Charles A. Read

Charles A. Read was a sailor in the United States Navy during the American Civil War and a recipient of the Medal of Honor for extraordinary courage during one of the most famous single-ship naval battles of the conflict. He served aboard USS Kearsarge and held the rank of Coxswain, a responsible enlisted position that required experience, discipline, and dependable seamanship. As a Coxswain, Read was more than an ordinary deck sailor. Coxswains were trusted with important shipboard duties connected with boats, deck operations, handling crews, and maintaining discipline during demanding naval operations. The position required practical knowledge of seamanship and the ability to perform reliably under pressure.

Read’s defining military action took place on June 19, 1864, off Cherbourg, France, during the battle between the Union warship USS Kearsarge and the Confederate commerce raider CSS Alabama. The engagement became one of the most celebrated naval battles of the American Civil War.

CSS Alabama had spent much of the war attacking and destroying Union merchant shipping around the world. Its operations caused significant economic damage and forced the United States Navy to devote considerable resources to locating and stopping the Confederate cruiser.

When Alabama entered Cherbourg, France, in 1864, USS Kearsarge moved into position offshore. The Confederate commander eventually decided to come out and fight.

On June 19, the two vessels met in international waters off the French coast. The battle quickly developed into a fierce artillery duel watched by spectators from the shoreline and nearby vessels. USS Kearsarge and CSS Alabama maneuvered around each other while firing heavy naval guns.

Both ships attempted to gain advantageous positions, and crews had to continue loading, aiming, and firing while exposed to enemy shells.

Charles A. Read served at one of Kearsarge’s pivot guns during the engagement. He was specifically associated with the gun crew as the first sponger.

The role of a sponger was essential in nineteenth-century naval artillery. After a cannon was fired, the barrel had to be carefully swabbed with a wet sponge before the next powder charge was inserted. This removed burning fragments and reduced the danger that fresh gunpowder might ignite prematurely.

The job required speed, precision, and courage, especially while the ship was under enemy fire. A mistake could injure or kill members of the gun crew.

During the battle with Alabama, Read carried out his duties with exceptional bravery and efficiency. He remained at his station while shells and shot from the Confederate vessel struck around Kearsarge.

His conduct was later recognized as gallant and distinguished, and his performance contributed to the effectiveness of the Union ship’s artillery.

The battle lasted roughly an hour before CSS Alabama was seriously damaged. The Confederate vessel began to sink, and its crew abandoned ship.

USS Kearsarge emerged victorious, ending the career of one of the Confederacy’s most successful commerce raiders.

The destruction of Alabama was a major symbolic and strategic success for the Union Navy. The Confederate cruiser had captured or destroyed numerous Union merchant vessels, so its defeat attracted international attention.

Charles Read’s role in the battle placed him directly within one of the most important naval victories of the Civil War.

For his courage during the action of June 19, 1864, Charles A. Read was awarded the Medal of Honor.

The correct historical decoration for his service is the Medal of Honor 1862–1912 Navy.

The Navy Medal of Honor had been authorized during the Civil War. Congress established the decoration for enlisted Navy and Marine Corps personnel who demonstrated exceptional gallantry and distinguished conduct in combat.

The early Navy Medal of Honor featured the original five-pointed star design associated with the first generation of Medal of Honor recipients.

Because Read’s heroic action occurred in 1864 while he was serving in the United States Navy, the Medal of Honor 1862–1912 Navy is the appropriate version for his profile.

No verified clasp or device is associated with his Medal of Honor.

Read’s rank at the time of his Medal of Honor action was Coxswain.

This rank is important because it accurately reflects his position aboard USS Kearsarge during the battle with CSS Alabama. He was not a commissioned officer or ship commander. His heroism came from his performance as an experienced enlisted sailor working directly with the ship’s fighting crew.

The distinction matters because Medal of Honor history includes sailors from many different ranks and specialties. Read’s story demonstrates that critical acts of bravery were often performed by enlisted men carrying out highly specialized duties under fire.

His work at the pivot gun also shows the importance of teamwork in nineteenth-century naval combat. A heavy naval gun required several men to load, aim, sponge, fire, and reposition it.

Every member of the crew depended on the others. If one man failed to perform his role correctly, the weapon’s rate of fire could slow or the crew could be placed in danger.

Read’s steady performance under enemy fire therefore had direct combat value.

The fight between Kearsarge and Alabama was conducted far from the main battlefields of Virginia or Georgia, yet it was fully part of the American Civil War.

The Confederacy used commerce raiders such as Alabama to attack Union trade across the Atlantic and other oceans. The Union Navy responded by pursuing these vessels worldwide. The Kearsarge-Alabama battle was therefore an international extension of the conflict.

Read’s Medal of Honor tied his name permanently to that dramatic encounter.

His final medal record under the client’s corrected database rules consists of the Medal of Honor 1862–1912 Navy only.

The separate Navy Civil War Medal should not be included in his profile.

The Navy Civil War Medal was authorized in 1908 for qualifying Navy and Marine Corps Civil War veterans.

However, the client’s rule requires the veteran to have remained alive into 1909 for that medal to be included in the database.

Charles A. Read died on May 7, 1865.

Because he died more than forty years before the Navy Civil War Medal was authorized, he does not meet the client’s condition for receiving that medal in the database.

The Army Civil War Campaign Medal also does not apply because Read served in the United States Navy, not the Army.

For this reason, his final confirmed decoration remains the Medal of Honor 1862–1912 Navy, with no device or clasp.

Read’s military story is therefore concentrated around one extraordinary naval engagement. As Coxswain aboard USS Kearsarge, he performed a demanding enlisted role during combat against one of the Confederacy’s most famous warships.

His courage at the pivot gun demonstrated the discipline required of naval gun crews in an era when combat depended on physical endurance, precision, and the willingness to remain at exposed stations under fire.

The battle also illustrates the importance of individual sailors within larger naval victories.

Commanders planned and directed operations, but the outcome of a naval engagement depended on ordinary sailors successfully operating guns, handling equipment, maintaining the ship, and carrying out orders under extreme conditions.

Charles A. Read was one of those sailors.

His Medal of Honor represents official recognition that his performance during the battle went beyond normal expectations of duty.

The award places him among the earliest generation of United States Navy Medal of Honor recipients.

His rank of Coxswain, his service aboard USS Kearsarge, and his role during the destruction of CSS Alabama form the central elements of his historical legacy.

Charles A. Read should ultimately be remembered as an enlisted Union sailor who performed his duties with exceptional courage during one of the most famous naval duels of the Civil War.

On June 19, 1864, off Cherbourg, France, he remained at his combat station aboard USS Kearsarge while the ship fought CSS Alabama.

His gallantry during that battle earned him the Medal of Honor 1862–1912 Navy.

Although his life ended on May 7, 1865, only a short time after the Civil War’s major fighting had concluded, his Medal of Honor ensured that his courage would remain part of United States naval history.