Sigmund von Erlach commanded the Bernese troops in the Swiss peasant war of 1653 by putting down the rebellion of the rural population with force. He also commanded the troops of Bern in the First War of Villmergen, a religiously-motivated civil war in the Old Swiss Confederacy that the Protestant cantons lost. Although he was criticised heavily for his failure in that conflict, he continued his political career in Bern, which culminated in 1675 with his election to the post of "Schultheiss" (mayor).