He held a number of important posts, both in peace and wartime, in the Mediterranean, West Indies and Brazil Squadrons and as commandant of the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
He was among several of Catholic background, such as John Cassin, Patrick McDonough, and Philemon C. Wederstrandt, to become high-ranking naval officers in the early years of the U.S.
Boarman's aunt Sallie Edelen was a Sister in the Poor Clares in France before having to flee the country during the Reign of Terror; four of his cousins were among the first women to enter Baltimore's Carmelite Convent.
In 1811, Boarman's father wrote to Robert Brent, the mayor of Washington, D.C. and U.S. Army paymaster, asking for a letter of recommendation for his son in regards to a midshipman's commission in the United States Navy.
[5] In August of that year, on behalf of Boarman's father, Brent wrote to then United States Secretary of the Navy Paul Hamilton endorsing the commission.
On July 24, 1824, Boarman temporarily took command of the schooner USS Weazel from Commodore David Porter during which time he was on convoy duty and patrolled for pirates.
[7][12] He went back to Hudson after Gallagher's return and remained on board until 1836 when he was reassigned to the West India Squadron and given command of the schooner USS Grampus.
He also alleged that Boarman used the discipline tribunal to keep a member of the crew, seaman John Smith, on board past the term of his enlistment with a court martial trial.
[13] Four years later, on March 29, 1844, Boarman won his captain's commission and assumed command of the Brazil Squadron's flagship USS Brandywine.
They were married in a modest ceremony at the Commandant's House, officiated by Archbishop John Hughes, on October 18, 1853; the family regularly attended Sunday Mass at St. James' Cathedral, in all kinds of weather, where Boarman was a pew holder.
[2] Boarman later bought the house and lot that Mary Ann lived at in Brooklyn and, after her husband's death in 1876, left the property to her in his will.
[9] In a letter to one of his sons, written at the start of the war, Boarman "declared his steadfast allegiance to the flag of his country, which he had sworn to defend".
Charles and Mary Ann Boarman had originally lived in Maryland before moving to Martinsburg to raise their family; they had 13 children together, however, only 10 survived to adulthood.
Mary Ann, who converted to Catholicism to marry her husband, was an active member of the local diocese, St. Joseph's Catholic Church, and spent much of her time involved in charities to help the sick and the poor while Charles Boarman was away at sea.
[2] Her loss was mourned by the townspeople with one writing: "In her death we lose one of our most charitable citizens; she will be missed by very many of the poor of Martinsburg; she was always seeking the sick and administering to their wants.
[21] Originally built by Philip Nadenbousch, it was purchased by Lieutenant Charles Boarman in 1832 and remained in the Boarman family for over a century before being sold to the King's Daughters Circle in December 1943, and then to the Sisters of the Holy Ghost in 1953; the building was used for apartments and various offices, including an employment office for returning World War II servicemen, during this time.
It was purchased in 1980 by West Virginia nonprofit corporation Associates for Community Development and, after extensive restorations, housed the Boarman Arts Center and the Martinsburg-Berkeley County Convention and Visitors Bureau from 1987 to 2001;[22] the building featured Boarman's navigator's log and two portraits, one when he bought the house as a young lieutenant and the other as an older officer.
[23] In October 2005, the house was sold to a Leesburg, Virginia, couple, Chester and Jeanne Martin, who planned to turn it into the city's first bed and breakfast.