LIEUT. CHARLES S. GRAY – ONE OF THE HEROES FALLEN.
IR Thursday, Sept. 8, 1898
The death of Charles S. Gray filled this community with deep sorrow. He was one of the first to answer his country’s call and one of the first to return on his shield. When the young wife, and the mother and her two sons, John and George, with the mortal remains of a husband, a son, and brother, came over the river from the train last Sunday afternoon, a great throng which had gathered on the river bank, stood uncovered in solemn ranks, as the hearse and carriage drove by, and then followed in procession to the residence, and stood uncovered as the casket was borne into the home of mourning. It was a sad yet beautiful spectacle, so much grief mingled with so much affection.
Charles Sedgwick Gray was born at Vesuvius Furnace, this county, on February 20, 1869. The family moved to Huntington in 1875 and to Ironton in 1877 and has since then occupied their present home. Charley attended school in Huntington and Ironton and graduated from Ironton High School in 1886 under the Superintendency of R. S. Page.
After his graduation, he attended the Ohio State University at Columbus for one year, where he studied civil engineering; then, he went to Cornell, where he studied for two years. At the close of the two years, he went to Quinemo, Kansas, where he was a teller in a bank. When the Citizens Bank of Ironton started, he returned from Kansas to accept the position of teller in that bank.
Here he was employed until 1896, when his health was threatened, and he went to Colorado and was engaged as assistant to the _____ of the Colorado Ore Supply & Reduction Co. Last Christmas, he returned to Ironton and remained during the Winter.
When the war broke out, he concluded it was his duty to join the army. He had a love for military life and in 1893 when, Co. I of the 17th O.N.G. was struggling for existence. He joined it, was elected Captain, and in a short time, built it up and made it one of the best military companies in the state. Capt. Charley Gray was a soldierly fellow – straight, courteous, chivalric.
He was strict but considerate, and all the men loved him. He looked a man straight in the face and spoke words of sense and thoughtfulness. When he made the company well-nigh perfect, he was called away to the West, and other officers were chosen. And now, when the country calls the young men to the army, Capt. Gray turns to the company that he organized and commanded and joins it as a private and goes off to the war.
He was with it at its tearful parting with friends at Ironton, went to camp with it at Columbus and to Camp Alger. In the meantime, he was appointed Commissary Sergeant and, afterward, Quarter Master Sergeant. The young man whom he succeeded as Q.M.S. was Joseph Wood, who joined the Signal Corps and was the first man to raise a United States flag over the soil of Porto Rico. In the regimental service, Sergeant Gray was a correct, faithful, efficient officer and won the kind opinion of all with whom he came in contact.
While thus acting, he learned there was to be a competitive examination of applicants for two vacancies in the Marine Corps. This examination Mr. Gray attended this. There were sixty others, all competing for the same prize. Out of that sixty young men, two were victorious, and Charley Gray was one of them.
He had little time for preparation, but his long days at school and college, and his reading habit afterward, stood him well in hand, and he gained the day splendidly. It was a Commission in the Marine Corps that he was after, and he won it on merit. The honor was most pleasant to him, for he was approaching, what was to him an ideal life, and that was a position of honor and responsibility in the military service. Splendidly would he have filled the trust, and nobly would he have honored the country.
He received his commission as Lieutenant of the U.S. Marine Corps was sworn in, and was assigned to duty at the Marine Barracks in Washington. During this time, symptoms of malaria appeared, which he tried to fight off, but the fever gained ground, so a few days before he could go on duty, he was sent to Garfield Hospital in Washington. He grew worse. The fever developed into typhoid.
His mother went to his bedside, where his devoted young wife had watched from the beginning of his sickness. They were joined later by his brother, John W. Gray, who had arrived a few days before from Puerto Rico and was detained in quarantine in New York. Two trained nurses were engaged.
But in spite of all ministrations of medicine, skill, and love, the fever raged with violence until Saturday, the 3rd, when with mother, wife, and brothers by his side, the spirit took its flight above. He died for his country. Though it was in a hospital at the national capital, surrounded by the loved ones of home, his death was as much a sacrifice to his country as if he fell on the deck of a battleship or among the tangled wire on the heights of El Caney.
On the 26th day of April, the day on which his company departed for the war, he and Miss Blanch McGovney, to whom in love and life he had been devoted for many months, were quietly wedded. His bride he left at the marriage alter and stepped into the ranks of blue, bound for battle. In a few days, she followed him to camp and remained near him till his sickness, when she was his constant companion and tender nurse. All this reminiscence of love so full of sadness, so full of beauty, makes an episode that touches human life with indescribable grace.
The funeral took place on Tuesday afternoon. The services were held at the Presbyterian church, which was crowded to overflowing. the affair was regarded as a public occasion. He was a soldier who died for his country, and the people mourned. Business houses closed during the hour of the funeral.
The cortege from the house reached the church at 2 o’clock and moved up its solemn aisles. The pall bearers were E. S. Culbertson, F. A. Bixby, Fred McKnight, Howard Kerr, W. H. Nigh, Fred Horshell. The honorary pallbearers were A. R. Johnson, B. F. Ellsberry, Chas. A. Hutsinpillar, and Thos. G. Brown, Col. H. A. Marting, and Capt. P. S. Hart.
The altar was adorned with flowers. The stars and stripes decked the floral scene and wrapped the casket, in which, in his uniform, the soldier boy lay. Most exquisite floral designs were sent by loving hands to add beauty to the scene. The casket was fairly hid with flowers. A suitable volunteer was played on the organ by Miss Ricker as the cortege entered the church.
First came the ministers, then the honorary pallbearers, then a detachment from Co. I. 7th O.V.I., and then the casket, followed by the mourning family and friends. The choir is composed of Mrs. Minnie Bixby, Mrs. Howard Norton, Mr. Simpson, and Mr. Scofield sang “Jesus, Lover of my Soul;” Rev. Tappan, of Portsmouth, offered prayer; Rev. Geo. H. Geyer read a portion of Scripture; Rev. Manville led in prayer; Mrs. Minnie Bixby sang “The Holy City;” Rev. C. G. Jordon delivered a most eloquent funeral address, in which he paid a lofty tribute to the character of the deceased. It was a warm personal tribute, for the minister and Charles Gray was strong personal friends. The noble address listened with deep attention.
The long cortege was then formed and started for Woodland. There were forty-seven vehicles in line. Around the open grave, a great throng gathered to join in the sorrow of the last sad duty to the dead. Rev. C. G. Jordan repeated the solemn ceremony and said the benediction, and all was over.
When the throng departed and the mound over the grave was made, it was beautiful with the floral tributes of friends. Co. I. boys sent a handsome design of shield and anchor; the Citizens National Bank an elegant wreath; some close and intimate companions a large shield, iridescent with the stars and stripes. These designs were most elaborate and rich. Many varied clusters of fresh flowers added to the fragrant tribute. All these made that grave so beautiful that it seemed rather of heaven than of earth.
All of this demonstration of sorrow and respect was well-directed. Charles S. Gray was, besides being a soldier, a noble young man. He was a gentleman of Christian life and character. He was kind, courteous, and just brave. He leaves a memory that is bright with those things which make life graceful and attractive. To those who knew him best and loved him most, the hearts of the people, in this hour of affliction, come very, very close.
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