Samuel Read Anderson (February 17, 1804 – January 2, 1883) was an American businessman and military officer in the Mexican-American War.

He commanded a mixed brigade of infantry and cavalry in the Eastern Theater in Virginia until the spring of 1862 when he was forced to resign because of ill health.

[2] On May 9, 1861, Anderson, because of his previous military experience and political connections, received a commission from Tennessee's governor Isham G. Harris as a major general in the state's provisional forces.

His troops were transported to western Virginia where he played a role in the Cheat Mountain campaign while serving under Robert E. Lee.

However, with much of Tennessee in Federal hands, Anderson was forced to establish his headquarters in Selma, Alabama, for the rest of the war.