John Wiley was into slavery around 1839 in Albemarle County, Virginia, and worked as a farmer. On September 27, 1862, his owner, Henry Harris, sold Wiley to his father, Peter B. Harris, who lived in Booneville, Missouri. Wiley enlisted in the Union army on February 29, 1864, in Tipton, Missouri, for a period of three years. He mustered in as a private in Company B of the 68th USCT Infantry Regiment on March 8. His enlistment records describe him as 5 feet, 9 1/2 inches tall. He was admitted to the hospital at Benton Barracks in St. Louis on June 2, and he remained there until October 24. He fell ill again several months later, entering the general hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, on February 2, 1865, with inflammation of the bones. He died there on March 21, 1865.