Charles H. McCleary (1842 – June 23, 1906) was a Union Army soldier who received the Medal of Honor, his country's highest military award for valor, for his actions during the American Civil War.

[2] He fought at the Battle of Shiloh and Siege of Vicksburg and became first lieutenant of Company C, 72nd Ohio Infantry Regiment, in November 1864.

Union attackers, including McCleary's troops, fixed bayonets, scaled the hillside, and advanced on Confederate positions in silence to achieve surprise.

McCleary dashed out ahead of his troops, braving Confederate artillery fire, and personally captured the flag of the 4th Florida Infantry Regiment.

[1][6] General George Henry Thomas sent McCleary to Washington, D.C., where he and other officers presented captured Confederate flags to Secretary of War Edwin Stanton.