William Black Anderson (April 2, 1830 – August 28, 1901) was a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

from Illinois. Anderson was born April 2, 1830, in

Mount Vernon, Illinois Mount Vernon is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 14,600 at the 2020 census. Mount Vernon is the principal city of the Mount Vernon Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all o ...

Stinson Anderson Stinson H. Anderson (21 April 1800 – September 1857) was an American politician. Between 1838 and 1842 he served as Lieutenant Governor of Illinois. Life Stinson Anderson was born in Sumner County, Tennessee, Sumner County in Tennessee. In 1826, ...

who would serve as Lt. Governor of Illinois.Eicher, John H., and

David J. Eicher David John Eicher (born August 7, 1961) is an American editor, writer, and popularizer of astronomy and space. He has been editor-in-chief of ''Astronomy'' magazine since 2002. He is author, coauthor, or editor of 23 books on science and American ...

, ''Civil War High Commands.'' Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. . p. 106.William B. Anderson
''Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois: Biographical, Memorial ..., Volume 1'', Newton Bateman, Paul Selby, Josiah Seymour Currey, 1920, p. 17 He attended

McKendree College McKendree University (McK) is a private university in Lebanon, Illinois. Founded in 1828 as the Lebanon Seminary, it is the oldest college or university in Illinois. McKendree enrolls approximately 2,300 undergraduates and nearly 700 graduate ...

and studied law. Despite being admitted to the bar, he never practiced law, instead pursuing agricultural work as a farmer and surveyor. He was elected Jefferson County Surveyor in 1851. He was elected to the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 re ...

in 1856 and 1858. He also passed the Illinois bar in 1858. During 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 ...

, Anderson entered the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

as a private, eventually rising to the rank of colonel of the 60th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Anderson resigned from the army on December 26, 1864. On January 13, 1866,

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He assumed the presidency as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a Dem ...

nominated Anderson for appointment to the grade of

brevet Brevet may refer to: Military * Brevet (military), higher rank that rewards merit or gallantry, but without higher pay * Brevet d'état-major, a military distinction in France and Belgium awarded to officers passing military staff college * Aircre ...

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

of volunteers to rank from March 13, 1865, and the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

confirmed the appointment on March 12, 1866.Eicher, 2001, p. 739. In 1869, Anderson was a member of the Illinois Constitutional Convention. In 1871, Anderson was elected to the

Illinois Senate The Illinois Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state, State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adop ...

. In 1874, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as an Independent. After one term, he left politics, eventually taking a job with the

Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory ta ...

in 1885–1889 and as a United States pension agent from December 1893 to January 1898. William Black Anderson died in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

on August 28, 1901. He was buried in Oakwood Cemetery, Mount Vernon, Illinois.

References

Notes

* Eicher, John H., and

, ''Civil War High Commands.'' Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, William Black Members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois People from Mount Vernon, Illinois 1830 births 1901 deaths McKendree University alumni Members of the Illinois House of Representatives Union Army colonels Illinois Independents Independent members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century American legislators Military personnel from Illinois 19th-century Illinois politicians