Christopher Columbus Andrews was born in Hillsborough, N.H., attended Harvard Law School, and practiced law in Boston and Kansas. A prolific writer, he wrote a series of articles for the Boston Post about his travels through Minnesota and Dakota Territories in 1856. He settled in St. Cloud in 1857.
A Democrat, Andrews served in the Minnesota Senate from 1859 until 1860, when he campaigned for presidential candidate Stephen A. Douglas. After the Civil War began, however, he and 20 young men from St. Cloud reported for duty at Fort Snelling. He was elected captain of his company, part of the Third Minnesota Veteran Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Observers praised the Third for their professional appearance, skill and cleanliness, frequently mistaking them for Regular Army troops.
Captain Andrews argued strongly against the surrender of the regiment at Murfreesboro, Tenn., and was a prisoner of war for about three months, until his exchange in October 1862. He rejoined his regiment and took command in July 1863, following service at the Siege of Vicksburg. The model actions of Andrews and the Third during the occupation of Little Rock resulted in an increase in pro-Union sentiment. Arkansas Governor Isaac Murphy wrote, “Such men are an honor to the government and the cause they serve. Their state may be justly proud of them[.]”
After the war, Andrews (by now a general) returned to St. Cloud to practice law. He married Mary F. Baxter of Boston in 1868. In 1869, President Ulysses S. Grant nominated him to be U.S. Minister Resident in Denmark, but he was soon reassigned to Stockholm, Sweden. As the top American diplomat in Sweden and Norway, Andrews was a keen observer of sustainable forestry practices there, so unlike the “slash and burn” logging he had observed in the United States. His reports to the secretary of state on the practice and teaching of forestry in Sweden were published. King Oscar II of Sweden–Norway confided to former President Grant in 1878 that “General Andrews had been the most useful representative the United States had ever sent there.”
Andrews and his family returned to Minnesota in 1877. He spoke in support of presidential candidate James Garfield at the 1880 Republican National Convention, then became the U.S. Consul in Rio De Janeiro, in 1882. While serving the needs of U.S. citizens and businesses there, he wrote a book about his experiences in and observations of Brazil.
Andrews delivered a paper at the American Forestry Association meeting in August 1894 entitled “The Prevention of Forest Fires.” Nine days later, the tragic Hinckley Fire broke out and claimed 418 lives. In response, Minnesota passed its first forestry law in 1895, creating positions for town fire-wardens and a chief fire-warden with scientific investigative duties. Andrews was appointed the state’s first fire-warden chief. In 1905 the title of the position changed from chief to forest commissioner; Andrews retired as commissioner in 1911.
Andrews initiated the movement to create national forests in northern Minnesota. In 1902 he recommended that 225,000 acres be set aside at Cass Lake, and a half million acres preserved in Lake and Cook Counties. The effort prevailed, and on Feb. 13, 1909, President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed the creation of the Superior National Forest with 644,114 acres.
Following his retirement as Forestry commissioner, Andrews served on Minnesota commissions to place memorials at significant Civil War sites. His work helped add memorial sculptures to important battlefields and create national cemeteries. Conservation, however, remained a personal priority. He wrote, “The last years of my life were spent in the cause of forestry and in that cause, I believe, the best work of my life was done. I always loved trees.”
Andrews died in St. Paul on Sept. 21, 1922, and was buried in Oakland Cemetery. General C. C. Andrews State Forest in Pine County was established to honor his legacy in 1943.
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