Lt. Col. Charles Redington Mudge, or Charley Mudge as he was known to friends and family, was Mr. Grand’s [James Lawrence 1878-1969] uncle, the brother of his mother, Caroline Estelle Mudge Lawrence. Mudge fought in the Civil War, in numerous key battles, and by the time of his death at twenty-three, he had risen to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He was killed at Gettysburg, on the third day of fighting when – leading a charge that could be called the very definition of bravery – a ball struck him just below the throat.
In the year of his death, the following obituary appeared in a Harvard alumni publication.
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Association of the Alumni of Harvard College
Necrology of the Past Year
1863. Lieutenant‑Colonel Charles Redington Mudge was killed in the battle of Gettysburg 3d July, 1863, aged twenty-three years. He was the son of Enoch Redington and Caroline A. [Patten] Mudge, and was born in New York City 22d October, 1839. He was fitted for college at the private school of Thomas Gamaliel Bradford H.U. 1822] in Boston. With the exception of a few months passed in preparing to enter business with his father, he was in the service of his country—having joined the 2d Mass. Infantry—the first three years’ regiment raised for the war. He went into the service with his whole soul. He was commissioned as First Lieutenant, was promoted to be Captain July 8, 1861, and was subsequently made Lieutenant‑Colonel. While encamped at Brook Farm he slept on the bare ground to prepare himself for the life which he was to lead. His regiment was spoken of as a model for its admirable drill. When they covered the rear of General Banks’ retreat, Colonel Mudge was with them in their dangerous path; and in the battle of Winchester, May 25, 1862, received his first wound. The officers of his regiment never failed to express their opinion of his military qualities and abilities in the highest terms. But there are other traits in his character which will be remembered with the warmest affection by his young contemporaries. In his college course his popularity was universal, and he was a favorite in every clique, and in the most different sets. Every one was his friend in need, and no one would have hesitated a moment to have asked his services with the certainty of a kind reception.
Kinsmen and Kinswomen 