Captain John H. Wheeler was born in North Carolina around 1828. A resident of Caswell County, he served under George W. Kirk in the U.S. Army during the Civil War, and during the Kirk-Holden War, Kirk recruited his former comrade into the state militia. Wheeler managed the garrison in Yanceyville, Caswell County, where he received prisoners alleged to have been involved in insurrection. Wheeler died in Yancey County in 1907.