John H Gagle was born around 1840 in Maryland to John and Elizabeth Gagle. His father was a blacksmith who owned $500 of real estate and $100 of personal property. The family lived in Leitersburg, Maryland, and Gagle eventually began work as a carpenter and coachmaker there. He enlisted in the Union army on July 23, 1861, and mustered in as a private in Company B of the 3^rd Maryland Infantry. He reenlisted in the fall of 1863. He was wounded on May 6, 1864, during the Battle of the Wilderness, but he eventually recovered and rejoined his regiment. He mustered out in July 1865 and returned home to Maryland. He married Emma R. Wampler in Washington, Maryland, on October 3, 1866, and they had at least three children. They lived in Leitersburg after the war, and Gagle worked as a wagon maker. Gagle applied for a federal pension in August 1879 and eventually secured one. They moved to Seattle, Washington, sometime in the late 1800s, and by the early 1900s, they were living in Los Angeles County, California. In 1908, Gagle entered the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers in Los Angeles County. According to their records, he was 5 feet, 6½ inches tall, with gray hair and blue eyes, and he was suffering from rheumatism, piles, and “general debility.” He died in California sometime before 1922.

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