Charles H. Tracy facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Charles H. Tracy
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| Born | October 3, 1833 Jewett City, Connecticut |
| Died | September 13, 1911 (aged 77) Somerville, Massachusetts |
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| Allegiance |  United States of America |
| Service/ |
 United States ArmyUnion Army |
| Years of service | August, 1862 - July 4, 1865 |
| Rank |  Second Lieutenant |
| Unit |  Company A, 37th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry |
| Awards | Medal of Honor |
Charles H. Tracy (October 3, 1833 - September 13, 1911) was an infantry soldier who received the Medal of Honor while serving in the Union Army during the American Civil War for two acts of bravery.
Early life
Tracy was born the son of Albert Tracy and Mrs. Harriet Birch Tracy on October 3, 1833 in Jewett City, Connecticut. After leaving school he learned the machinist trade. He married Mary Elisabeth Corbin in Upton, Massachusetts on December 27, 1853. Around 1853, the couple moved to Chicopee, Massachusetts where they made their home until 1890. Tracy worked in the cotton mills of the Dwight Company and the Ames Manufacturing Company during this period.
Military career and associations
In August, 1862 in Chicopee, Massachusetts, Mr. Tracy enlisted in Company A, 37th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry which was mustered into service at Pittsfield, Massachusetts on September 4, 1862. He was serving as a sergeant when he performed his first act of bravery on May 12, 1864 during the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House in Virginia.
According to Sgt.
His second act of bravery occurred on April 2, 1865 during the Third Battle of Petersburg, also in Virginia.
Sgt. He was subsequently promoted to the rank of second lieutenant in recognition of his bravery.
He was a charter member of the Otis Chapman Post 103 of the Grand Army of the Republic of Chicopee, of which he was adjutant in 1881 and commander during the three succeeding years. In 1884, he was a member of the Department Council of Administration; and, in 1891, he transferred his membership from the Chicopee Post to Abraham Lincoln Post 11 of Charlestown. He was also a member and former president of the Thirty-Seventh Massachusetts Regiment Association.
Post-military life
From 1888 to 1890 Tracy was employed at the United States arsenal in Springfield, Massachusetts. In 1890, he moved to Boston, Massachusetts and was a night watchman at the Custom House Tower for sixteen years until the spring of 1906, when he was compelled by ill health to give up active life. During his employment at the Custom House Tower, he made his home in Charlestown, Massachusetts where he was well known and highly respected. Following the death of his wife on March 6, 1905, and his retirement from the custom house, he then moved to Somerville, Massachusetts in 1907, where he lived the rest of his life until his death in 1911. The final years of his life were spent as an invalid. He spent the final ten days of his life at home in critical condition before succumbing to the effects of a stroke on September 13, 1911.
See also
