Charles Edward Etting was a descendant of the Gratz family of Philadelphia, the Minis family of Savannah and the Polock family of Newport. The second of five children born to Edward Johnson Etting, son of Reuben and Frances Gratz Etting, and his wife Philippa Minis, Charles and his siblings (including older brother Reuben) were born and raised in Philadelphia. Nevertheless, their upbringing was steeped in the Etting family’s Baltimore roots. Charles was particularly proud of the military service of his paternal grandfather, Reuben Etting, in the Maryland Militia during the Revolutionary War.
When war broke out between the Union and the Confederacy in 1861, Charles volunteered for the 121st Pennsylvania Regiment, entering with the rank of second lieutenant. Over the course of his Army career, during which he served with distinction and participated in the significant battles at Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg, he secured promotions to first lieutenant, captain, and finally adjutant. After the war, Etting returned to Philadelphia and engaged himself in commerce.
However, he never forgot the days of patriotic glory in the cause of preserving the Union and he maintained memberships in a number of veterans’ organizations. Among others, he was an active participant in the Grand Army of the Republic and the Military Order of the Loyal Legion, as well as a lifetime member of the Pennsylvania Society of the Sons of the Revolution on the basis of his grandfather’s service.
