Straight from the family attic to your hands, Dignity of Duty contains the never before shared, presciently detailed primary source accounts of Erasmus Corwin Gilbreath as he serves in and witnesses an unprecedent span of American history in the Civil War, Reconstruction period, building of the American west, and Spanish American War. With an introduction by military historian Carlo D’Este and illustrated maps, these journals add not only to larger scholarship of the late 19th century but also show the personal heart and cost of war and its fallout.