Charles Baker

Charles Baker (1809 – August 3, 1891), also known as Henry Baker, was a Union Navy sailor in the American Civil War and a recipient of the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions at the Battle of Mobile Bay.

Biography

Born in 1809 in the Georgetown area of Washington, D.C., Baker was living in New York City when he joined the Navy. He served during the Civil War as a quarter gunner on the . At the Battle of Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864, he was among the crew of a small boat sent from Metacomet to rescue survivors of the , which had been sunk by a naval mine (then known as "torpedoes"). Despite intense fire, the boat crew was able to pull ten Tecumseh men from the water. For this action, Baker was awarded the Medal of Honor a year and a half later, on January 15, 1866.