Coster was born in New York City.[1] He was the son of John H. Coster and Sarah Adeline (née Boardman) Coster,[2] He was also a first cousin of New York clubman,Harry Coster.[3] His father, better known as a playboy before a businessman, was one of twelve children that married into many prominent families.[4]
His grandfather,John Gerard Coster,[5] came fromHaarlem in the Netherlands to the United States shortly after theRevolutionary War and founded the family fortune through the mercantile firm, "Henry A. & John G. Coster".[6]
Maj. Gen.Oliver Otis Howard kept von Steinwehr's division in reserve on the first day of theBattle of Gettysburg, July 1, 1863, positioning it onCemetery Hill.[11] 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. 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.[12]
Later in 1863, Coster resigned his regimental command. On May 18, 1864, he was appointed aprovost marshal 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 theGrand Army of the Republic.[13]
In 1864,[14] Coster was married to Marie Bay James (1841–1904),[15] Marie was the daughter of Augustus J. James of Albany, and the niece of theologianHenry James Sr.,[16] which made Marie a first cousin of authorHenry James, psychologistWilliam James, and diaristAlice James.[17] Together, Marie and Charles were the parents of four children:
Charles Coster (1866-1908) - married Helen Louise Anthon (1866-1951). 1 child
William Bay Coster (1867–1918), a banker.[18] - married Maria Griswold Gray (1868-1947). 3 children
Adeline Boardman Coster (1871-1946) - married Henry Dickerson Steers (1865-1928). 2 children
Elizabeth Mary Coster (1877-1946) - married Alfred Egmont Schermerhorn (1871-1932). 1 child
Coster died in New York City on December 23, 1888.[19] He was buried on December 26, 1888.[20]
Coster Avenue, part of theGettysburg Battlefield but within the town itself, has a brigade marker and three regimental monuments. Amural painting on the wall of a neighboring building commemorates the Confederate attack and Coster's defense.[21]
^Greene, Richard Henry; Stiles, Henry Reed; Dwight, Melatiah Everett; Morrison, George Austin; Mott, Hopper Striker; Totten, John Reynolds; Pitman, Harold Minot; Forest, Louis Effingham De; Ditmas, Charles Andrew; Mann, Conklin; Maynard, Arthur S. (1919).The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record.New York Genealogical and Biographical Society. p. 305. RetrievedJanuary 6, 2019.
^Conklin, George W. (1999).Under the Crescent and Star: The 134th New York Volunteer Infantry in the Civil War, p. 31. Axworthy Publishing.ISBN0-9674985-0-3.
^ 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,ISBN0-9674985-0-3.
^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),ISBN978-0-89029-046-0.
