Charles Robert Coster (c. 1837 – December 23, 1888)Historical Data Systems Civil War Database
/ref> was an American soldier and public official, who is best known for commanding a brigade at the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...

Early life

Coster was born in New York City. He was the son of John H. Coster and Sarah Adeline (née Boardman) Coster, He was also a first cousin of New York clubman,

Harry Coster Henry Arnold Coster ( – November 2, 1917) was an American clubman who was prominent in New York Society during the Gilded Age. Early life Coster was the son of Daniel Joachim Coster and Julia (née DeLancey) Coster (1806–1890), who married ...

. His father, better known as a playboy before a businessman, was one of twelve children that married into many prominent families. His grandfather,

John Gerard Coster John Gerard Coster (August 1762 – August 8, 1844) was a Dutch-American merchant who served as president of the Bank of the Manhattan Company. Early life Coster was born in August 1762 in Haarlem, Holland. He was a son of John Henry Coster (d. 17 ...

, came from

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English) is a city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland. Haarlem is situated at the northern edge of the Randstad, one of the most populated metropoli ...

in the Netherlands to the United States shortly after the Revolutionary War and founded the family fortune through the mercantile firm, "Henry A. & John G. Coster".

Military career

On April 17, 1861, just five days after the firing on

Fort Sumter Fort Sumter is a sea fort built on an artificial island protecting Charleston, South Carolina from naval invasion. Its origin dates to the War of 1812 when the British invaded Washington by sea. It was still incomplete in 1861 when the Battl ...

, he enlisted as a private in the

7th New York Militia The 7th Regiment of the New York Militia, aka the "Silk Stocking" regiment, was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Also known as the "Blue-Bloods" due to the disproportionate number of its members who were part o ...

, one of the first regiments to come to the defense of Washington, D.C. at the outbreak of the Civil War. He later enlisted in 1861 at age 24 as a

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

in 12th U.S. Infantry. Conklin, George W., "Under the Crescent and Star: The 134th New York Volunteer Infantry in the Civil War", Port Reading, New Jersey: Axworthy Publishing, 1999, . He served in

Brig. Gen. Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed to ...

George Sykes George Sykes (October 9, 1822 – February 8, 1880) was a career United States Army officer and a Union General during the American Civil War. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1842, and served in numerous conflicts, i ...

's division of

V Corps 5th Corps, Fifth Corps, or V Corps may refer to: France * 5th Army Corps (France) * V Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * V Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army ...

in the

Seven Days Battles The Seven Days Battles were a series of seven battles over seven days from June 25 to July 1, 1862, near Richmond, Virginia, during the American Civil War. Confederate General Robert E. Lee drove the invading Union Army of the Potomac, command ...

, being commended by his superiors for his conduct at the

Battle of Gaines' Mill The Battle of Gaines' Mill, sometimes known as the Battle of Chickahominy River, took place on June 27, 1862, in Hanover County, Virginia, as the third of the Seven Days Battles (Peninsula Campaign) of the American Civil War. Following the inconc ...

on June 27, 1862. On October 8, 1862, Coster was named

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

of the recently organized 134th New York Volunteer Infantry. By December 31, 1862, the regiment belonged to Col.

Orland Smith Orland Smith (May 2, 1825 – October 3, 1903) was a railroad executive and a brigade commander in the Union Army during the American Civil War. In 1863, he led a spirited bayonet charge during the Battle of Wauhatchie that took a significant C ...

's 2nd Brigade of

Maj. Gen. Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Adolph von Steinwehr Baron Adolph Wilhelm August Friedrich von Steinwehr (September 25, 1822 – February 25, 1877) was a German-Brunswick army officer who emigrated to the United States, became a geographer, cartographer, and author, and served as a Union general in ...

's 2nd Division,

XI Corps 11 Corps, 11th Corps, Eleventh Corps, or XI Corps may refer to: * 11th Army Corps (France) * XI Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * XI Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army * XI ...

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confedera ...

. Coster's regiment participated in the

Battle of Chancellorsville The Battle of Chancellorsville, April 30 – May 6, 1863, was a major battle of the American Civil War (1861–1865), and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville campaign. Chancellorsville is known as Lee's "perfect battle" because h ...

under Brig. Gen.

Francis C. Barlow Francis Channing Barlow (October 19, 1834 – January 11, 1896) was a lawyer, politician, and Union General during the American Civil War. Early life and career Barlow was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of a Unitarian minister, but was ra ...

, who had been appointed brigade commander in place of Smith. During May 1863, Coster's regiment joined the 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, under Col.

Adolphus Buschbeck Adolphus (Adolph) Buschbeck (March 23, 1822 – May 28, 1883) commanded the 27th Pennsylvania Infantry in the Army of the Potomac and a brigade in that army and later in the Army of the Cumberland during the American Civil War. Early life Busc ...

