John Collins Enright, a soldier in the 18th Virginia Infantry, was born on January 22, 1837, in Kilmeedy, County Limerick, Ireland. Emigrating to New York at age 11, he settled in Danville, Virginia in 1859. At the outbreak of the American Civil War, Enright joined the Danville Blues, which was mustered into Confederate service as Company A, 18th Virginia Infantry. He was promoted from corporal to second sergeant on October 15, 1861, and to first sergeant on March 1, 1862. Records indicate that Enright was discharged from the service on July 23, 1862, but he was assigned for the remainder of the war to the Quartermaster's Department in Richmond. (In the final letter of this collection, Enright indicates that he is no longer in the army but is employed cutting clothes in Richmond for the Confederate Army.)

Enright married Mary ("Mollie") Adams of Petersburg on May 7, 1863. He was taken prisoner during the evacuation of Richmond in 1865 but was soon paroled. Following the Civil War, he operated a tailoring business in Danville, counting among his customers several prominent Civil War-era families. He was a member of the Cabell-Graves Camp of the United Confederate Veterans and the Masonic Knights Templar. He died in Danville on October 13, 1900, and was buried in Danville's Green Hill Cemetery.

Among Enright's descendants have been two graduates of Virginia Tech: William Enright Stepp Sr. (class of 1924) and William Enright Stepp Jr. (class of 1969).