s. After Abraham Lincoln's election in 1860, he quickly was elected as a member of the state secession convention. Anderson was appointed Colonel of the
1st Florida Regiment (Infantry), and he soon found himself with General Bragg in Pensacola. He was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General in 1862, a rank which he held throughout the War. It was in the battle of Jonesboro in 1864 that he was seriously wounded and was forced home to Monticello where he wrote the sketch of his life up to that date.
After the war General Anderson worked in the insurance business and also edited an agricultural paper in Memphis. He died at his home in Memphis on September 20, 1872, due to his war wound, and was buried there.
[Source: Sketch of General Anderson's Life (James Patton Anderson), Special Collections, Robert Manning Strozier Library, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida.]

Scope and Content:
Photostat of eleven manuscripts by and pertaining to General James Patton Anderson, Monticello, Jefferson County, Florida, dated 1862 to 1865. The Civil War papers are as listed below:
1. Confederate States of America document by the president. War Department, Richmond, February 10, 1862. Appointment of Patton Anderson as Brigadier General with instructions to report for duty to Maj. Gen. Bragg, Commanding. Signed by J.P. Benjamin, Secretary of War.
2. Confederate States of America document. War Department, Richmond, February 17, 1864. Appointment of J. Patton Anderson as Major General, "by and with advice & consent of the Senate..." With instructions to report for duty to Gen. J.E. Johnston for an assignment to the Command of Gen. Beckenridge's Division. Signed by James A. McFadden, Secretary of War. Approved by G.T. Beauregard, Col. Commanding.
3. Federal Government document. Pardon of J. Patton Anderson for taking part in the "late rebellion against the Government of the United States..." Signed by Andrew Johnson, President of the United States of America, May 29, 1865.
4. Form for use by J. Patton Anderson in acknowledgment and to signify his acceptance of terms of the pardon. Addressed to Hon. William Leward, Secretary of State. The form was not filled in and is unsigned.
5. Note by M.F. Pleasant, Chief Clerk, Attorney General's Office, Washington, D.C., enclosing the "pardon," and expressing "the hope that it may be of service..."
6. Note by Margaret B. Anderson, daughter of General Anderson, stating: "Pardon of General Anderson - never signed by him."
7. Envelope in which the pardon was mailed to Anderson, "care of Mrs. Margaret L. Bybee, Memphis, Tennessee."
8. Letter by Patton Anderson, Maj. Gen., Head Quarters, Anderson's Div., near Hillsboro, N.C., April 14, 1865, to Lt. Gen. N.B. Forrest, recommending Lt. J.B. Downing for a commission as commander.
9. Envelope addressed to Lt. Gen. N.B. Forrest, Commanding in... in which the above letter was transmitted.
10. Letter by Maj. Gen. Anderson, Missionary Ridge near Chattanooga, Tenn., Oct. 5, 1863, to his wife. Addressed "Dear Et.," Care of H. Leroy Esq., Marietta, Georgia.
11. Envelope addressed to Mrs. Patton Anderson, Care of H. Lerot Esq., Marietta, Georgia. In left hand corner at bottom: "Favor of Dr. DuBoise."

Special Collections also has an eleven-page sketch of Gen. J. Patton Anderson's life (1822-1872) written by Anderson while at home recuperating from a wound he received during the War in 1864.

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