Career
Born in Allegany County, New York, in 1845, Hanford captured the battle flag of the 32nd Battalion Virginia Cavalry of the Confederate States of America at the Battle of Tom"s Brook, Woodstock, Virginia, on 9 October 1864. The Union charge, led by generals Wesley Merritt and George Armstrong Custer, successfully forced the Confederates to retreat 10 miles (16 km) southward of Woodstock.