Charles F. Rand
American Civil War Medal of Honor recipient (1839–1908)
Charles Franklin Rand (January 19, 1839 – October 13, 1908) was an American Civil War Medal of Honor recipient. He received the award for his actions at the Battle of Blackburn's Ford, Virginia, when he stayed in action when a part of his regiment broke in disorder; he then joined another company and fought with it through the remainder of the engagement. Following the war he earned a medical degree and worked as a physician in Batavia, New York. Rand is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
Early years
Rand was born in Batavia, New York, on January 19, 1839, to James Rand and Angeline Smith Rand. He worked as a printer until the Civil War broke out when he was 22.
Military service
Rand volunteered for military service when a telegram was read in Batavia announcing Lincoln's call for 75,000 volunteers. He was the first to join the Union war efforts from Batavia, and was one of the first in the country to do so. His unit, Company K of the 12th New York Volunteers, traveled to Virginia and fought at Blackburn's Ford during the First Battle of Bull Run in July 1861. When part of his regiment fled the battle, Rand remained, continued to fight using an old musket, and joined another unit.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Charles F. Rand” is american Civil War Medal of Honor recipient (1839–1908). The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Charles, Rand and American, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “american Civil War Medal of Honor recipient (1839–1908)” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Contemporary correspondence, administrative files and participant testimony can test how later narratives organized the event or institution. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 26, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q102254051. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1839, 1908 and 1861.
Official terminology may obscure informal participation, dissent or communities documented only indirectly. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Compare institutional narratives with records created by participants and affected communities. Dates and formal titles are useful anchors, but not substitutes for context.
- Event chronology
- Institutional context
- Locating named record creators
Contemporary correspondence, government or organizational records, oral histories and cited historical scholarship.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Charles F. Rand”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Charles F. Rand primary sources, Charles F. Rand archive and Charles research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Charles F. Rand”?
- What chronology connects this entry to wider political or social change?
- Who created the surviving record, and for what administrative purpose?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Charles F. Rand” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.