DOB/DOD: July 20, 1849 (New Milford, CT) – December 14, 1913 (St. Augustine, FL); 64 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Married Jane Louisa Smith (1850-1915) on December 21, 1871.
CHILDREN: Three sons, Lawrence H. (1871-1946), Thomas S. (1875-1930), and LeRoy (1879-1923). Three daughters, Sadie H. Canfield Farris (1880-1913), Annis “Annie” B. (1886-1928), and Louisa E. Canfield Farris (1891-1942). NOTE: When Sadie died in 1913, her husband, Guy W. Farris, then married Sadie’s sister, Louisa, in 1915.
ENLISTMENT: March 15, 1870, in Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania.
DISCHARGE: September 11, 1870, in Camp Bingham, Nebraska.
FAMILY: Born to Lawrence (1825-1910) and Sarah A. Marsh Canfield (1826-1907). Two sisters, Urania Canfield Hill (1850-1934) and Mary Louisa Canfield Phillips (1859-1935).
OTHER: After the service, Heth Canfield became a well-known house builder. He was also President of the St. Augustine [Florida] Improvement Company.
MEDAL OF HONOR CITATION
AWARDED FOR ACTIONS DURING: Indian Campaigns
BRANCH OF SERVICE: Army
UNIT: Company C, 2nd U.S. Cavalry
DATE OF ISSUE AND PRESENTATION: June 22, 1870
AGE ON THE DAY OF THE EVENT: 20
CITATION:
The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Private Heth Canfield, United States Army, for gallantry in action on 15 May 1870, while serving with Company C, 2nd U.S. Cavalry, in action at Little Blue, Nebraska.
WEBMASTER NOTE: The date of action was corrected to May 17, 1870, by the United States Army’s Awards and Decorations Branch in 2012.
On May 17, 1870, Sergeant Patrick Leonard and four men from C Troop were searching the Little Blue River in Nebraska for stray horses when a war party of 50 Indians surrounded the detachment. Racing for cover, Leonard dismounted his men and discovered that Private Thomas Hubbard and two mounts had been wounded. The Indians charged twice, and the troopers repelled them, with one Indian killed and three wounded. Leonard slaughtered the two wounded horses to form a breastwork in time to repulse a third attack in which the cavalrymen killed two more Indians and wounded four others. Within the hour, the Indians retreated. Leonard had to withdraw his patrol on foot because the Indians had killed all the horses during the attack. He then took a settler’s family of two women and a child under his charge. While moving to the next settlement, the Indians did not renew their attack. Leonard safely arrived at C Company’s bivouac at 2300 hours with his entire patrol and the civilians relatively secure. Private Heth Canfield, along with Sergeant Leonard and fellow Privates Michael Himmelsbeck, Thomas Hubbard, and George Thompson, were all cited for “Gallantry in Action” and awarded Medals of Honor for this action.
Honored on the Cumberland County (Pennsylvania) Medal of Honor Memorial, South Hanover Street, Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
Photo courtesy of HMdb.org and Devry Becker Jones.
Buried in Evergreen Cemetery, 541-599 N. Rodriguez Street, Saint Augustine, Florida; Old Section, Division C, Lot 110. Photos from FindAGrave.com.
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