On the 29th of April, 1841, David was born in Kalida, Ohio, and he enlisted in the 57th Ohio Volunteer Infantry on the 2nd September, 1861 in Upper Sandusky, Ohio. He was a Sergeant during the Siege of Vicksburg and participated in a storming party which was tasked with building a bridge over a moat in advance of the main attack. The party was also tasked with placing scaling ladders for the main attack and the party was made up of volunteers that knew the chances of survival were very slim. Like other missions, only single men were allowed to volunteer and David's actions earned him the Medal of Honor. The citation reads:

For gallantry in the charge of the volunteer storming party on 22 May 1863

The storming party consisted of 150 men and more than three quarters were killed. David and seventy-eight other survivors were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions. He had received the rank of Second Lieutenant before the siege but had not been officially commissioned until after. By August, David was promoted to First Lieutenant and was then transferred to Company D and promoted to Captain before being mustered out of service on the 14th of August, 1865. He received his Medal of Honor thirty-one years after his action on the 13th of August, 1894. David Ayres died on the 11th of December, 1916 at the age of 75 and he is buried with his wife, Annie, in the Oak Woods Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois: Section F, Division 7, Lot 303.