Charles Lester (b. ca. 1849) was from Conklin, Broome County, New York. At the time of the 1860 census, Charles Lester was living in the household of his father, John Lester, a farmer, and his mother, Mary A. Lester. After failing to be accepted into an infantry regiment, Charles enlisted in the U. S. Navy at New York on April 27, 1864. He served aboard the steam frigate U.S.S. Wabash, which was assigned to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. In December 1864 and January 1865, the Wabash was part of the naval force that attacked Fort Fisher near Wilmington, NC. His brother, Haviland Lester (b. ca. 1843) served as a private in Co. D, 109th New York.