Anderson Troop

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Anderson Troop was an independent Union cavalry company in the Civil War. It was organized in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in late 1861 and mustered in on November 30, 1861, under Captain William Jackson Palmer. The unit was meant for headquarters escort duty with Gen. Robert Anderson in Kentucky but served as elite scouts for the Army of the Ohio and Cumberland. It was often called “Anderson Troop, Pennsylvania Cavalry” and was sometimes identified as the 15th Pennsylvania Cavalry, though it never officially joined that regiment.

In July 1862, Palmer, 1st Lt. William Spencer, and 12 men began raising three additional companies to form a battalion called the 1st Anderson Cavalry, with Anderson Troop as Company A. That effort grew into a full regiment, the 15th Pennsylvania Volunteer Cavalry. Palmer left to command the 15th; Spencer became its lieutenant colonel. The Anderson Troop chose to stay independent under 2nd Lt. Thomas Maple. Many of its officers and men joined the 15th, and the remaining 53 soldiers were offered a chance to muster out, which they did on March 24, 1863. Maple continued in service as a major and assistant army quartermaster.

Service highlights:
- December 1861–February 1862: moved to Louisville, Kentucky, then to Nashville with the Army of the Ohio; March to Savannah, Tennessee to reinforce the Army of the Tennessee.
- April 1862: fought at Shiloh; then the siege of Corinth, Mississippi; pursued to Booneville.
- Summer–Fall 1862: Buell’s campaign in northern Alabama and middle Tennessee; moved in pursuit of Bragg to Kentucky, including the Battle of Perryville on October 8.
- Late 1862–early 1863: duties around Nashville and Murfreesboro; battles around Stones River (December 30–31, 1862 and January 1–3, 1863); Lavergne and Lytle’s Creek movements.
- March 24, 1863: remaining 53 men muster out.

Casualties: 6 men died during service — 1 officer was killed, 5 enlisted men died of disease.