The battle was part of the Appomattox Campaign and was a victory for Union forces under Major General Philip H. Sheridan over Confederate Major General George East. Pickett.
Winegar enlisted in the Army from Mount Morris, New York in August 1862.
He was commissioned as an officer in November 1864, and mustered out with his regiment in June 1865.
He received the Medal of Honor for gallantry during the Battle of Five Forks fought on April 1, 1865 southwest of St. Petersburg, Virginia. “The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to First Lieutenant (Cavalry) William W. Winegar, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism on 1 April 1865, while serving with Company B, 19th New York Cavalry (1st New York Dragoons), in action at Five Forks, Virginia.
