Henry H. Hill was born around 1837 in South Carolina. He married a woman named Luvenia, and they had at least five children: James, born on January 8, 1859; George, born around 1861; Henry, born on September 31, 1862; Carlous, born on July 21, 1866; and Alice, born on December 24, 1870. They lived in Walterboro, South Carolina, and he worked as a timber cutter. By 1860, he owned $2,500 of real estate and $665 of personal property.
He enlisted in the Confederate army, and he mustered in as a private in Company C of the 5th South Carolina Cavalry. The regiment took part in the Bermuda Hundred campaign and the Overland Campaign. Throughout the war, he wrote loving letters to his wife and children back in South Carolina. He occasionally chafed at military discipline. In May 1863, he prayed that "this war may not last much longer [so] that I may be a white man a gain so that I can go where I please." He drew motivation from his family. In February 1865, he predicted that "all will go home or to the enemy" if Union armies threatened their homes. He added that "if it was not for you and my little ones I would rather die than to live so." He remained in the army until at least February 1865.
He moved to Midway, South Carolina, after the war. He served as a deacon in the local Baptist church for several years. He died of “rheumatic metastisis” in Midway on there on January 8, 1873.