USS Wilson (DD-408), was a of the United States Navy. Namesake Charles Wilson was born in 1836 in Boston, Massachusetts. He enlisted in the Navy on 15 October 1861, at Chicago, Illinois. Assigned to the gunboat commanded by Commander Henry A. Walke, he served during the operations which captured Forts Henry and Donelson in February 1862. He exhibited "conspicuous courage under fire" on the night of 4 April 1862, during the flotilla's passage down the Mississippi River past Island No. 10 to New Madrid. During the passage, Wilson, knee-deep in water and exposed to Confederate gunfire stood on the bow of the gunboat as he took soundings and called out the depths of the river, enabling Carondelet to make the passage safely. His soundings were the only significant guide for the gunboat as it threaded its way through the tortuous channel. Walke's running the gauntlet turned out to be a crucial factor in the Union's capture of Island No. 10 and its later operations to the south. Later that year, Wilson also served during the capture of Confederate batteries opposite Point Pleasant on April 6 and Confederate positions below Madrid on the April 7. He took part in the naval engagement above Fort Pillow on the 10th, in the Battle of Memphis on June 6, and in the action with the Confederate ram CSS Arkansas on 15 July. On 24 January 1863, Walke officially commended Wilson "for the distinguished service." Wilson eventually attained the rank of boatswain. History Wilson was laid down on 22 March 1937 at Bremerton, Washington, by the Puget Sound Navy Yard; launched on 12 April 1939; sponsored by Mrs. Edward B. Fenner, the wife of Rear Admiral Edward B. Fenner, the Commandant of the 13th Naval District; and commissioned on 5 July 1939. Wilson operated along the west coasts of the United States, Central and South America into April 1940, when she went to the Territory of Hawaii to participate in Fleet Problem XXI. In June 1941, after a year mainly spent in the Hawaiian area, Wilson was transferred to the Atlantic. In the last half of that year, and first months of 1942, she served an escort for major fleet units off the U.S. east coast and, in March–May 1942, steamed across the ocean to Iceland and the British Isles. Wilson returned to the Pacific as part of a task group centered on the aircraft