Maj. Samuel Ringgold (1796-1846)
Artillery Officer in the U.S. Army; mortally wounded at the Battle of Palo Alto
He was born in Maryland and began his military career in 1818 as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Light Artillery. During the 1820s and 30s, he quickly distinguished himself while serving at various frontier posts, becoming known for his expertise with horse artillery units, emphasizing speed and mobility in battlefield deployment. He advocated for lighter, more maneuverable artillery pieces and developed new techniques for rapid deployment and repositioning of guns during combat. His career culminated in the Mexican-American War, where he commanded an artillery battery. At the Battle of Palo Alto in May 1846, his battery played a crucial role in the American victory, but he was mortally wounded by a Mexican cannonball and died shortly after, becoming one of the war's early heroes and martyrs. He was unmarried.
