Barrett was born on 16 August 1885, at Henderson, Kentucky. Charles was the fifth of six children to
Kate Waller Barrett (1857–1925) and Reverend Robert South Barrett (1851–1896). He graduated from high school in Alexandria, Virginia. He was commissioned a
U.S. Marine Corps second lieutenant on 11 August 1909. He was assigned duty at the Marine Officers School,
Port Royal, South Carolina, the following month. In January 1911, Barrett began a few months duty at the Marine Barracks, Boston, Massachusetts, and was detached on 23 May 1911 to report to the
U.S. Naval Academy,
Annapolis, Maryland, to command the
Marine Detachment aboard the battleship . On 3 September 1911, he transferred to . Barrett
landed with the detachment of USS
New Jersey at
Vera Cruz,
Mexico, on 22 April 1914, and participated in the capture of that city. He was detached from the
New Jersey on 13 December 1914 to the Marine Barracks, Norfolk, Virginia. Barrett's
World War I duty included detached service with the
United States Army in France from 25 September 1918. He participated in the
Meuse-Argonne Offensive of November 1–3, 1918, and in the spring of 1919 was in command of the 2nd Battalion, 367th Infantry at
LeMans, France. Detached from the army in April, he reported to the commanding general of 4th Brigade, Marines, at
Niederbieber, Germany, and was detailed as adjutant from 11 April. He arrived back in the United States on 3 August 1919. From 1921 to 1922, Barrett served in
Santo Domingo and from 1924 to 1927 was a member of the
American Battle Monuments Commission, Washington, D.C. He then returned to France to study at the
Ecole de Guerre in Paris, and from 1929 to 1933 served as an instructor at the Marine Corps Basic Schools,
Quantico, Virginia. During the next two years, he was assigned to the Division of Operations and Training,
Headquarters Marine Corps, Washington, and from 1935 to 1936 served aboard ship as Division Marine Officer of Battleship Division 4, U.S. Battle Force. Upon completion of sea duty with the Battle Force, Barrett spent two and one-half years in the War Plans Section, Office of the
Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, D.C.; and from August 1939 to June 1940, commanded the
5th Marines,
1st Marine Brigade,
Fleet Marine Force. He returned to Headquarters, Washington, in July 1940, serving first as director of the Division of Plans and Policies. Later he served as assistant to the
Commandant of the Marine Corps, Lieutenant General
Thomas Holcomb, from November 1941 to March 1942. In March 1942, General Barrett assumed command of the
3rd Marine Brigade, and the following month embarked with the brigade for
Samoa, where he welded his command into a fighting unit. He was ordered to the United States in September 1942 to assume command of the
3rd Marine Division, then being organized at
Camp Elliot, San Diego, California, and was promoted to major general on assuming this command. Major General Barrett was the 3rd Marine Division's first commander. According to official accounts, he was accidentally injured following a
cerebral hemorrhage and died on 8 October 1943 at the base hospital. General Barrett was buried in the American cemetery in New Caledonia. Following the war, he was reinterred in
Arlington National Cemetery. The General's death has always been somewhat shrouded in mystery, but there is evidence that his death was actually a suicide, committed the day after he was fired as IMAC CG by
Admiral Halsey. The general fell out of the second floor window of his residence at Nouméa, and the inquest ruled the death accidental, related to a possible cerebral hemorrhage. However, the interior window sill was four feet above the floor, and a chair was found placed next to it which Barrett apparently used as a step to jump out the window. The sudden death of General Barrett resulted in Vandegrift's recall to the Pacific to resume command of IMAC. ==Decorations and awards==