According to the Book of Mormon

Book of Mormon

The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...

, Gid was a Nephite

Nephite

According to the Book of Mormon, a Nephite is a member of one of the four main groups of settlers of the ancient Americas. The other three groups are the Lamanites, Jaredites and Mulekites. In the Book of Mormon, the Nephites were a group of people descended from or associated with Nephi, the...

 military officer. He is first mentioned as the leader of a band of soldiers Helaman

Helaman

According to the Book of Mormon, Helaman was a Nephite prophet and soldier who lived around the 1st century BC. He is perhaps best known in LDS theology for leading into battle an army of two thousand young warriors, which he referred to as his two thousand sons...

 had chosen to take a large body of Lamanite

Lamanite

According to the Book of Mormon, a Lamanite is a member of a dark-skinned nation of indigenous Americans that battled with the light-skinned Nephite nation...

 prisoners to Zarahemla

Zarahemla

Zarahemla is the name of a prominent land, a capital city, and a leader in the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon is revered by members of various Latter Day Saint churches as sacred scripture....

. When news reached of a fresh Lamanite army attacking the main Nephite army, the prisoners revolted. Gid then led his men in killing the greater number of these prisoners before returning to help Helaman defeat the attacking army. He later took part in a strategic maneuver that led to the Lamanites abandoning all Nephite cities in his area.