William Henry Woodward was born around 1843 in York County, Maine, to George W. Woodward and Tamara Dennison. His father was a farmer who owned $1,500 of real estate and $328 of personal property in 1860. Woodward grew up and attended school in York, and by 1860, he was working as a farm laborer. He enlisted in the Union army on January 4, 1864, and mustered in as a private in Company K of the 1st Maine Cavalry later that day. Woodward was wounded and captured in March 1864, but he was exchanged soon afterward. In May 1864, he informed his family that he did not “have much use of my left hand and arm.” He rejoined his regiment by July 1864, but he noted that the “Doctor excu[s]ed me from all Duty…and I dont think I shall have much more to do for Uncle Sam.” He mustered out on June 20, 1865.
Woodward returned to York after the war. He applied for a federal pension in July 1865 and secured one soon afterward. He married Mary Elizabeth Gowen around 1866, and they had at least six children: Caroline, born around 1867; Julia, born around 1869; George, born around 1871; Annie, born around 1873; John, born around 1875; and Laura, born around 1878. The family lived in York, and Woodward worked as a farmer and saw mill worker. In 1870, he owned $3,000 of real estate and $500 of personal property. He died of “Paralysis” in York on May 11, 1890.