James Phillip Eagle was born on August 10, 1837, in Tennessee; the son of James and Charity Swaim Eagle. John was educated in the public schools. The family eventually settled Prairie County (now Lonoke Co.), Arkansas, in the 1850s.

Eagle was appointed a deputy sheriff until the Civil War, when he enlisted as a private in the Fifth Arkansas Mounted Rifles, serving in Indian territory.

He was a member of the 1st Consolidated Arkansas Rifles at the Battle of Richmond, serving the Brig. General Thomas Churchill’s division. His unit was not engaged during the first two stages of the fight, but were heavily involved in the Confederate flanking maneuver against the Union right at the Richmond Cemetery.

Eagle finished the war as a lt. colonel, participating in campaigns throughout the Western Theatre. ...

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