William was born on the 27th of May 1841, in Long Bottom, Ohio, and there is not much known about his life. It is known that he enlisted in the Union Army and served with the 4th Regiment West Virginia Volunteer Infantry and was a Private when he displayed actions in Vicksburg, Mississippi that would later earn him the Medal of Honor. The citation reads:

Gallantry in the charge of the "volunteer storming party."

Even knowing that the odds would not be in the favor of the volunteers, William and other single men were accepted for the mission. About half were killed and William, along with seventy-eight other survivors, received the Medal of Honor on the 12th of July, 1894.

William married Katherine Timely in June of 1865 and the couple had thirteen children. William H Barringer died on the 7th of April 1917, at the age of 75. He is buried in the Mount Olive Cemetery in his hometown of Long Bottom, Ohio.