Edwin Alexander Anderson Jr.

When heavy rifle, machine-gun and artillery fire shattered the advance at Veracruz, Captain Edwin Alexander Anderson Jr. did not seek cover. He remained exposed at the head of his sailors, steadying a formation that had suffered casualties and begun to fall back. That fearless leadership on 22 April 1914 earned Anderson the Medal of Honor, but it was only one chapter in a remarkable forty-year United States Navy career that stretched from the Spanish-American War to command of the Asiatic Fleet.

Edwin Alexander Anderson Jr. was born in Wilmington, North Carolina, on 16 July 1860. Appointed to the United States Naval Academy in 1878, he graduated in 1882 and completed the period of sea duty then required before receiving his commission as an ensign. His early assignments carried him aboard warships, survey vessels and gunboats, giving him broad experience in navigation, hydrography, ordnance and command.

Anderson first gained national recognition during the Spanish-American War. On 11 May 1898, while serving aboard USS Marblehead, he commanded one of the boat parties sent to cut Spanish submarine communication cables near Cienfuegos, Cuba. The sailors worked with hacksaws at close range while exposed to intense fire from Spanish troops ashore. Anderson continued directing the operation with calmness and determination until ordered to withdraw. His conduct resulted in advancement in grade for extraordinary heroism and was later reflected in his entitlement to the Spanish Campaign Medal.

After later service in the Philippines, command of several vessels and promotion to captain, Anderson assumed command of the battleship USS New Hampshire. During the United States intervention at Veracruz in April 1914, he went ashore to command the Second Seaman Regiment. On 22 April, Anderson led his sailors across exposed ground near the Mexican Naval Academy when they were suddenly struck by rifle, machine-gun and one-pounder fire. Casualties mounted and part of the regiment began to retreat, but Anderson remained conspicuously at the front. His official Medal of Honor citation declared that his conduct showed him to be “fearless and courageous in battle.”

The Medal of Honor recognized more than personal bravery. Anderson’s refusal to yield under concentrated fire provided an example to the sailors around him at the moment their advance was in danger of collapsing. His calm presence helped restore order during one of the most hazardous phases of the Veracruz operation. The Mexican Service Medal in his ribbon rack records his participation in that campaign, while the Medal of Honor preserves the individual courage he displayed at the head of the regiment.

Anderson’s second major decoration came during World War I. Promoted to rear admiral, he commanded Patrol Squadron One of the Atlantic Fleet, with USS Tallapoosa as his flagship. His responsibilities included organizing and operating the American Patrol Detachment and coordinating air, surface and submarine forces. He also worked with the Cuban government to improve the readiness of Cuban naval vessels. For this work, Anderson received the Navy Distinguished Service Medal for “exceptionally meritorious service” in a position of great responsibility.

His complete honours also reflected the campaigns through which his naval career had passed. In addition to the Medal of Honor and Navy Distinguished Service Medal, Anderson was entitled to the Spanish Campaign Medal, Philippine Campaign Medal, Mexican Service Medal and World War I Victory Medal with the Patrol clasp. The campaign medals did not carry personal narrative citations. They recognized his qualifying operational service, while the Patrol clasp recorded the nature of his First World War assignment.

Anderson continued to hold major commands after the war. He served as commandant of the Sixth Naval District and, in 1922, became Commander in Chief of the Asiatic Fleet with the temporary rank of admiral. When a devastating earthquake struck Japan in September 1923, he moved quickly to send American ships and assistance toward Tokyo and Yokohama. He returned to the United States later that year and retired in March 1924 after forty years of naval service.

Admiral Edwin Alexander Anderson Jr. died on 23 September 1933 and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. USS Anderson was later named in his honour, preserving the name of a naval officer whose career combined courage under direct fire, operational command and strategic leadership. From the cable-cutting boats at Cienfuegos to the exposed advance at Veracruz and the patrol forces of World War I, Anderson repeatedly accepted responsibility when the danger was greatest. His Medal of Honor citation captured the essential quality of his service: when others faltered under fire, he remained at the front.