Charles Addison Boutelle (February 9, 1839 – May 21, 1901) was an American seaman, shipmaster, naval officer, Civil War veteran, newspaper editor, publisher, conservative Republican politician, and nine-term Representative to the U.S. Congress from the 4th Congressional District of Maine.

[4] Returning from a two-year voyage in 1862 to find the country at war, he volunteered his services to the Union Navy and was commissioned an Acting Master on April 5, 1862.

[4][8] During his command, Nyanza participated, under Admiral David Farragut, in the Battle of Mobile Bay, on August 5, 1864, where Lieutenant Boutelle was credited with receiving the surrender of the Confederate fleet.

He was associated briefly with a New York commission house, but, in 1870, he was recommended for the position of Editor-in-Chief of the Bangor Daily Whig and Courier, a Republican newspaper.

He continued active editorial control until failing health and growing competition finally forced him to sell the paper in March, 1900.

[4] An obvious choice for U.S. Congress, he first stood as the Republican candidate for the 4th Maine Congressional District (comprising Aroostook, Penobscot, Piscataquis and Washington counties) on June 24, 1880, but was narrowly defeated (by 855 votes) by the incumbent, Dr. George W. Ladd of the Greenback Party.

[13] Congressman Boutelle drew on his maritime background, serving as the Chairman of the House Naval Affairs Committee in the 51st, 54th, 55th, and 56th Congresses.

During his tenure in that position, he provided powerful leadership in modernizing the navy and was instrumental in the development of the first steel battleships, along with the industries that supported their construction and outfitting.

No less charismatic a speaker than he was a writer, Congressman Boutelle was relentless in his support of Republican positions in the great debates of his time.

[15] Suffering from a sudden case of pneumonia while hospitalized in Massachusetts, Charles Addison Boutelle died on May 21, 1901, and was interred in Mount Hope Cemetery, Bangor, Maine.