Charles L. Moore served in the 15th Arkansas Infantry. He was an original member of the "Yell Rifles," a Helena volunteer company which eventually became Co. C, 15th Arkansas Infantry. He enrolled in the "Yell Rifles" as first sergeant on April 8, 1861. He was promoted to junior second lieutenant on May 14, 1861, and was mustered into Confederate service with his company at Camp Yell, Pitman’s Ferry, Arkansas, on July 23, 1861. He was appointed captain and assistant commissary of subsistence on May 2, 1862. He was captured in Monroe County, Arkansas, on February 25, 1864, and sent to Johnson’s Island, Ohio. He was forwarded to New Orleans, Louisiana, for exchange, on May 9, 1865.

The "Yell Rifles" was originally commanded by Capt. Patrick Ronayne Cleburne, later major-general, who was killed in action at Franklin, Tennessee. Cleburne was considered one of the best division commanders in the Confederate army, sometimes called the "Stonewall Jackson of the West." Charles L. Moore was associated with Pat Cleburne from the earliest days of the war.