The son of religious refugees that brought him from Sweden to the United States, he fought in the American Civil War as a volunteer officer, graduated from West Point at the top of his class, served his adopted country with distinction as an officer of the regular army, a professor of his alma mater, and a Western explorer, and married a cousin of the wife of president Rutherford B. Hayes.

Anders Berglund and his family, including the three-year-old Erik, followed their fellow believers to Illinois, where they participated in the creation of the Bishop Hill Colony.

When the paper was moved to Chicago, the Bishop Hill Colony, who owned the printing press, made him manager of the office that remained in Galva.

[2] When the American Civil War began, the Bishop Hill Colony raised a volunteer company, and offered it to United States service.

Promoted to captain in 1884, he served on a variety of engineering posts in Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas, as well as company commander, and instructor at the Corp's School of Application.