Charles W. Sandford was born in
Newark, New Jersey, to William B. Sandford, a farmer and veteran of the
American Revolutionary War, on May 5, 1796. He pursued a career in law, studying under
Ogden Hoffman, and enlisted as a private in the New York State Artillery. Assigned to the
Third Regiment, he remained with the unit as it became the
Eighth Regiment popularly known as the "Washington Grays". Rising up the ranks as a
non-commissioned officer, he commanded Company F and was subsequently promoted to lieutenant colonel and to full colonel. In 1834, he was elected brigadier general of the Sixth Brigade Artillery. On May 10, 1839, Sandford was commissioned major general of the First Division and held command for nearly three decades. Although having a fine service record, Sandford kept an informal atmosphere and sometimes lax discipline within his command. Units were also far below regimental quotas. Brigadier generals were late reporting for duty and he himself was very late organizing division formations on occasion. This often resulted in delays such as
military parades being three or four hours overdue. These officers were generally not held accountable for their negligence and
courts-martial were rarely held. That same year, he was asked by NYPD Police Commissioner
Simeon Draper for his assistance during the Dead Rabbits Riot. He sent the Eight and Seventy-First Regiments, both at half strength but supported by two 75-man police detachments, which marched down
White and
Worth Streets and confronted the gang members driving them back to the
Five Points. This action ended the rioting, but police and soldiers continued to patrol the district that night and all the next day. His command seriously weakened due to manpower shortages during the
American Civil War, Sandford served on active duty with the
Union Army from April 19 to July 25, 1861. In May 1861, he was ordered by Brigadier General
Joseph K. Mansfield to oversee the capture of
Alexandria, Virginia, as the vast majority the Union troops were from New York. He also served under Major General
Robert Patterson for three months and took part in the
Battle of Hoke's Run. Returning to New York, he was present during the
New York Draft Riots in 1863 and managed to organize a small force of scattered militia regiments, military troops and home guards from his headquarters at the State Arsenal at
Seventh Avenue and
Thirty-Fifth Street. He was one of the senior officers who directed police and military during the riots. When receiving reports of the battle between police and rioters at the Union Steam Works, with hundreds of rioters now armed with muskets, swords and pistols, he sent Colonel
H.J. O'Brien and 150 men to help police. Lieutenant Eagleson, in command of two 6-pound cannons and 25 artillerymen, accompanied O'Brien to the battle. After the war, Sandford was relieved of his command by Governor
Reuben Fenton who appointed
Alexander Shaler to succeed him and officially took command on January 23, 1867. Sandford, who had been involved in the theater as early as 1847, ran the
Lafayette Theatre on
Sullivan Street. His success encouraged him to open a second theater in The
Bowery,
The Mount Pitt Theatre and Circus, but both buildings burned down within the same week ending his career in the theater. He also built a number of buildings on
Canal Street although he lost these to fire as well. Sandford would often experience success and disaster in his business dealings, acquiring and then losing small fortunes two or three times, however he was able to provide his family with a comfortable competency his later years. He and his wife often entertained at their West Twenty-Second Street residence whose social functions were often attended by prominent citizens of the city. For over fifty years, he was a leading member in the old
St. Paul's Episcopal Church in
Broadway. He was also an accomplished lawyer and the one-time partner of John Bristed, son of author
Charles Astor Bristed. Sandford also served as counsel for the
Harlem Railroad Company for twenty years and later represented the company against inventor
Ross Winans. At the time of his death, he was vice president of the
New York City Bar Association. In late-July 1878, Sandford left the city for his annual summer vacation to
Avon Springs in
Livingston County, New York. A day after his arrival however, he died suddenly on the morning of July 25, 1878. A telegram was sent announcing his passing, occurring shortly after his 82nd birthday, but the circumstances of his death were unknown to his family. His body was brought back to the city by one of his daughters and buried shortly afterwards. ==References==