John W. Sanders was born on July 17, 1830, in Illinois. The family eventually moved to Martin County, Indiana. By 1850, he was working as a farmer there, and he owned $100 of real estate. He married Ritty Ann Selsor in the early 1850s, and they had at least six children: Minerva, born around 1852; Emily, born around 1854; Nancy, born around 1856; Jacob, born around 1859; Laura, born around 1866; and Eliza, born around 1868. The family lived in Indiana until the late 1850s, when they moved to Washington, Missouri. Sanders worked as a farmer, and by 1860, he owned $400 of real estate and $175 of personal property. He supported Abraham Lincoln in the election of 1860.
Sanders enlisted in the Union army on September 1, 1861, and he mustered in as a private in Company C of the 23rd Missouri Infantry later that day. The regiment took part in the Battle of Shiloh, the Atlanta campaign, and the Carolinas campaign. He remained devoted to the Union, praying in November 1863 that "the ware may speadely come to a close and the old flag may wave over the hole face of the land." If he died, he added, "I die a soaldier for my God and my Country and if I fall on the battel field or elce wheare I fall in the defence of our flag of our Country."
In September 1864, as he prepared to muster out, he contemplated remaining in the Union army. As he explained to his wife, "I can get one thousan dollars for to take a mans place for one year." He added, however, that "I will come home first and stay with you a while first and kill som of them Copper heds." He supported Lincoln in the election of 1864, writing that "Old Abe is my man and non but rebels will vote for McClellan." He mustered out on October 13, 1864.
He returned to Washington, Missouri, after the war and resumed his work as a farmer. By 1870, he owned $1,500 of real estate and $300 of personal property. He applied for a federal pension in April 1880 and eventually secured one. His wife died sometime after 1880, and he married a woman named Amanda. He died on April 28, 1893.