William Halford was a sailor, and later an officer, in the United States Navy. He also received the Medal of Honor.
Coxswain William Halford, circa 1870
The first USS Saginaw was a sidewheel sloop-of-war in the United States Navy during the American Civil War. The ship was in operation throughout the 1860s, but in 1870 wrecked on what is now known as Kure Atoll, a Pacific island. The event produced several books and one of the surviving boats from the ship is in a museum.
USS Saginaw, probably at Mare Island Navy Yard in 1862.
The Captain's depiction of Saginaw's fate
Cover of a book based on the ship's voyage, The Last Cruise of the Saginaw