Charles Bradley Stoughton (October 31, 1841 – January 17, 1898) was an officer and regimental commander in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

Early life Charles B. Stoughton was born in Chester, Vermont on October 31, 1841. He was the son of Henry E. Stoughton and Laura (Clark) Stoughton. Stoughton was educated in Bellows Falls, Vermont, graduated from Norwich University in 1861, and delayed plans to study law so he could enlist in the Army.

Military career He was commissioned adjutant of the 4th Vermont Infantry Regiment on August 1, 1861, with the rank of captain, and mustered into military service on September 21. The 4th Vermont was commanded by his brother, Colonel Edwin H. Stoughton. Charles Stoughton was promoted to major on February 25, 1862. He took part in the action at all the regiment's battles during the Peninsula Campaign.Robert F. O'Neill, Chasing Jeb Stuart and John Mosby: The Union Cavalry in Northern Virginia, 2012, page 63James T. White & Company, The National Cyclopedia of American Biography, Volume XIV, Supplement I, 1915, page 265

Stoughton was promoted to lieutenant colonel on July 17, 1862, and saw action at Crampton's Gap, where the regiment captured 121 men and the colors of the 15th Virginia Infantry. He subsequently served at Antietam in September, 1862. When his brother was promoted to brigadier general and assumed command of a brigade in November, 1862, Charles Stoughton took command of the regiment and was promoted to colonel.Gilbert Adams Hays, Life and Letters of Alexander Hays: Brevet Colonel United States Army, 1919, page 298

Stoughton led the regiment at the Battle of Fredericksburg, on December 13, 1862, where the 4th Vermont suffered 56 casualties. He reported "My colors were completely riddled with canister and musket balls, scarcely hanging together. The top of the staff, upon which is a brass eagle, was shot away by canister, but saved, and brought away."Report of Charles B. Stoughton to Peter T. Washburn, December 16, 1862, Report of the Adjutant & Inspector General of the State of Vermont, from November 1, 1862, to October 1, 1863, Montpelier: Walton's Steam Printing Establishment, 1863, p. 73.

He continued to lead the regiment during its participation in the battles of Marye's Heights, Salem Church, and Gettysburg.Vermont in the Civil War, , retrieved March 28, 2014 On July 10, 1863, during the Union army's pursuit of the retreating Army of Northern Virginia, Stoughton was severely wounded in an engagement near Funkstown, Maryland, resulting in the loss of his right eye.Eric J. Wittenberg, J. David Petruzzi, One Continuous Fight: The Retreat from Gettysburg and the Pursuit of Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, July 4-14, 1863, 2008, page 221 He resigned on February 2, 1864, as a result of his wounds. In the omnibus promotions that followed the end of the war, he was brevetted a Brigadier General to date from March 13, 1865, in recognition of his faithful and meritorious service.Jesse Bowman Young, The Battle of Gettysburg: A Comprehensive Narrative, 1913, page 406

Post-war career After the war Stoughton studied law with his father, attained admission to the bar, and became an attorney in the New York City practice of his uncle, Edwin W. Stoughton.Thomas Hooper, compiler, Charles H. Pope (Boston), publisher Hooper Genealogy, 1908, pages 151-152 He was a trustee of Norwich University from 1871 to 1887, and received an honorary Master of Arts in 1872 and an honorary Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) in 1884.William Arba Ellis, Norwich University, 1819-1911: Her History, Her Graduates, Her Roll of Honor, Volume II, 1911, pages 653-654

In his later years, Stoughton practiced law in New Haven, Connecticut, and he lived there after retiring. His health began to decline, and he moved to the Vermont Soldiers Home in Bennington, Vermont, where he died on January 17, 1898.The Cyclopædia of American Biography, Volume 5, 1915, page Stoughton-Sturgis He was buried at the Immanuel Cemetery at the Immanuel Episcopal Church in Bellows Falls, Vermont.Roger D. Hunt, Jack Brown, Brevet Brigadier Generals in Blue, 1990, page 593

Family In April, 1869 Stoughton married Ada Ripley Hooper of Boston, Massachusetts. They were the parents of one son and five daughters: Bradley; Laura; Leila; Mildred; and Isabel.James T. White & Company, The National Cyclopedia of American Biography, Volume XIV, Supplement I, 1910, page 265

Mildred Stoughton was the wife of Benjamin I. Spock. They were the parents of Dr. Benjamin McLane Spock (1903–1998), a leading pediatrician and peace advocate.

References

Sources Benedict, G. G., Vermont in the Civil War. A History of the part taken by the Vermont Soldiers And Sailors in the War For The Union, 1861-5. Burlington, VT.: The Free Press Association, 1888, i:158, 161, 163–164, 166–167, 353, 394, 414. Crockett, Walter Hill, Vermont The Green Mountain State, New York: The Century History Company, Inc., 1921, pp. 541, 575. Peck, Theodore S., compiler, Revised Roster of Vermont Volunteers and lists of Vermonters Who Served in the Army and Navy of the United States During the War of the Rebellion, 1861–66, Montpelier, VT.: Press of the Watchman Publishing Co., 1892, pp. 108, 750–751.

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