. When Buschbeck went on leave on June 10, Coster became brigade commander. In that role he patrolled near

Boonsboro, Maryland Boonsboro is a town in Washington County, Maryland, United States, located at the foot of South Mountain. It nearly borders Frederick County and is proximate to the Antietam National Battlefield. The population was 3,336 at the 2010 census. ...

before marching to

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Gettysburg (; non-locally ) is a borough and the county seat of Adams County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The Battle of Gettysburg (1863) and President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address are named for this town. Gettysburg is home to th ...

.U.S. War Department
''The War of the Rebellion''
''a Compilation of the

Official Records The ''Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies in the War of the Rebellion'', commonly known as the ''Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies'' or Official Records (OR or ORs), is the most extensive collection of Americ ...

of the Union and Confederate Armies'', U.S. Government Printing Office, 1880–1901.

Gettysburg

Maj. Gen.

Oliver Otis Howard Oliver Otis Howard (November 8, 1830 – October 26, 1909) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the Civil War. As a brigade commander in the Army of the Potomac, Howard lost his right arm while leading his men agains ...

kept von Steinwehr's division in reserve on the first day of the

, July 1, 1863, positioning it on

Cemetery Hill Cemetery Hill is a landform on the Gettysburg Battlefield that was the scene of fighting each day of the Battle of Gettysburg (July 1–3, 1863). The northernmost part of the Army of the Potomac defensive " fish-hook" line, the hill is gently ...

.Pfanz, Harry W., ''Gettysburg—the First Day'', Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2001, . When the Union right flank north of town began to collapse, Howard permitted von Steinwehr to send Coster's brigade to cover its retreat. These Union troops took a position just north of the town, where they were deployed in a brickyard. The brigade was attacked by superior forces from the Confederate division of Maj. Gen.

Jubal Early Jubal Anderson Early (November 3, 1816 – March 2, 1894) was a Virginia lawyer and politician who became a Confederate general during the American Civil War. Trained at the United States Military Academy, Early resigned his U.S. Army commissio ...

. Coster's brigade lost most of its 597 casualties in that action. The remainder of the brigade spent the next two days supporting batteries on Cemetery Hill. Howard commended Coster and other senior commanders by name for their courage and devotion to duty in his report on Gettysburg.

After Gettysburg

Later in 1863, Coster resigned his regimental command. On May 18, 1864, he was appointed a

provost marshal Provost marshal is a title given to a person in charge of a group of Military Police (MP). The title originated with an older term for MPs, '' provosts'', from the Old French ''prévost'' (Modern French ''prévôt''). While a provost marshal i ...

for the State of New York to serve the Board of Enrollment. Coster resigned that position on April 30, 1865. Thereafter he lived in New York City. On February 28, 1882, he became a federal Pension Agent for the city, resigning effective December 1, 1885. He was also a member of the

Grand Army of the Republic The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (U.S. Navy), and the Marines who served in the American Civil War. It was founded in 1866 in Decatur, Il ...

.Dyer, Frederick H., ''A Compendium of the War of Rebellion: Compiled and Arranged From Official Records of the Federal and Confederate Armies, Reports of the Adjutant Generals of the Several States, The Army Registers and Other Reliable Documents and Sources'', Des Moines, Iowa: Dyer Publishing, 1908 (reprinted by Morningside Books, 1978), .

Personal life

In 1864, Coster was married to Marie Bay James (1841–1904), Marie was the daughter of Augustus J. James of Albany, and the niece of theologian

Henry James Sr. Henry James Sr. (June 3, 1811December 18, 1882) was an American theologian, father of the philosopher William James, the novelist Henry James, and the diarist Alice James. Following a dramatic moment of spiritual enlightenment, he became deepl ...

, which made Marie a first cousin of author

Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...

, psychologist

William James William James (January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) was an American philosopher, historian, and psychologist, and the first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States. James is considered to be a leading thinker of the lat ...

, and diarist

Alice James Alice James (August 7, 1848 – March 6, 1892) was an American diarist, sister of novelist Henry James and philosopher and psychologist William James. Her relationship with William was unusually close, and she seems to have been badly affect ...

. Together, Marie and Charles were the parents of four children, including: * William Bay Coster (1867–1918), a banker. Coster died in New York City on December 23, 1888. He was buried on December 26, 1888.

Memorials

Coster Avenue, part of the

Gettysburg Battlefield The Gettysburg Battlefield is the area of the July 1–3, 1863, military engagements of the Battle of Gettysburg within and around the borough of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Locations of military engagements extend from the site of the first shot ...

but within the town itself, has a brigade marker and three regimental monuments. A

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...

painting on the wall of a neighboring building commemorates the Confederate attack and Coster's defense.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Coster, Charles R. 1837 births 1888 deaths Union Army colonels People of New York (state) in the American Civil War Year of birth unknown