Charles Baker

Into Enemy Fire to Save Ten Sinking Sailors

Charles Baker was born in 1809 in Georgetown, District of Columbia. Also recorded in historical Navy documents as Henry Baker, he became a United States Navy sailor whose courage during the Battle of Mobile Bay earned him the Medal of Honor. On August 5, 1864, while serving as a Quarter Gunner aboard USS Metacomet, Baker joined a small rescue party that braved Confederate gunfire to save ten sailors from the sinking Union ironclad USS Tecumseh.

Baker's naval career began long before the American Civil War. Historical records indicate that he first enlisted in the United States Navy in 1833. A reenlistment document from 1858 shows that he had already accumulated considerable experience at sea before the conflict began.

His naval service was associated with New York, where his military record was officially accredited.

By the Civil War, Baker held the rating of Quarter Gunner, an enlisted position involving the preparation, maintenance, and operation of a warship's artillery equipment. The responsibility required practical knowledge of naval weapons and the discipline necessary to maintain their readiness during military operations.

During 1864, Baker served aboard USS Metacomet, a wooden side-wheel steam gunboat commissioned on January 4 of that year.

The vessel joined Rear Admiral David G. Farragut's West Gulf Blockading Squadron, which operated against Confederate maritime activity along the Gulf Coast.

Mobile, Alabama, remained an important Confederate port. Its entrance was defended by Fort Morgan, Fort Gaines, underwater mines, and Confederate warships, including the powerful ironclad CSS Tennessee.

Farragut planned an attack to overcome these defenses and establish Union control of Mobile Bay.

On August 5, 1864, his fleet of eighteen vessels advanced toward the harbor entrance. The wooden warships moved in pairs while ironclad monitors accompanied the formation.

USS Metacomet was secured alongside Farragut's flagship, USS Hartford.

As the Union vessels approached Fort Morgan, Confederate artillery opened fire. The attacking fleet responded while attempting to navigate the narrow channel into the bay.

The entrance was especially dangerous because Confederate forces had planted underwater explosives known during the Civil War as torpedoes.

One of the leading Union ironclads, USS Tecumseh, approached the defensive minefield while attempting to engage the Confederate fleet.

Suddenly, Tecumseh struck an underwater mine.

The explosion tore into the vessel, and the ironclad began sinking rapidly. Many members of the crew were trapped below deck, while others struggled to escape into the surrounding water.

The disaster occurred under the guns of Fort Morgan, making any attempt to rescue the survivors extremely hazardous.

From USS Hartford, Admiral Farragut witnessed the sinking and ordered USS Metacomet to send a boat to assist the men struggling in the water.

A rescue party was organized under Acting Ensign Henry C. Nields.

Charles Baker was among the sailors who entered the small boat.

The rescue crew rowed toward the wreck despite Confederate artillery and small-arms fire sweeping the area.

The men were operating close to the enemy fortifications, within approximately 600 yards of Fort Morgan. Their small boat provided little protection against the gunfire directed across the water.

Nevertheless, Baker and his fellow sailors continued toward the survivors.

They reached men struggling in the bay and began pulling them aboard.

Working together under dangerous conditions, the rescue party succeeded in saving ten members of Tecumseh's crew.

The operation required the sailors to remain exposed while they brought survivors out of the water and secured them inside their boat.

Farragut later described the fire encountered by the rescue party as among the most severe he had ever witnessed.

In his official report of the Battle of Mobile Bay, the admiral specifically praised Acting Ensign Nields for leading the operation and confirmed that the boat crew had rescued ten sailors from death.

Baker's participation in this mission became the defining achievement of his naval career.

His courage was demonstrated through a rescue rather than an attack against an enemy vessel. While the larger Union fleet continued its dangerous advance, Baker and his companions deliberately entered the threatened waters to save fellow sailors.

The Battle of Mobile Bay continued after the rescue.

Farragut's warships passed the Confederate fortifications and engaged the defending naval force. The Confederate ironclad CSS Tennessee eventually surrendered following an intense engagement with Union vessels.

The victory gave Union forces control of the bay and severely weakened Confederate naval operations along the Gulf Coast.

Fort Morgan surrendered later that month, completing a major strategic success for the Union Navy.

For Charles Baker, the battle brought formal recognition of his personal bravery.

His actions were recorded in Navy General Order No. 71, dated January 15, 1866, recognizing his award of the Navy Medal of Honor.

The decoration honored his participation in the rescue of the ten sailors from USS Tecumseh during the battle on August 5, 1864.

Five other members of the Metacomet rescue party also received the Medal of Honor for their conduct.

Baker's award reflected the exceptional danger the volunteers had accepted when they entered a small boat under Confederate fire to assist men from a sinking warship.

His military distinction was preserved under two recorded names.

Although he is commonly identified as Charles Baker, original Navy award documentation also lists him as Henry Baker. The name Henry appears on the reverse of his Medal of Honor, while his gravestone identifies him as Charles.

Both names remain associated with the same decorated sailor and the rescue at Mobile Bay.

Baker continued his naval career after the battle. Records associated with his later service indicate that he reenlisted during the final months of the Civil War and remained connected with the Navy after the conflict ended.

Following years of maritime service, Baker eventually resided at the United States Naval Asylum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a facility established to provide accommodation and care for former naval personnel.

A Philadelphia city directory from 1872 recorded him as a resident of the institution.

His later years included periods of medical treatment at the Naval Home, where records document recurring illness. Despite these difficulties, the former Quarter Gunner remained associated with the naval community in which he had spent much of his adult life.

Charles Baker died on August 3, 1891, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

He was buried at Mount Moriah Cemetery in Philadelphia, where his grave preserves the name Charles Baker and his connection with the United States Navy.

His Medal of Honor remains an important historical artifact. The United States Naval History and Heritage Command preserves a photographic record of the decoration's reverse, bearing the name Henry Baker and documenting the honor awarded for his conduct at Mobile Bay.

Baker's military legacy centers on the rescue of ten sailors from USS Tecumseh on August 5, 1864.

As Confederate guns fired across Mobile Bay, he joined a small boat crew that left the relative protection of USS Metacomet to help men facing death in the water.

The rescue demonstrated courage, discipline, and devotion to fellow sailors during one of the Civil War's most important naval engagements.

Charles Baker is remembered as a United States Navy Quarter Gunner whose bravery during the Battle of Mobile Bay earned him the Medal of Honor and secured his place among the distinguished naval servicemen of the American Civil War.