Christopher Columbus Andrews

Christopher Columbus Andrews
Christopher Columbus Andrews
Born	(1829-10-27)October 27, 1829 Hillsborough, New Hampshire
Died	September 21, 1922(1922-09-21) (aged 92) Saint Paul, Minnesota
Place of burial	Oakland Cemetery, Saint Paul, Minnesota
Allegiance	United States of America Union
Service/branch	United States Army Union Army
Years of service	1861–1866
Rank	Brigadier General Brevet Major General
Commands held	3rd Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment
Battles/wars	American Civil War
Other work	Ambassador to Sweden and Norway

Christopher Columbus Andrews (October 27, 1829 – September 21, 1922) was an American soldier, diplomat, newspaperman, author, and forester.

Andrews was born in Hillsborough, New Hampshire, the son of a rural farmer. He attended school during the winter months until 1843, when he travelled to Boston. He attended the Francestown Academy, completed his education, and studied law in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1848. He passed his bar examination two years later and established a law practice in Newton, Massachusetts, where he served as a member of the city school board in 1851–1852.

He briefly relocated to Boston in 1853, but left the following year for the West, settling in Kansas. He went to Washington, D.C., to help promote Kansas's interest to the United States Congress, and spent two years working as a law clerk in the United States Treasury Department. He then moved to St. Cloud, Minnesota, in 1856, and three years later, was elected to the Minnesota State Senate. During the presidential election of 1860, he actively supported the Northern Democrat Stephen A. Douglas, and was nominated as a presidential elector. Despite his support for Douglas, in 1861, he was instrumental in establishing a newspaper, the Minnesota Union, supporting the policies of President Abraham Lincoln, and served as editor before enlisting in the Union Army.

During the Civil War, Andrews rose to the rank of brigadier general and at its close was brevetted as a major general. He originally enlisted as a private, but was commissioned captain in the 3rd Minnesota Infantry. Captured by Confederates in Tennessee in July 1862, he was held as a prisoner of war until October, when he was exchanged. He returned to his regiment as lieutenant colonel and participated in the Vicksburg Campaign.