Anderson unsuccessfully contested the election for the new Victorian Legislative Council seat of Eastern Province in 1856. Anderson died in South Yarra, Melbourne, on 18 July 1877. In 1837 Major Anderson was created K.H., and subsequently he received the C.B. in 1844. John Barry described Anderson as a "firm disciplinarian, … [and] a courageous soldier, but limited in outlook and with a well-developed acquisitive sense."