The Adobe Flash Player is required to view this multimedia interactive. Get it here.

Father of Moraine man, 92, served as young spy in Civil War

The Union soldier was born, raised in the heart of the South

Thomas Taylor Bradford and his second wife, Eliza, were the parents of Delbert Bradford. Thomas served in the Union Army's 8th Regiment of the Tennessee Mounted Infantry even though he was born and raised in Confederate territory.

credit: Bradford family Thomas Taylor Bradford and his second wife, Eliza, were the parents of Delbert Bradford. Thomas served in the Union Army's 8th Regiment of the Tennessee Mounted Infantry even though he was born and raised in Confederate territory.

ENLARGE PHOTO

New pool at 'The Heights' opens
5/27/12
Huber Heights suing consultant for more than $50,000
5/26/12
4 arrested for OVI at Kettering checkpoint
5/26/12
Man found dead at bar; police seek suspect
5/26/12
Turner adopts role for Romney campaign
5/26/12
> More headlines

By William G. Schmidt, Contributing Writer 10:53 AM Thursday, December 10, 2009

MORAINE — You have to scratch your head a few times and work the numbers, but then you realize that Delbert Bradford is, indeed, the son of a Civil War veteran.

Call him a living legacy because not many children of Civil War veterans remain.

Delbert’s father, Thomas Taylor Bradford, was born in 1846 by some accounts, managing to live a long life, dying in 1938. Thomas had two children by his first wife, Martha, and six more by his second wife, Eliza.

Delbert, born in 1917, was the last of that second batch and he’s the lone survivor. Thomas, the stories go, was very young when he followed his brother, Jack, into the Civil War. Bradford, who lived in Putnam County, Tenn., joined the 8th Tennessee Mounted Infantry Regiment.

Why a Union regiment in the heart of the South? Delbert thinks it may have been due to his father’s volunteering.

While his service time was short —from January to August of 1865 — he managed to serve as a spy because of his young age. He was said to have saved his regiment from capture one time.

Delbert was just 21 when his father died. But Delbert remembers his father telling him about being directed to pick up apples from a farm and the lady there telling him that “the Confederates are right over the hill.”

Delbert said his father actually talked little about the war. “I wish I had asked him more questions,” Delbert said, “but I didn’t.”

Delbert served in the military, too, during World War II, as a medic in North Africa and Italy.

He was employed by NCR and built his own home in Moraine. His son, Randy, who also lives in Moraine, said his father built the house a little at a time when he could afford the lumber.

Delbert and his wife, Mary, have been married 59 years. They also had a daughter, Janie, who is no longer living.

Share this article