Private John Winston Leftridge, A Soldier's Story
Private John Winston Leftridge, A Soldier's Story
John Winston Leftridge was born on October 18, 1837, in Bedford County, Virginia. Much about his early life remains unknown, a common reality for African Americans born before the Civil War. Historical evidence suggests that Leftridge may have been born enslaved and later escaped to Ironton, Ohio, sometime in his late teens or early twenties, a journey that would have required extraordinary courage, determination, and risk.
When the American Civil War erupted, Leftridge answered the call to serve the United States. In 1862, he enlisted in the Union Army and was assigned to Company F of the 100th United States Colored Infantry. Like many regiments composed of formerly enslaved or free Black men, the 100th U.S. Colored Infantry was tasked with demanding and often dangerous duties that were essential to Union success but seldom celebrated.
Leftridge and his fellow soldiers were responsible for guarding vital rail lines across northern Tennessee and Kentucky, protecting the logistical lifelines that sustained Union operations in the western theater. The regiment also took part in the Battle of Nashville, a decisive Union victory late in the war that helped end Confederate resistance in the region. For soldiers like Leftridge, military service represented both a fight for the nation’s survival and a deeply personal struggle for freedom, dignity, and recognition.
Private Leftridge was mustered out of service in December 1865, after the war’s conclusion. He returned to Ironton, Ohio, where he worked as a laborer for decades, building a quiet postwar life shaped by endurance rather than acclaim. Like many veterans, particularly those of the U.S. Colored Troops, he carried the physical and emotional consequences of service long after the fighting ended.
By 1902, the lingering effects of his wartime experience had become severe enough that Leftridge sought care at the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. After his discharge from the facility in 1903, he returned to Virginia, coming full circle to the state of his birth under circumstances vastly changed from those of his youth.
John Winston Leftridge died on August 20, 1918, and is buried in Old Lick Cemetery in Roanoke, Virginia. His life stands as a testament to perseverance through obscurity, a reminder that countless men helped shape the outcome of the Civil War despite leaving behind only fragments of documentation. Private Leftridge’s service embodies a broader, often overlooked truth: that freedom was not simply declared, but claimed and defended by those willing to risk everything for it.
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About the Author
a.d. elliott is a wanderer, photographer, and storyteller traveling through life
She shares her journeys at Take the Back Roads, explores new reads at Rite of Fancy, and highlights U.S. military biographies at Everyday Patriot.
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