Leonard Doty was born about 1829 in Richland County, Ohio. No information is available as to his parents, siblings or early life. In September 1861 he was working in Santa Cruz as a carpenter. Doty's military records indicate that he was dark complexioned with blond hair, blue eyes and stood five feet six inches in height.

On September 11, 1861, Leonard Doty enlisted in Company L, 2nd California Cavalry, in Santa Cruz. The recruits remained at a temporary campsite in the city until transportation to the training facility in San Francisco could be arranged. Along with other recruits, he boarded the steamer Salinas when it departed Santa Cruz for Camp Alert in San Francisco on September 27, 1861. During his nine months at the camp his training consisted primarily of drill, maintenance of equipment and guard duty.

In July 1862, the Santa Cruz cavalry company, enlarged by recruits from other locations, left for Fort Churchill in Nevada Territory. From their arrival at the fort in August until the following spring, Doty performed garrison duty and conducted patrols in the nearby vicinity.

In March 1861, Company L was ordered to the Owens Valley in California to track down renegade Paiute Indians; they remained there until June when they returned to Fort Churchill. Shortly after their return, the company headed east to Fort Ruby, Nevada, where they spent the remainder of 1862.

Company L traveled to Salt Lake City, Utah, in October 1863 to perform provost (MP) duty in the city. Later they guarded government cattle in the nearby Rush Valley until the spring of 1864. It may have been at that location that Leonard Doty contracted an illness or condition that resulted in his death on March 15, 1864. He is buried in the Camp Douglas Cemetery in Salt Lake City, Utah.

(CMWR, Pg. 286; MAHL; SCSn November 12, 1972