This month’s Fortitude post is a little different. If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you know I love exploring history—especially the moments where a family ancestor crossed paths with it. Sharing those stories has always been a passion of mine. As a grandfather of five, I also enjoy passing these stories down to theContinue reading “Bringing Family History to Life for Kids”
Author Archives: Dale Spaulding
Beneath the Symbols: Meanings Behind Colonial-Era Gravestones
Before I jump into this month’s post, I’d like to take a moment to celebrate a little milestone. This month—November 2025—marks four years since I launched The Fortitude Blog! I’m deeply grateful to my readers and subscribers who have been along for the ride and shared in the stories and history we’ve explored together over these past fourContinue reading “Beneath the Symbols: Meanings Behind Colonial-Era Gravestones”
Anchored in History: Honoring the Navy’s 250 Year Voyage
As a career Naval officer, it’s difficult to put into words what it feels like to witness the United States Navy celebrating its 250th anniversary. That’s two and a half centuries of ships at sea, sailors standing the watch, and generations of Americans answering the call to defend freedom around the world. It’s humbling. It’sContinue reading “Anchored in History: Honoring the Navy’s 250 Year Voyage”
The Enduring Mark: Exploring Ancestral Signatures
Throughout human history, few things have remained as personal and powerful as the signature. Whether written with ink, stamped with a seal, or typed with digital encryption, a signature stands as a testament to identity and agreement. But where did the idea of signing your name come from and how did it evolve? In thisContinue reading “The Enduring Mark: Exploring Ancestral Signatures”
From the Frontier Files: The Story of Buckskin Johnny Spaulding
Do you ever get envious of someone with a really cool call sign or nickname? The movie Top Gun immediately comes to mind with the naval aviator characters of Maverick, Iceman, and Viper. Let me introduce you to man who lived back in the 1800s with an equally cool nickname—“Buckskin Johnny” Spaulding. Buckskin Johnny is a distantContinue reading “From the Frontier Files: The Story of Buckskin Johnny Spaulding”
A Family’s Fight: The Spauldings at Gettysburg
July 1-3, 1863 marked the turning point in the American Civil War. In a small town in central Pennsylvania, a massive force of Union and Confederate troops clashed at a place called Gettysburg. Gettysburg was the “High Water Mark” of the Confederate Army’s penetration into the north. The fate of the republic was at stake – ifContinue reading “A Family’s Fight: The Spauldings at Gettysburg”
The Arrival Debate
This is the immigration story of my 9th great-grandfather, Edward Spalding (1601-1669), the progenitor of the Massachusetts branch of the Spalding/Spaulding family, and the first to bring the surname from England to the New World.1 Arrival Theories Historical and genealogical research is exhilarating, challenging, and yes at times, frustrating. New evidence is discovered each year,Continue reading “The Arrival Debate”
Purple Heart Stories
The Purple Heart is a military decoration awarded to U.S. Armed Forces personnel wounded or killed in action. The Purple Heart is the nation’s oldest military award first introduced by General George Washington in August 1782 as the “Badge of Military Merit” towards the end of the American Revolution. Inexplicably, Washington’s Badge of Military MeritContinue reading “Purple Heart Stories”
Combating the Fugitive Slave Act: The Story of Congressman Rufus Spalding
April 9, 2025 marks the 160th anniversary of the end of the American Civil War. That event began a long period of healing and restoration for our Republic. President Lincoln declared an end to slavery by signing the Emancipation Proclamation two years earlier in 1863. But it wasn’t until the passing of the 13th Amendment (Abolition ofContinue reading “Combating the Fugitive Slave Act: The Story of Congressman Rufus Spalding”
The Soldiers Home
On July 21, 1930, President Herbert Hoover signed Executive Order 5298 which consolidated three agencies managing veterans affairs into a single organization called the Veterans Administration (VA). The VA then began to serve the five million veterans of World War I, over 200,000 of which were wounded and/or disabled.1 So, how did the United StatesContinue reading “The Soldiers Home”
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