Charles Polk was born in Pennsylvania on July 29, 1732. A resident of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, he served as a lieutenant in the North Carolina Colonial Militia in 1766. At the outbreak of the American Revolution, he enlisted as a captain and served in several different cavalry and infantry militia regiments, including a Light Horse regiment, the North Carolina State Cavalry, and the North Carolina State Legion. He was discharged in 1781 and retired to life as a farmer in the Clear Creek area of Mecklenburg (now Union County). He died in Mecklenburg County on March 21, 1821. In 1854 his son successfully applied for a pension on his parent's behalf earning $500.17 per year.