Private
Company H
Born: December 9, 1851 (Bergen, Germany)
Died: March 11, 1950
Grave location: Black Hills National Cemetery, Sturgis, SD
Grave GPS Coordinates: N44 22.206 W103 28.476
He left Germany in 1871 and enlisted in the 7th Cavalry on July 23, 1872, under the name Charles Wrangel in Nashville, Tennessee by Captain Frederick Benteen. His previous occupation was shoemaker. He had deserted from Company A, 2nd Infantry. He participated in the Black Hills Expedition of 1874 and also the Nez Perce Campaign in 1877. His last re-enlistment was on March 22, 1878. He was awarded the Medal of Honor on October 5, 1878, for his part as a member of the sharpshooters who were protecting the water carriers during the Little Bighorn battle in 1876. The Medal of Honor citation read, “With three comrades, during the entire engagement, courageously held a position that secured water for the command.” He was wounded in the buttock during the hilltop fight on June 25 and returned to duty. He was awarded the Purple Heart for this wound sustained during the Battle of the Little Bighorn. He was discharged on March 21, 1883, at Fort Meade, Dakota, as the First Sergeant of Company H. After his discharge he was employed by the Homestake Mining Company for 49 years. He resided at 5 Old Abe Street and 614 West Main in Lead, South Dakota. He married Mathilda L. Windolph in 1880. Mathilda died on March 23, 1924 and was buried in the Black Hills National Cemetery, Grave A225. Charles Windolph died on March 11, 1950 and was buried on March 14, 1950 in the Black Hills National Cemetery in Grave A239. He was 5’6” in height with brown hair, brown eyes, and a dark complexion.
Notes – I went to Lead, SD looking for the former houses of Windolph. The house at 614 West Main still stands. Nice front porch and easy to find. The house on Old Abe Street was not located. The numbering there now begins at 300. I drove up there (tight winding streets) and saw that no #5 exists. Either the house is there and they have changed the street numbers or the house was swallowed up by the Homestake Gold Mine. Where those lower numbered houses would have been on Old Abe Street is now part of the open-pit created by the mine.
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| Windolph grave at Black Hills National Cemetery |
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| Headstone for Charles Windolph at the Black Hills National Cemetery - Sturgis, South Dakota |
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| Medals of Honor awarded for Little Big Horn Battle -- Charles Windolph's medal is the one in the middle. Museum at Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. |
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| Windolph’s former home at 614 West Main Street in Lead, South Dakota. The house was owned by his daughter and son-in-law. Windolph died in this house on March 11, 1950. |
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| October 1947 - Edward S. Luce, Superintendent of the Custer Battlefield and Charles Windolph in Lead, South Dakota. Windolph was 95 years old. |
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| Charles Windolph |
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| Charles Windolph |
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| Charles Windolph |
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| Mathilda Windolph - wife of Charles |
Finding Windolph Video
Charles Windolph Article - Courtesy of The Past Times Spring 2009 - thanks to Scott Larkin
of the Fort Abraham Lincoln Foundation for giving permission to use.
"Charlie Windolph's Purple Heart" by Michael L. Nunnally. This article appeared in the newsletter of the LBHA. Thanks to the author, Michael L. Nunnally, and to LBHA newsletter editor Rod Thomas for granting permission to post the article.
"Sgt. Windolph Rode Comanche" - Sturgis Tribune - February 2, 1950 (includes photo of Windolph)
In Honor of Miss Windolph - Daily Deadwood Pioneer Times - January 22, 1909 (article about Windolph's daughter, Marie)
Newspaper reports of an accident suffered by Windolph in December 1899
Advertisement for Windolph Radio Interview - Rapid City Journal - October 17, 1942
Advertisement for Windolph Radio Interview - Rapid City Journal - October 17, 1942
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