Christopher V. Winfree was born on November 14, 1826, in Lynchburg, Virginia, to Christopher and Cornelia Winfree. He lived in Lynchburg, and he married Virginia A. Brown there on November 14, 1860. They had at least five children: Henry Lee, born around 1864; Kent, born around 1867; Peyton, born around 1869; Lucy, born around 1871; and Russell, born around 1876. Winfree worked as a tobacconist.

 

Winfree received a commission as a 1^st lieutenant in Company E of the 11^th Virginia Infantry on April 19, 1861. He was promoted to captain on August 30, 1861. He fell ill in October 1861, and he spent the winter on recruiting duty. He was dropped from the regimental rolls on April 26, 1862.

 

He returned to Lynchburg after leaving the army, and by 1870, he owned $7,500 of real estate and $5,000 of personal property. By 1870, he employed a Black cook and a Black gardener. His wife died in the early 1880s, and he married Sarah Cornelia Doniphan on October 13, 1886. He applied for a passport in 1892, and the record described him as “6 feet in boots” with white hair and blue eyes. He died in Lynchburg on June 18, 1902.

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