Charles Robert Coster was born around 1837 in New York, New York, to John H. Coster and Sarah Adeline Boardman. His father was a prominent businessman who owned $10,000 of personal property in 1860. Coster enlisted in the Union army on April 17, 1861, and mustered into the 7^th New York Militia Infantry. The regiment travelled to Washington, D.C., to defend the nation’s capital against a potential Confederate attack. He mustered out in New York on June 3, 1861, and he enlisted as a 1^st lieutenant in the 12th United States Infantry soon afterward. He took part in the Seven Days Battles, and army officials praised his conduct in the Battle of Gaines’ Mill on June 27, 1861. On October 8, 1862, he became a colonel in the 134^th New York Infantry, which took part in the Battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. He resigned later in 1863, and he spent the rest of the war as a provost marshal working with the Board of Enrollment in New York.

 

Around 1864, Coster married Marie James, a cousin of author Henry James and psychologist William James. They had at least four children: Charles, born around 1866; William, born around 1868; Adeline, born around 1871; and Elizabeth, born around 1877. Coster joined the Grand Army of the Republic, and in February 1882, he became a pension agent for New York City. He died on December 23, 1888.

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