Charles Anderson was born in New York and as a young man volunteered for the 1st NY Engineers in the Civil War. He served in Company I and worked on many of the bridges, earthworks and cannon mounts captured on film by Matthew Brady. He helped build the Swamp Angel, a mount for a Parrott Rifle, in a swamp just outside of Charleston, SC. The Swamp Angel was designed to rain down Greek Fire to burn the city to the ground and while it was not successful, it was the first time in American Military history that a civilian population, rather than a military target, was targeted for the purpose of creating terror and hardship in non-combatants. After the war, he returned to New York to marry the sister of his friend Henry Ketcham, Clarissa Jane on January 1, 1866. He worked as a grocery clerk and a laborer, later securing work as a brakeman and packet supervisor on the D&H Canal. His only son George Horton Anderson died tragically before his tenth birthday after being hit by a train near their home. Charles was a member of the Odd Fellows in Port Jervis and much respected in the community. He died of an apparent heart attack in his 38th year, leaving behind a young widow and three surviving daughters. He was buried in the family plot next to his beloved son.
Charles Anderson was born in New York and as a young man volunteered for the 1st NY Engineers in the Civil War. He served in Company I and worked on many of the bridges, earthworks and cannon mounts captured on film by Matthew Brady. He helped build the Swamp Angel, a mount for a Parrott Rifle, in a swamp just outside of Charleston, SC. The Swamp Angel was designed to rain down Greek Fire to burn the city to the ground and while it was not successful, it was the first time in American Military history that a civilian population, rather than a military target, was targeted for the purpose of creating terror and hardship in non-combatants. After the war, he returned to New York to marry the sister of his friend Henry Ketcham, Clarissa Jane on January 1, 1866. He worked as a grocery clerk and a laborer, later securing work as a brakeman and packet supervisor on the D&H Canal. His only son George Horton Anderson died tragically before his tenth birthday after being hit by a train near their home. Charles was a member of the Odd Fellows in Port Jervis and much respected in the community. He died of an apparent heart attack in his 38th year, leaving behind a young widow and three surviving daughters. He was buried in the family plot next to his beloved son.
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