Charles Augustus Hilton

Who was Charles Augustus Hilton?

Charles Augustus Hilton was a Union soldier in the American Civil War and later became a Free Will Baptist preacher. Hilton, New York, a village in the town of Parma, was named after him in 1896. He was born on July 22, 1845 in Parsonsfield, Maine, the son of George and Abigail F Hilton, and died in Minneapolis, MN on October 24, 1912. He was married on April 21, 1872 in Frankfort, Illinois to Sarah Adelaide Carpenter, the daughter of Josiah and Frances Carpenter. She was born on January 21, 1853 in Frankfort, Illinois and died in Minneapolis, Minnesota on October 8, 1944.

He first enlisted into the 27th Maine Infantry on September 30, 1862, having just turned 17 that summer. Following his mustering out in July 1863, he moved to Lowell, Massachusetts, and was working as a clerk there when he re-enlisted twice. He served as a private first class in the 6th Massachusetts Infantry for a 100 day service call, followed by his service with the 12th Independent Battery of Massachusetts Light Artillery. During one of these military stints, he became sick with disease, as noted in his biography in the History of Parsonsfield. He filed for a pension immediately after the War, on 20 Oct, 1866.