Charles V. Dyer graduated from Middlebury College's medical department and established a medical practice in Newark, Wayne County, Vermont. He moved to Chicago in 1835, where he served as a surgeon and briefly as town clerk. Dyer was deeply involved in abolition activities, organizing protests, and assisting the Underground Railroad. He also played a critical role in combating the cholera outbreak in Chicago. In 1863, he was appointed by Abraham Lincoln as a judge in the Mixed Court for the Suppression of the Slave Trade in Sierra Leone.

Charles V. Dyer's political identity is marked by a distinctive blend of medical expertise and radical abolitionism. His medical contributions to public health in Chicago contrast sharply with his fervent activism against slavery, showcasing a unique convergence of humanitarian and abolitionist ideals. Dyer's direct involvement in the Underground Railroad and his judicial appointment in Sierra Leone reveal an ideologically agile approach, balancing local activism with international anti-slavery efforts.