George R. Bradshaw was born on May 15, 1841, in New Milford, Illinois, to Robert E. Bradshaw and Cornelia Rogers. His father was a farmer who owned $1,500 of real estate in 1850. His mother died around 1847. Bradshaw grew up and attended school in Byron, Illinois, and by 1860, he was probably working as a farmer in Rockford, Illinois. He enlisted in the Union army on August 2, 1862, and mustered in as a sergeant in Company F of the 74^th Illinois Infantry on September 4. According to his enlistment reocrds, he was 5 feet, 8 inches tall, with dark hair and gray eyes. His regiment took part in the Battle of Perryville, the Battle of Stones River, the siege of Chattanooga, the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, the Battle of Jonesboro, the Battle of Franklin, and the Battle of Nashville. Bradshaw was promoted to 2^nd lieutenant on January 19, 1863, and eventually earned a promotion to captain. He mustered out in Nashville, Tennessee, on June 10, 1865. Bradshaw returned to Illinois after the war, and he died there on September 10, 1871.

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