Sanford Bradbury

His courage in the Arizona canyon earned the highest honour.

Sanford Bradbury was born at Newton in Sussex County, New Jersey, in 1840. His Arlington gravestone also records earlier service as a second lieutenant in New York cavalry during the Civil War. He subsequently served in the regular United States Army, reaching first sergeant in Company L of the 8th Cavalry. His service placed him in the Arizona Territory during the army's campaigns against Indigenous peoples resisting the expansion of military and settler control.

On 3 July 1869 he took part in an engagement at Hell Canyon, Arizona. The action brought recognition to several members of the 8th Cavalry, including enlisted leaders and ordinary troopers. Bradbury's role as a company first sergeant made him one of the senior enlisted men serving with his unit during the fighting.

The surviving Medal of Honor citation gives its reason in the brief words "Conspicuous gallantry in action" (https://www.cmohs.org/recipients/sanford-bradbury). The award record identifies Company L, the place and date, and the rank he held. His Medal of Honor was issued on 3 March 1870, while he was still alive, in recognition of that Arizona service.

Bradbury survived the frontier fighting and lived for more than forty years after receiving the decoration. He died on 7 December 1911 at Arlington, Virginia. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Section 3, where his grave preserves his name and the recognition of his military service. The cemetery's commemorative record and the Army's award rolls connect the New Jersey-born cavalryman with the action at Hell Canyon.