Erskin or Erskins belonged to a regiment being organized by Colonel Robert J. Barrow in Pointe Coupee, Iberville, and West Baton Rouge parishes. Several men were authorized to recruit companies for Barrow's regiment, but only a few succeeded. It is possible that the commander of Erskin's company was Captain William B. Barrow. Union troops stationed at Morganza and Plaquemines conducted raids through the area during the fall and winter of 1864, sometimes skirmishing with Barrow's men. The Federals captured Barrow in September 1864. Eventually, General Edmund Kirby Smith issued orders ending efforts to raise a regiment. Some of the companies recruited later became a part of a small battalion commanded by Captain William B. Ratliff. I have no idea why Union authorities called Barrow's regiment the 5th Louisiana Cavalry. They also mistakenly referred to a regiment located in the Felicianas as the 5th Louisiana Cavalry. Richard Capers' was the only regiment officially organized with that designation.