After working as a farmer in New York Anderson joined the military to fight in the Civil War and volunteered with a group of other soldiers to eliminate a palisade that was blocking the advance of his unit.

[1] Anderson has the unusual, but not unique, distinction of being an African American soldier who served in a white Civil War regiment.

He and twelve other men answered a call for volunteers to advance ahead of the main attack and cut down the palisade which blocked their path.

Three men, Alaric B. Chapin, George Merrill, and Dewitt C. Hotchkiss, were found to be still alive and were, along with Anderson, again recommended for the medal.

[1] Anderson, Merrill, and Chapin were each issued the Medal of Honor on December 28, 1914; Hotchkiss' recommendation was overlooked a second time, and he was never decorated.