RECOLLECTIONS OF A
PENINSULAR VETERAN
Lt. Col. Joseph Anderson, C. B.
INTRODUCTION
THE following pages have been selected fromthe autobiography of my grandfather, thelate Colonel Joseph Anderson, who was born inSutherlandshire, Scotland, on June 1, 1790, anddied on July 18, 1877. It should be stated thatthis narrative was written only for his own family.He had never kept a diary—nor even any notesof his adventures and travels—and only began towrite his reminiscences of the long-past yearswhen he was seventy-four, in the quiet of hisbeautiful home near Melbourne, Australia. Hismemory was perfectly amazing; but if any slightinaccuracies should be discovered, the reader isasked to excuse them, on account of his age.He was a “grand old man” in every sense, andlived in excellent health of mind and body untilhis eighty-eighth year. To the very last he wasalways keenly interested in military matters, andnever failed to attend, in uniform, all the importantvolunteer reviews held in Melbourne,where his upright, soldierly figure attracted universaladmiration. His son, the late ColonelAcland Anderson, C.M.G., was for many yearsthe Colonel-Commandant of the Military Forcesof H.M. Government in Victoria, which appointmenthe held till his death in January, 1882.He was the founder of the Volunteer Organization,as in 1855 he raised a Rifle Corps in Melbourne,which was not only the first in Victoria butprobably the first in Australia.
September, 1913.
CONTENTS
Born in Scotland—At fifteen years old appointed tothe 78th Regiment—First visit to London—Joinregiment at Shorncliffe—Embark for Gibraltar—Putunder arrest—Lieutenant James Mackay
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