James Vaughan and Joel Lynch were the goal scoring stars as Town overcame a nervy final period to collect a third Championship win of the season.
Vaughan’s header in first-half stoppage time, his ninth in as many matches this term, marked a milestone in the club’s history, their 2,000th goal in second-tier football.
And Lynch drilled in a superb long-range shot in the 65th minute before the 1,940th goal Town have conceded in this division, fired in by Cameron Stewart on 79 minutes, spelled a tense finale.
Town manager Mark Robins made three changes after Saturday’s goalless draw with Doncaster.
Coming in alongside Jon Stead and Sean Scannell was defender Paul Dixon, the Scotland international, lining up at left wing-back as both sides went with 3-5-2 formations.
It was a first start since the opening day of the season for Dixon, with Calum Woods, Ollie Norwood and Martin Paterson dropping to the bench for a match watched by a string of scouts, including eight from Premier League clubs.
Town finally received international clearance for on-loan Swansea defender Jazz Richards five hours before kick-off, but Robins elected against naming him in the starting line-up for what was the fourth meeting of these two clubs this calendar year.
Scannell, celebrating his 23rd birthday, took up an advanced midfield position and was soon linking with Stead, who has a decent chance from 15 yards out in the fourth minute, but couldn’t keep his shot on target.
Charlton’s early upfield progress tended to come from misplaced passes by the home side, and keeper Alex Smithies had to be alert to slide out and smother as ex-Town loan striker Simon Church chased Dale Stephens’ low through ball.
Former Oldham midfielder Stephens’ 10th-minute in-swinging free-kick from the left was easily dealt with by Smithies, while at the other end Scannell angled a 25-yard shot just wide after winning a challenge with centre-back Richard Wood.
Town came close in the 20th minute when Stead, nicely teed up by Adam Hammill, sent in a cross which Bradley Pritchard put narrowly over his own bar when trying to head clear, wrong footing his keeper Ben Hamer in the process.
Midfielder Jonathan Hogg won warm applause for a typically meaty challenge on Charlton captain Johnnie Jackson before Vaughan headed wide from Scannell’s cross in the 25th minute, then had the visitors scrambling as he chased a curling Hammill centre.
Referee Stuart Attwell chose a yellow rather than red card for centre-back Dorian Dervite when he fouled Vaughan as the striker burst through in the 34th minute, with Hammill’s firmly-struck 30-yard free-kick deflected for a corner.
Town took longer than their fans wanted to deal with Charlton’s first corner of the game in the 40th minute, but in general they were doing a decent job of containing the visitors, although it took a fine diving stoppage-time save by Smithies to prevent Church heading home.
Less than a minute later, Vaughan did just that, meeting Hammill’s cross to beat Hamer from the edge of the six-yard box and make it nine goals for the season from Town’s first real effort on target of the game.
Robins was forced into a substitution five minutes into the second half after Hogg took a knock, Oscar Gobern coming on as the home side tried to push on after the boost of their goal just before the break.
Referee Attwell had no hesitation in cautioning Church for diving when he went down under Peter Clarke’s challenge in the 57th minute, but Charlton continued to punch forward and Smithies did well to collect Stephens’ awkward corner when under plenty of pressure. Stead shot wide in the 63rd minute as Town responded with a wave of attacking which culminated in a sizzling second goal, Lynch driving a 35-yard effort into the top right-hand corner.
It was a second goal of the season for Lynch, his first having come in the 3-2 home win over Charlton in the second round of the Capital One Cup, and while the visitors soon made a double substitution, Town brought on Richards for Scannell with 20 minutes to go.
Smithies pulled off another solid save to deny Bradley Pritchard, but could only watch as substitute Stewart hauled Charlton back into the reckoning with a whistling shot from similar range to that of Lynch's in the 79th minute.
It was tough on the stopper, who had been in fine form as he vainly chased a second successive clean sheet, and meant a nervy period for both Town, who brought on Norwood for Hammill, and their supporters.
