He only was appointed to brigadier general of volunteers to rank from the date of the Battle of Cedar Creek on October 19, 1864, and given permanent brigade command in December 1864.

He received three brevet general awards for meritorious service in three key battles, Trevilian Station, Opequon or Third Winchester and Five Forks.

His brigade and division were detached from the Army of the Potomac soon after the beginning of the Siege of Petersburg to serve with Sheridan in all the battles of the Shenandoah Valley Campaigns of 1864.

He and his brigade returned to Petersburg with Sheridan on March 26, 1865, and played a large part in the key battles of Dinwiddie Court House and Five Forks, which led to the breaking of the Confederate lines and the flight of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia under the command of General Robert E. Lee from Petersburg and Richmond, Virginia.

Gibbs was present at the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865.

[citation needed] Gibbs was born on his father's estate, now within Astoria, Long Island, New York.

[6] After Gibbs graduated from the U. S. Military Academy in 1846, he was assigned to the Regiment of Mounted Rifles[7] and served in the Mexican–American War in which he was wounded.

[8] Gibbs was in command at Fort Wayne in Detroit, Michigan, between December 1861 and August 1862 while serving his parole.

[12] Their position at Suffolk was located 18 miles southwest of Norfolk, Virginia, recently recaptured by Union forces, at the junction of two railroads.

[18] The 130th New York Infantry was pushing the Confederates back through the adjacent woods when Corcoran reappeared and halted the advance.

Gen. Henry Dwight Terry now commanded the brigade and on April 17, 1863, he sent 6 companies of the 130th New York Infantry out to determine why the Confederates had ceased firing.

[10] After much picket duty, scouting and guarding trains, the regiment went into winter quarters at Mitchell's Station, Virginia, on December 27, 1863.

Lee sent cavalry to block the roads in the direction of Spotsylvania Court House, Virginia, near Todd's Tavern, about a mile from the edge of the Wilderness battlefield.

Gen. John Gregg to the south across the Po River (Virginia) and the forces of Maj. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee back to Todd's Tavern.

Stuart learned of Sheridan's departure within hours and pursued his more than 10,000 Union cavalrymen with fewer than 5,000 troopers so as to leave General Robert E. Lee with cavalry support.

[41] On May 11, 1864, Stuart caught up to Sheridan at the Yellow Tavern, six miles north of Richmond and brought on a general engagement.

[46] Gibbs and his regiment fought with distinction under Maj. Gen. Sheridan at the Battle of Trevilian Station, June 11–12, 1864,[30] part of a diversionary operation by Sheridan against the Virginia Central Railroad during Union Lt. Gen. Grant's stealthy transfer of his forces from the lines after the Battle of Cold Harbor to the south side of the James River in an effort to take Petersburg and Richmond while they were only lightly defended.

[53] After eight hours of fighting on a hot day without food or drink, Gibbs was overcome by sunstroke and had to leave the field.

[8][10][30][57] Cullum (1891) states that Gibbs took a short leave of absence after his promotion to brigadier general, which appears to account for his time between January 19, 1865, and February 5, 1865.

Volunteers as of the date of the 1864 Valley Campaign's decisive Battle of Cedar Creek, Virginia, October 19, 1864, but this promotion did not take effect until December 8, 1864, after it had been confirmed and communicated.

[58] On August 11, 1864, the 19th New York Cavalry met an entire division of Confederate Lt. Gen. Jubal Early's force under Maj. Gen. John B. Gordon at the Battle of Newtown.

[59] The depleted regiment, armed with 7-shot Spencer repeating rifles, held off the Confederates until they could be reinforced by the rest of the brigade.

[60] On August 13, 1864, Confederate guerrilla forces under Col. John S. Mosby destroyed 75 of the brigade's wagons and captured 200 prisoners, including a few of the men of the 19th New York Cavalry.

[65] The 19th New York Cavalry struck the Confederate outposts on the Opequon Creek at Sewer's Ford, about seven miles northeast of Winchester, Virginia.

[69] Gibbs led the brigade on Sheridan's raid against the Virginia Central Railroad, the Richmond and Danville Railroad and the James River Canal between February 27, 1865, and March 20, 1865, including the actions against the North Anna and South Anna bridges on March 14–15, 1865.

[71] On March 31, 1865, Lt. Gen. Grant placed General Sheridan in command of Gouverneur Warren's V Corps of Army of the Potomac infantry and of all cavalry.

[73] Merritt's cavalry, including Devin's division which included Gibbs's brigade, played a significant part in the Union Army's near surrounding of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and stretching their lines to the breaking point in the last days of the Siege of Petersburg.

Early on April 1, Pickett learned that Union infantry reinforcements were coming up, so he withdrew his forces northward to Five Forks, which Lee had ordered him to hold at all costs.

[75] Devin's cavalry, including Gibbs's brigade, hit the front of Pickett's defense on April 1, 1864, while Brig.

[10] General Gibbs died while on active duty as a major in the 7th U.S. Cavalry at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, of "congestion of the brain" on December 26, 1868.