Background
Charles Hart was born on June 12, 1877 in at Davidson, Michigan, United States. He was the son of John Mansfield and Isabella (Ramsay) Hart.
Charles Hart was born on June 12, 1877 in at Davidson, Michigan, United States. He was the son of John Mansfield and Isabella (Ramsay) Hart.
Charles Hart He attended the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, graduating 13th in a class of 47 in 1897.
Naval policy at the time required two years of sea duty following graduation from Annapolis before a naval cadet was commissioned an ensign. Hart spent the next two years aboard the battleship USS Massachusetts (BB-2).
Following the Spanish-American War, Hart spent two years on the sloop-of-war USS Hartford, after which he was posted to the Naval Academy, where he taught ordnance and gunnery for two years. Following his time at Annapolis, Hart served as a division officer on USS Missouri (BB-11) and then assumed his first command, the destroyer USS Lawrence (DD-8).
Following his assignment on North Dakota, Hart became qualified to command submarines. In 1917 he was Chief of Staff to the Commander, Submarine Force, Atlantic Fleet (COMSUBLANT), commanding COMSUBLANT's flagship Chicago at New London, Connecticut. He also served in World War I as Director of Submarine Operations for the Navy Department. After World War I, Hart commanded USS Mississippi (BB-41). From 1931-1934, Hart was Superintendent of the United States Naval Academy.
Hart was appointed commander in chief, U.S. Asiatic Fleet on July 25, 1939 and held that position at the commencement of hostilities in World War II between Japan and the United States in December 1941. Hart held the command of the U.S. Navy Asiatic Fleet until February 5, 1942, at which point the command ceased to exist as part of a broader U.S. military command restructuring in the Southwest Pacific. Hart continue to hold the position of commander for ABDA naval forces until relieved of operational responsibilities on February 12, 1942. Hart formally was relieved of this title on February 16, 1942, when he left Java, ostensibly for health reasons, bound for the United States.
Hart returned to the United States on March 8, 1942. President Roosevelt presented Hart with a Gold Star for "His conduct of the operations of the Allied naval forces in the Southwest Pacific area during January and February 1942, was characterized by unfailing judgment and sound decision, coupled with marked moral courage, in the face of discouraging surroundings and complex associations."
Hart was retired with the rank of admiral in July 1942, but recalled to duty in August 1942 as a member of the U.S. Navy's General Board. Hart retired from active duty a second time in February 1945, on his appointment to the U.S. Senate to fill the seat of Francis T. Maloney, on Maloney's death.
While at Annapolis, he courted Miss Caroline Brownson, daughter of Rear Admiral and Mrs. Willard H. Brownson, then superintendent of the Naval Academy and later commander of the Asiatic Fleet in 1906-1907. Hart married Miss Brownson on March 30, 1910.