Walking The Ground

06/01/2026

06/01/2026

Have a happy 17th century Monday!

06/01/2026

Fun at Fort Delaware this weekend. The fort is a great place to visit.

06/01/2026

One of the finest historical reenactment groups in the world. Their attention to detail and authenticity is phenomenal.

05/31/2026

The 110th anniversary of the Battle of Jutland (Skagerrakschlacht).

On this day in 1916 the Battle of Jutland began.

Lion leads the pack.

At 1548hrs, the Germans opened fire. Beatty's flagship engaged Lützow, the flagship of Vizeadmiral Hipper. The German ships fired regularly and accurately, hitting Lion, Princess Royal and Tiger in the first minutes of the engagement.

Art from CAM 72 'Jutland 1916', illustrated by Howard Gerrard.

https://bit.ly/4f9lo37

05/31/2026

One of my favorite and most accurate maps of Edson’s (Bloody) Ridge.

This is an attachment to the 1st Parachute Bn’s operational report of the battle. Authored by Captain Torgerson, it’s a great read. The situation date should say 13 Sept and not Aug. They were still on Tulagi then. Credit: Guadalcanal Walking a Battlefield.

05/31/2026

Guess the location! No prize, except bragging rights. This memorial is not on a battlefield. Good luck!

05/30/2026

First Sergeant John Ryan of M Company, 7th Cavalry, firing his custom Sharps 30-inch heavy barrel (.45-70) during the Battle of Little Bighorn, 1876.

Ryan engaged native marksmen located on Sharpshooter Ridge who were sniping at the Reno-Benteen defensive position.

He later recalled, “I fired a couple of shots until I got range of that group of Indians. Then I put in half a dozen shots in rapid succession, and those Indians scampered away from that point of the bluff, and that ended the firing on the part of the Indians in that memorable engagement, and the boys set up quite a cheer.”

🖼️ Ralph Heinz.

****ms

05/30/2026

THE 17–YEAR OLD CAVALRY TROOPER AWARDED THE MEDAL OF HONOR.

Theodore Goldin lied about his age to join the U.S. Army in April 1876 just 17-years old (claiming to be 21).

Two months later he was fighting for his life at Little Bighorn as a member of Company G, 7th Cavalry.

The young trooper did a grown man’s duty in the Valley Fight on June 25 and the Hill Fight on June 25-26. Nobody could doubt the 17-year old’s courage.

On June 26, at the Reno-Benteen defensive position, Goldin was one of the volunteers who risked their lives to do down the bluffs to the river and fill canteens with water for the wounded. For this action, 17-year old Goldin was awarded the Medal of Honor.

His citation reads:

“The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Private Theodore W. B. Goldin, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism on 26 June 1876, while serving with Troop G, 7th U.S. Cavalry, in action at Little Big Horn, Montana. Private Goldin was one of a party of volunteers who, under a heavy fire from the Indians, went for and brought water to the wounded.”

Goldin was discharged from the Army in 1877 for enlisting under age. He studied law in Wisconsin, was elected first to county office and then to state office, joined the National Guard, and rose to the rank of Colonel.

Goldin died in 1935 at the age of 76 and is buried at the Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Waupaca County, Wisconsin.