Charles Wilson was born in 1836 in Boston, Massachusetts. He enlisted in the Navy on 15 October 1861, at Chicago, Illinois. Assigned to the gunboat commanded by Commander Henry A. Walke, he served during the operations which captured Forts Henry and Donelson in February 1862. He exhibited "conspicuous courage under fire" on the night of 4 April 1862, during the flotilla's passage down the Mississippi River past Island No. 10 to New Madrid. During the passage, Wilson, knee-deep in water and exposed to Confederate gunfire stood on the bow of the gunboat as he took soundings and called out the depths of the river, enabling "Carondelet" to make the passage safely. His soundings were the only significant guide for the gunboat as it threaded its way through the tortuous channel. Walke's running the gauntlet turned out to be a crucial factor in the Union's capture of Island No. 10 and its later operations to the south.