James Brailsford Erwin

Brigadier General James Brailsford Erwin (July 11, 1856 − July 10, 1924) was a United States Army officer who served in the American Indian Wars, the Philippine–American War from 1899 to 1902, the Pancho Villa Expedition from 1915 to 1916 and briefly led the 6th Division towards the end of World War I in 1918.

Military career Erwin as a colonel, circa 1917. Bain Collection, Library of Congress.

He was born on July 11, 1856, in Savannah, Georgia, to Robert Erwin and Mary Ann Gallaudet. He attended Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. He graduated, 22nd in a class of 52, from the United States Military Academy in 1880 with the rank of second lieutenant and was assigned to the 4th Cavalry at Fort Hayes, where he served in the American Indian Wars. He married Isabel Doan of St. Louis, Missouri.

From 1897 to 1899 he served as the commanding officer of Fort Yellowstone and the Acting Superintendent of Yellowstone National Park. He served in the Philippine–American War from 1899 to 1902. During the 1906 San Francisco earthquake he was in charge of the relief effort. He then served in the Pancho Villa Expedition from 1915 to 1916 and led the 6th Infantry Division during World War I.