Biography
Born at Annapolis, Maryland, Flusser entered the United States Naval Academy in 1847 and graduated with the Class of 1853. During the Civil War, he commanded the gunboats USS Commodore Perry and USS Miami in operations in the North Carolina Sounds area.
Lieutenant Commander Flusser was killed in action on April 19, 1864 in the engagement between Miami and the Confederate ironclad CSS Albemarle. In that action, Flusser personally fired a cannon shell at the Confederate ironclad. The shell, with a 10-second fuse, bounced off the Albemarle's armor and landed back on the deck of the Miami, where its explosion killed him. Brigadier General Henry Walton Wessels, commanding U.S. Army troops at Plymouth, North Carolina, noted: "In the death of this accomplished sailor the Navy has lost one of its brightest ornaments...."
Read more about this topic: Charles W. Flusser
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