Charles was born in 1779 as the sixth and youngest son of the Reverend George Austen and his wife, Cassandra Leigh.

[3] Charles joined the Royal Naval Academy in July 1791, and by September 1794, he had become midshipman aboard HMS Daedalus.

[4] He was aboard Scorpion long enough to be present at the capture of the Dutch brig Courier, after which he transferred to HMS Tamar.

Between November 1811 and September 1814 Austen served as captain of HMS Namur, based at the Nore and flying the flag of Sir Thomas Williams.

Lord Exmouth then sent him on to search of a French squadron, but with the end of the war with France in the intervening period he briefly turned his attention to suppressing piracy in the region.

[4] He successfully captured two pirate vessels in the port of Pavos, but disaster struck when the Phoenix was wrecked off Smyrna on 20 February 1816, through the ignorance of her pilots.

Sir Edward Griffith Colpoys nominated Austen to become his flag captain aboard HMS Winchester on the North American and West Indies Station.

[4] Austen was advanced to rear-admiral on 9 November 1846,[4] and was appointed commander-in-chief in the East Indies and China Station on 14 January 1850, hoisting his flag the following day.

[4] Austen was close to his older sister Jane, and is said to have offered naval vocabulary to help her revise the second edition of Mansfield Park.