He was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 22, 1869, and received his commission the same day.

His service terminated on September 10, 1875, due to his death at his summer residence in Litchfield, from the effects of a complicated disorder of the kidneys which had confined him to the house since the early spring.

[1][2] Woodruff received the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from Columbia University in 1860.

[2] For some years before his death, Woodruff was an elder of the Collegiate Reformed Church.

[2] Woodruff married Harriette B. in November 1835, she being the daughter of New Jersey Supreme Court Chief Justice Joseph Coerten Hornblower of Newark, New Jersey.