General Adna Anderson (July 25, 1827 – May 15, 1889) was

chief engineer A chief engineer, commonly referred to as "ChEng" or "Chief", is the most senior engine officer of an engine department on a ship, typically a merchant ship, and holds overall leadership and the responsibility of that department..Chief engineer's ...

of the

Northern Pacific Railroad The Northern Pacific Railway was a transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest. It was approved by 38th United States Congress, Congress in 1864 and given ...

from 1880 to 1888. He first worked in railways in 1847, and worked his way up through various railways, leading to being an assistant engineer for the Army of the Potomac during the

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. Near the end of the war, he was placed in charge of all government railways. He returned to private industry in 1867, eventually leading to employment with Northern Pacific Railroad in 1881. There, he led construction of railways connecting

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with both

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and

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. He was vice president of the company from 1886 until leaving in 1888. After leaving Northern Pacific, he worked in an office in New York City for another year, where he shot himself on May 14, 1889. He died the next day.

Early career

Anderson was born in

Ridgeway, New York Ridgeway is a town in Orleans County, New York, United States. The population was 6,886 at the 2000 census. The name of the town is derived from "Ridge Road," an important highway in the 19th century. The Town of Ridgeway is on the western border ...

on July 25, 1827. Anderson began his railway career in 1847, as chainman on the

New York and New Haven Railroad The New York and New Haven Railroad (NY&NH) was a railroad connecting New York City to New Haven, Connecticut, along the shore of Long Island Sound. It opened in 1849, and in 1872 it merged with the Hartford & New Haven Railroad to form the New ...

. From October 1847 to November 1848, he was assistant engineer of the

Connecticut River Railroad The Connecticut River Railroad was a railroad located along the Connecticut River in western Massachusetts, formed in 1845 from the merger of two unfinished railroads. Its main line from Springfield, Massachusetts, Springfield to Northfield, Massac ...

; from November 1848 to September 1848 assistant engineer on the Mobile and Ohio; from that date to March 1850 assistant engineer on the

Ashuelot Railroad The Boston and Maine Railroad was a U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. Originally chartered in 1835, it became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983 (most of which was purchased by CSX in 2022). At the end of 1970, B ...

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. Afterward he was successively resident engineer of the Michigan Southern and Northern Indiana; locating engineer of the Mobile and Ohio; chief engineer on the Tennessee and Alabama; chief engineer and superintendent of the Edgefield and Kentucky; and for a short time chief engineer of the Henderson and Nashville. When the Edgefield and Kentucky failed, General Anderson was appointed receiver. 1863 USMRR Rebuilding Potomac creek bridge w Smeed

1863 USMRR Rebuilding Potomac creek bridge w Smeed

When the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

broke out General Anderson offered his services to the

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government, and was made assistant engineer and chief of the Construction Corps of the

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confedera ...

in Virginia. In the following year he was made general superintendent of Government Railroads of the

Military Division of the Mississippi The Military Division of the Mississippi was an administrative division of the United States Army during the American Civil War that controlled all military operations in the Western Theater from 1863 until the end of the war. History The Divisio ...

. From November 1864 to July 1866 he was chief superintendent and engineer of all the military railroads. From February to May 1867, he was chief engineer of the Illinois and St. Louis Bridge; afterwards general superintendent of the

Kansas Pacific Railway The Kansas Pacific Railway (KP) was a historic railroad company that operated in the western United States in the late 19th century. It was a federally chartered railroad, backed with government land grants. At a time when the first transcontine ...

; then vice-president and general manager of the Toledo, Wabash and Western. General Anderson was made president of the LaFayette, Muncie and Bloomington Railroad in 1873; he was appointed receiver of the Chicago, Danville and Vincennes in May 1875; in February 1880 he was made chief engineer of the

Northern Pacific career

In the latter part of 1881 General Anderson took a long and fatiguing journey over the proposed line of the Northern Pacific, making a personal inspection of the proposed route across the backbone of the continent and through what was then the western wilds. From the observations made on this long journey from

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Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, General Anderson became satisfied that the general route laid down by the late

William Milnor Roberts William Milnor Roberts (February 12, 1810 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – July 14, 1881 in Soledad, Brazil)An Obituary Notice of William Milnor Roberts, Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, Vol. 20, No. 111 (Jan. - Jun., 1882) ...

(a former president of the

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), as the line of the Northern Pacific, was in the main correct, at least so far as the line between the Missouri River and

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...

was concerned, and on this line, substantially, he went on and completed the road, witnessing the driving of the last spike September 8, 1883. The main line having been completed from

Wallula Wallula () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Walla Walla County, Washington, United States. The population was 179 at the 2010 census. History The Lewis and Clark Expedition reached this area April 27, 1806, on their return journey from the ...

where junction was formed with the

Oregon Railway and Navigation Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

Company’s line, thus making a through line to Portland, the company turned its attention to its Cascade Division, intended to connect its line at some point near the mouth of the

Snake River The Snake River is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest region in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, in turn, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. The Snake ...

, with Tacoma on

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. Surveys for this division had been in progress much of the time since March, 1880, and much had been done even previous to that date, at intervals, in the way of reconnaissance and preliminary work. The company desired to build on the best attainable line, but to find this line, with conditions then existing, was a work of great difficulty, requiring time, labor and expense. General Anderson took great interest in all this work, but did not express any final judgment until the autumn of 1883, after all the information was available, when he reported that the line ought to be built through

Stampede Pass Stampede Pass (elevation ) is a mountain pass in the northwest United States, through the Cascade Range in Washington. Southeast of Seattle and east of Tacoma, its importance to transportation lies almost entirely with railroading, as no paved r ...

, believing it to be the route that could be operated at least expense and that it would best protect the company from the encroachments of rival enterprises, which judgment has been fully confirmed by the events of the past two years. In October, 1886, General Anderson was elected second vice-president of the Northern Pacific, which position, together with that of chief engineer of this road, he held up to January, 1888.

Personal life and death

General Anderson married, in 1856, Juliet C. Van Wyck, with whom he had six children. The eldest daughter, Sallie, married

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

Lieutenant John C. Fremont, Jr., a son of General John C. Fremont; the oldest son, Philip Van Wyck Anderson, was a civil engineer on the

. In May 1889 General Anderson opened an office in

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, at 155 Broadway, where he was engaged in organizing the Gordon Fire Alarm Company and the Steel Car Company. About a year before his death he contracted what is known as mountain fever while on one of his western trips, from which he never entirely recovered. On the night of May 14, 1889, Anderson shot himself with a revolver in his room at the Lafayette Hotel in

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. Anderson had checked into the hotel two days earlier, his only baggage being a gripsack, or small suitcase. According to Virgil Gay Bogue, in his 2009 book, ''Proceedings of the American Society of Civil Engineers'', General Anderson was a quiet and somewhat taciturn man, of great integrity and clear, impartial judgment. Virgil Gay Bogue, L. L. Buck, W. H. Whiton. ''Proceedings of the American Society of Civil Engineers'', 2009. University of Michigan Library. n.d.

Early career

Northern Pacific career

Personal life and death

References

Further reading