Charles Williamson Flusser (September 27, 1832 – April 19, 1864) was an officer in the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

.

Biography

Born at Annapolis

Annapolis, Maryland

Annapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland, as well as the county seat of Anne Arundel County. It had a population of 38,394 at the 2010 census and is situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east of Washington, D.C. Annapolis is...

, Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

, Flusser entered the United States Naval Academy

United States Naval Academy

The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...

 in 1847 and graduated with the Class of 1853. During the Civil War, he commanded the gunboat

Gunboat

A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...

s USS Commodore Perry and USS Miami

USS Miami (1861)

The first USS Miami was a side-wheel, double-ender gunboat in the United States Navy during the American Civil War.Miami was launched by Philadelphia Navy Yard on November 16, 1861, and commissioned there on January 29, 1862, Lieutenant Abram Davis Harrell in command.-Battle of New Orleans:The...

 in operations in the North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

 Sounds area.

Lieutenant Commander

Lieutenant Commander

Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...

 Flusser was killed in action on April 19, 1864 in the engagement between Miami and the Confederate ironclad CSS Albemarle

CSS Albemarle

CSS Albemarle was an ironclad ram of the Confederate Navy , named for a town and a sound in North Carolina and a county in Virginia...

. In that action, Flusser personally fired a cannon shell at the Confederate ironclad. The shell, with a 10-second fuse, bounced off the Albemarle's armor and landed back on the deck of the Miami, where its explosion killed him. Brigadier General

Brigadier general (United States)

A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...

 Henry Walton Wessels, commanding U.S. Army troops at Plymouth, North Carolina

Plymouth, North Carolina

Plymouth is the largest town in Washington County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 4,107 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Washington County...

, noted: "In the death of this accomplished sailor the Navy has lost one of its brightest ornaments...."

Namesakes

Four United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 ships have been named USS Flusser

USS Flusser

Several ships of United States Navy were named USS Flusser for Charles Williamson Flusser:* The first Flusser was captured in 1864 and sold in 1865.* The second Flusser was a Smith-class destroyer, commissioned in 1909 and sold in 1919....

in honor of Charles W. Flusser.