Hiram Leffingwell was a contract surgeon for the U. S. Medical Department and the surgeon of the 65th U. S. Colored Infantry. The 65th U. S. Colored Infantry was organized from December 1863 to January 1864 as the 2nd Missouri Colored Infantry, at Benton Barracks (St. Louis), Missouri; its designation was changed to the 65th U.S. Colored Infantry in March 1864. They were assigned to garrison duty in the South, and were mustered out of service on January 8, 1867.

Leffingwell resigned from the 65th on October 14, 1864; he died on June 22, 1925, in San Diego, California.

Carte-de-Visite by Unknown Photographer

Image Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield; WICR 11707