Before the War

Within the year of 1819, Charles H. Center, or more correctly known as Charles H. Senter, was born into a family of 18 kids: Blake, Eliza, Alfred Aven, Richard Alfred, Steven, Alvin Blalock, Rev James, Belle, John James, Isabella, William, Sophia, John Aaron, Drewry, Henry, Matilda, and himself. His father, Stephen Senter (1783-1860), married a woman named Anna Blalock (1781-unknown) in 1803 and had decided to reside in Cumberland, North Carolina[1]; although, Charles Senter would soon be born in a town called Buckhorn Township, Harnett County, North Carolina. Eventually, Charles married a woman named Emeline Turner (1826-unknown) and decided to continue living in Buckhorn Township until he enlisted in the Confederate army.[2]

Enlistment and Regiment Information

Charles enlisted into the Confederate Army on September 28th, 1863 when he was either 44 or 45 years old.[3] He was placed into Company H of the 30th North Carolina infantry as the rank of Private.[4] Also, his name must have been accidentally misspelled as he was being enlisted due to the fact that numerous documents, all containing precisely the same information, address him as Charles Center/Centre instead of Charles Senter. Charles began active service on September 28th, 1863, the same day he enlisted.[5] From this day forward, his company would be involved in a multitude of battles, all of which were fought in Virginia; these battles included Warrenton, Bristoe Station, Kelly’s Ford, Mine Run, Wilderness, and Spotsylvania Court House.[6]

Wounds and Death

Charles suffered wounds in two different battles, one of which he recovered from and one that he did not. He was first injured at the battle of Kelly’s Ford on November 7th, [7]but was quickly admitted to a local hospital on November 8th.[8] Luckily, he was able to fully recover and soon returned to the battlefield with his regiment. The second time he was wounded occurred at Spotsylvania Court House on May 12th, 1864.[9] To briefly summarize the battle, Lee mistakenly relocated part of his defenses, allowing union soldiers to break through the confederate line. Within seconds, the skirmish transformed into a point-blank slugfest with union soldiers directly on top of the confederates. Unfortunately, Charles was a victim of this slaughter and was shot in the side of the head, with the ball entering at the left temple and making its exit a ½ inch below his right eye.[10] Amazingly, Charles was not killed by the gunshot, but was in critical condition. To make matters worse, he was taken as a prisoner-of-war that same day and was not admitted to a hospital until May 19th.[11] He spent about 12 days at Carver General Hospital in Washington D.C. until he was finally declared dead due to exhaustion on May 31st, 1864.[12] Overall, his service lasted from September 28th, 1863 to May 31st, 1864.

Burial:

Charles H. Senter was declared dead at age 45 on May 31st, 1864. He was buried at Oakwood Cemetery in Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina.[13]

[1] "Stephen H Senter." Free Family History and Genealogy Records - FamilySearch.org. Accessed June 07, 2017. https://familysearch.org/tree/person/KPHL-F6T/details.

[2] "Charles Senter." Free Family History and Genealogy Records - FamilySearch.org. Accessed June 03, 2017. https://familysearch.org/tree/person/KJ6M-JFY/details.

[3] "Company Muster Roll." MS. Accessed May 31, 2017. https://www.fold3.com/page/637476013charlesh_center/photos/49289944/.

[4] "Inventory of the Effects of Chas Center." MS. Accessed May 31, 2017. https://www.fold3.com/page/637476013charlesh_center/photos/49289955/.

[5] "Charles H. Center." Civil War Data. Accessed May 31, 2017. http://civilwardata.com/active/hdsquery.dll?SoldierHistory?C&68263.

[6] "U.S., American Civil War Regiments, 1861-1866." Ancestry. Accessed May 31, 2017. http://search.ancestryclassroom.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?phsrc=ruK2&phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&indiv=1&dbid=3866&F0002A81=30th%20Regiment,%20North%20Carolina%20Infantry&gss=angs-d&pcat=39&fh=0&h=1527&recoff=&mlrpos=1.

[7] "Charles Senter Roll of Honor." MS. Accessed June 2, 2017. https://www.fold3.com/page/637476013charlesh_center/photos/.

[8] "Register of Receiving and Wayside Hospital." MS. Accessed June 6, 2017. https://www.fold3.com/page/637476013charlesh_center/photos/.

[9] "Charles Centre Hospital Record." MS. Accessed June 2, 2017. https://www.fold3.com/page/637476013charlesh_center/photos/49289951/.

[10] "Record of Death and Internment." MS. Accessed May 31, 2017. https://www.fold3.com/page/637476013charlesh_center/photos/49289954/.

[11] "Charles Centre/List of POWs." MS. Accessed June 2, 2017. https://www.fold3.com/page/637476013charlesh_center/photos/.

[12] "Record of Death and Internment No.1." MS. Accessed June 2, 2017. https://www.fold3.com/image/49289958.

[13] "Charles H. Center." Charles H. Center ( - 1864) - Find A Grave Memorial. Accessed June 06, 2017. https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=37381734.

Charles H Center