Safford served in every battle that Battery B took part in, from the Battle of New Market, Virginia on 15 May 1864 to the Battle of Cedar Creek, Virginia on 19 October. Captain Henry A. du Pont specifically pointed out the "steadiness and brave conduct" of Safford and other members of Battery B in his report on the Battle of Cedar Creek. Safford helped save five of the battery's six guns captured early in the battle and stuck by his comrades throughout the fight.
After Cedar Creek the battery remained in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley until January, 1865, when it was ordered to Cumberland, Maryland to set up winter camp. Battery B remained at Cumberland until it transferred to Fortress Monroe, Virginia in October, 1865. When the Civil War ended, Safford and other members of the battery remained in the Army. This was not necessarily by choice. The 5th Artillery was part of the U.S. regular army and not a volunteer regiment like most units that fought in the Civil War. Members of the regular army usually had to serve the full term of their enlistments, even if that meant they served past the end of the war.
Image: Drawing, Battle of Cedar Creek (Library of Congress)