Erasmus Corwin Gilbreath (May 13, 1840 – August 22, 1898) was a major in the United States Army who began his 37-year career as a first lieutenant in the 20th Indiana Volunteer Regiment.

According to Gilbreath, his studies had progressed to such an extent that shortly before the war broke out that with only a few months work, he would be "admitted to practice at the Bar".

The next day they informed Porter county's local populace of their intentions and that in Valparaiso on June 15 there would be a grand meeting at the courthouse in order to set up the regiment.

Gilbreath states astonishedly in his journal that "nearly everybody in the county came to Valparaiso, and so great was the enthusiasm that, in an hour after the meeting was called, we had enrolled 150 men or 50 more than we needed".

Gilbreath describes that "almost every man, woman, and child was at Valparaiso" and that the only music to be hear was fife and drum, which were being played by the Sheriff and Blacksmith, both of whom were "only to anxious to march us to the railroad station and to go with us to Lafayette".

While the officers of each company were told to procure their uniforms and weapons on their own, the enlisted men of the regiment received their equipment from the government supply.

The commanding officer of Fort Hatteras was in such a haste to have this objective accomplished that the men landed at Chicamicomico Beach without supplies or tents.

It was believed that the fleet was carrying a detachment of Confederate soldiers that were destined to sail below Gilbreath's current position in order to cut them off from Fort Hatteras.

[10] The next morning, October 5, it was discovered that a Georgia regiment had pursued the Union detachment through the night, and that they were camped barely four or five miles from the Hatteras Lighthouse.

Gilbreath describes the battle in great detail, noting that the moon (on the night of March 8) "seemed paler in the light of the burning Congress.

Gilbreath reports that General Joe Hooker's Division, which formed the right side of the assault, met with heavy resistance, but still managed to accomplish his objectives by pushing the Confederates back through three picket lines.

General Heintzelman ordered artillery support for Hooker's division, which put an end to immediate Confederate resistance in that area.

[14] The day after the battle of Oak Grove, the right flank of the Army, located north of the Chikahominy River, was attacked by forces from General Daniel Harvey Hill.

Most of the regiment's losses occurred during the initial advance from the Union positions towards the railroad, which served as a sort of breastwork for the defending Confederate army.

Gilbreath records having a "wonderful and awe-inspiring picture of disaster" as his regiment observed General Longstreet roll up the Union left flank.

Spending roughly five days in Washington, Gilbreath made his way back to the division by way of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal with approximately 350 men.

[23] However, due to delays in supply and Burnside's tendency to give confusing and poorly worded orders, he was not able to begin building the necessary pontoon bridges across the Rappahannock until early December, by which time Lee had already entrenched his men on the heights behind the town.

General Daniel Sickles, current commander of the 3rd Corps, ordered the 20th Indiana into action upon seeing enemy movement in the vicinity of a railroad cut.

Gathering his company, Gilbreath and the rest of the Corps attempted to return north under the cover of darkness and link up with main elements of the army.

By the time Meade learned of Sickles unauthorized maneuver, it was too late to move the troops back without endangering them to the enemy's assault.

Upon being discharged from his Quartermaster position on July 28, 1865, he was commissioned as a first lieutenant in the United States Regular Army in the 15th Infantry Regiment on February 23, 1866.

Gilbreath's duties in Mississippi focused on reconstruction of the state, such as selecting or recommending suitable men for civil office in the local counties and acting as a judge for complaints made by freed slaves.

On several occasions, members of the community would ride out during the night and discharge pistols in front of the home Gilbreath was staying at in order to scare him and his wife out.

Gilbreath quickly put an end to the latter issue by ordering his men to take up arms against the riders the next time they shot at the flag.

Gilbreath was assigned 30 men from the 10th and 11th Regiments, and upon arrival in the capital of the county, Montgomery, found a total lawless state of affairs.

To emphasize this, Gilbreath notes in his journal that before he could select a place to camp in the town, he was approached by a man who wished to report a murder.

Churches had not been open in some months, schools were not in existence, and every man was armed with some sort of knife or shotgun, leading to some offenders being "summarily punished by anybody".

[44] Gilbreath began by issuing order to the civilian populace that nobody would be allowed to carry firearms except for hunting, and that places of drinking and gambling were to be closed by 10 P.M. on Saturday nights, and not open again until 6 A.M. the following Monday morning.

They made camp at Yankton, South Dakota to await the rest of the Regiment, which was now under the command of Lieutenant Colonel George Buell.

Shortly after her birth, Gilbreath built a large blockhouse to better protect the families and men of the regiment, as the Indians had become very aggressive in recent months.