Charles A. Pownall was born on October 4, 1887, in Atglen, Pennsylvania, and after the graduation from high school, he received an appointment to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland. He graduated in June 1910 and was commissioned as an ensign on that date. Pownall then served briefly aboard the battleships USS "Mississippi" and USS "Missouri", and the destroyers USS "Ammen" and USS "Reid". He also participated in the Veracruz expedition in mid-1914.