Tolan was born in
Malone, New York in May 1854 and spent much of his early life as a farmer. At age 21, he enlisted in the
United States Army in
Boston, Massachusetts as a private with the
7th U.S. Cavalry Regiment on August 31, 1875. Tolan saw action in the
Montana Territory during the
Great Sioux War of 1876–77 and, on June 25, 1876, was present at the
Battle of the Little Bighorn against Chief
Sitting Bull and the
Sioux. A member of Company D under Captain
Thomas Weir, he and several other soldiers volunteered to carry water from the
Little Bighorn River to wounded soldiers at the
Reno-Benteen site "under a most galling fire". He and the other Little Bighorn water carriers were among the twenty-two soldiers recommended for the
Medal of Honor, Tolan officially receiving his award on October 5, 1878.> Although disappearing from record soon after his discharge around 1880, the
Boston Globe reported in 1887 that its military editor was in possession of Tolan's MOH which "was obtained by a comrade from a
squaw". ==Medal of Honor citation==