Radford commanded the Ironclad Division in the attacks on Fort Fisher (December 1864/January 1865) to assert Union control of Cape Fear.

Then they departed in that spring for Lewis County, Kentucky to live on their 1,000-acre farm between Vanceburg and Concord on the bank of the Ohio River, where William and his two siblings were born.

William Clark's diaries mention Radford accompanying him in 1824 from Saint Louis to Washington, D.C. Before returning home, they diverted to New York City to observe the hero's welcome for Marquis de Lafayette.

An excursion in early January 1829 to visit stepbrother Meriwether Lewis Clark at West Point was abandoned due to ice floes on the Hudson River.

[2]: 17–27  While the ship normally carried only 8 to 10 midshipmen, President Adams appointed a total of 24, to represent each state, per the request of Lafayette for his return to France.

Upon the departure of Brandywine February 25, 1826, Radford transferred to Constitution to remain in the Mediterranean monitoring the Greek War of Independence and coup against the Janissaries.

[2]: 36–53 Radford returned to Saint Louis and received orders August 10, 1829, to join Erie at Norfolk Naval Shipyard for deployment to the West Indies Squadron commanded by Commodore Charles Ridgely.

Still afflicted in January 1836, he was in New Orleans, Louisiana, and, during October 1836, was recuperating at the home of his uncle William Radford II in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Relieved of recruitment detail in August 1843, he was ordered on board the inaugural cruise of Savannah where she became the flagship of the Pacific Squadron for Commodore Alexander Dallas.

[2]: 120–121 Reaching Honolulu October 4, 1845, orders were received that once Mexico declared war, the squadron should "blockade or occupy such ports as force might permit".

[2]: 122–129 [10]: 1–4 Warren left Mazatlán with dispatches from Washington, D.C. and arrived at Monterey on August 17, 1846, to find Commodore Robert Stockton in charge of the Pacific Squadron.

Ordered back to resume the blockade of Mazatlán, Warren arrived early morning of September 7 to find the Mexican warship Malek Adhel in the harbor.

Radford commanded the boarding party which inserted during the siesta hour and securely fastened the hatches while the entire crew was below deck.

[2]: 130–135 Despite the ease of the Conquest of California for the Navy, hostilities continued on land until a flag of truce was delivered by residents of Los Angeles on January 10, 1847.

A leave was approved March 2, 1848, which indicated Radford intended to revisit Mexico with General Kearny but his letter of July 3, 1848, was sent from New York requesting a three-month extension.

To overcome this quandary, a Naval Retiring Board was formed which upset the older officers but cheered younger members of the service.

However, after the onset of the Civil War, both Radford and Stribling were relieved of their commands and ordered to return Washington, D.C. despite their declarations of allegiance to the Union.

Commodore Samuel Du Pont in Washington, D.C. explained to Radford's wife Mary that, with the number of defections from both the Army and Navy, all officers from slave states must be evaluated for risk.

He was aboard Roanoke as a member of a Naval Board of Inquiry March 8, 1862, when his ship was sunk by the Confederate ram Virginia during the Battle of Hampton Roads.

He received, June 10, 1862, temporary duty as Executive Officer of Brooklyn Navy Yard under command of Rear Admiral Hiram Paulding.

Rear Admiral David Porter assembled a fleet to attack Fort Fisher for the control of Cape Fear River.

He placed Radford in command of the Ironclad Division, consisting of flagship USS New Ironsides, Dictator, Monadnock, Canonicus, Saugus and Mahopac during attacks on Fort Fisher in December 1864 and in January 1865.

[2]: 270–291 New Ironsides sailed January 24, 1865, up the James River to Bermuda Hundred to protect the stores of the Army of the Potomac from a threatened raid by Confederate rams during the siege of Petersburg.

With the end of war near, Dumbarton departed from the James River March 22, 1865, and officers and crew were detached upon arrival at the Washington Navy Yard.

While moored for two days, Radford discovered stepbrother Meriwether Clark was a prisoner of war and brought him aboard Phlox to await release.

After seventeen days of stormy passage, Radford arrived to take charge of the European Squadron and found all attached vessels, Ticonderoga, Richmond, Swatara, Frolic and Guard, lying at anchor in the harbor waiting for his orders.

[2]: 372 Radford married Mary "Minnie" Elizabeth Lovell [(1829-04-12)April 12, 1829 – October 27, 1903(1903-10-27) (aged 74)] in St. Peter's Church, Morristown, New Jersey November 3, 1848.

On May 13, 1942, during World War II, she launched the USS Radford (DD-446), a Fletcher-class destroyer in the United States Navy named for her grandfather.

He was interred at Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington, D.C.[14] When the Brandywine arrived in France in 1825, Radford purchased a set of dining room chairs which he shipped back to the Clark household in St. Louis, Missouri.