Willis writes from camp that they are rumoured to be sent to Stonewall Jackson in "the Valley" and that Paris has found better clothing in the knapsacks of dead Union soldiers.
[Incomplete letter] Willis writes detailing life at camp, a fateful charge [also described in previous correspondence] and its death tolls, and also the experiences of his camp slaves, Paris and Fred, who apparently declined an opportunity to desert.
Willis writes from Camp Gregg thanking his mother for the food she sent; his fear Paris will die and his eagerness to get a replacement slave; his delight that an ironclad has been sunk in Charleston harbor
Willis writes from camp outside Richmond, that he is marching to western Virginia. He has sent his slave, Paris home and is in search of another "boy".
Willis writes from the centre of the Army of Richmond of the loses of the 5th and 6th South Carolina Regiments, skirmishes around camp and his concern for James Island, his family and the location of their slaves
Caption: 'Negroes escaping from Beaufort, S.C., with plunder from the abandoned residences of their masters, stopped by U.S. Gunboat Seneca.--from a sketch by our Special Artist with the Great Naval Expedition.--see page 70.'
Black-and-white offset print reproduction of the first Cabinet of the Confederate States, including Judah P. Benjamin serving as Attorney General. From Harper's pictorial history of the Civil War.
“Stories Collected from Slaves” by Leonarda J. Aimar is a bound volume of formerly enslaved people's stories. In her transcription, she attempted to capture the storytellers’ colloquial speech, now recognized as the Gullah language. The volume includes a list of addresses, occupations, and diseases of African Americans during their enslavement; an eye-witness account of the Battle of Secessionville on James Island during the Civil War in 1862; how enslaved people were returned to their slaveholders following the Revolutionary War; and an account of Sherman's march from Savannah, Georgia to Charleston, South Carolina during the Civil War. A formerly enslaved man, Sam, provides a detailed account of being a butler, coachman, and horse jockey. He also recounts how Union Army Major Robert Anderson took control of Fort Sumter and the events that transpired there on April 12, 1861. Other accounts include an enslaved man’s recollections of his time as a servant to a plantation overseer who sympathized with the Union during the Civil War and formerly enslaved man Jim Alston’s detailed eye-witness account of the 1876 Cainhoy Riot.
Willis writes from near Camp Gregg on the "terrible blow" of Stonewall Jackson's death, which Keith believes the Union Army will view as better than a battlefield victory; his uncertainty in matters of faith
Willis writes from breastworks near Fredericksburg, Va. that the "enemy" have moved to the opposite side of the river; Willis wonders where General Hooker will make his new base; inability to get Paris a horse, except for $400
Willis writes from breastworks near Fredericksburg, Va. on skirmishes and picketing; a Union request for the picketing to end and its refusual; Willis's suggestion his father come to see the battlefield; the decomposing bodies of "Yankees" from the battle of Fredericksburg [De1862]; desire to acquire a younger slave
Willis writes from the Confederate Army of the Potomac, two miles from the Chickahominy River, on the privations of camp [though he is accompanied by a slave, Paris], and the expectation of a large scale engagement. He is spiritied by news of Stonewall Jackson's successes.
Willis - 12th Regiment, South Carolina Volunteers - writes from near Richmond on charging with the 1st Regiment, under orders of General Gregg. He reports great loss of life including two "Rhetts" and Shubrick Hayne. Willis notes he is next to head off Union General McClellan.
[Typescript] Willis - 12th Regiment, South Carolina Volunteers - writes from near Richmond on charging with the 1st Regiment, under orders of General Gregg. He reports great loss of life including two "Rhetts" and Shubrick Hayne. Willis notes he is next to head off Union General McClellan.
Willis writes from Camp Gregg that living conditions have easied though he expects General Jackson will have them move up the Valley once the weather improves; he and Paris have had several items stolen; Dr. Prioleau expects furlough.
Willis writes from Camp Gregg that although the Regiment is to prepare to march, the heavy rain keeps them stationary; that his young male friends at home have little idea of the suffering in the War; Dr. Prioleau remains on furlough.
Willis writes from Camp Gregg that the attack on Charleston has not come; that he has a new set of Field Officers; his hopes of returning to South Carolina but belief that General Jackson will not be sent from Virginia.
John writes that Union forces are putting torpedoes in the Stono river to blow up Confederate boats, but that all attempts, thus far, have been unsuccessful.
Willis writes from Williamsport, MD., on a disappointing battle [Gettysburg], where "very many valuable men" were lost; that General Lee is not to cross the Potomac for a "few days".
Willis writes from near Ripadan, Virginia, where Generals Lee and Johnston are in command. He speculates on a potential attack by the Confederates, though Union General Pope has pulled his men back.
Willis writes from Chambersberg, Pa., at the end of a march from Fredericksburg, Va., on passing through "Yankee" territory, with General Jenkins at the head
Willis writes from Winchester, Va., on Paris having "disappeared" and being left with no-one "to do a hands turn for me"; his reflection: "Our reverse in Pennsylvania, and then the far greater blow, the loss of Vicksburg, and Port Hudson, look gloomy for the Confederacy"; his taking pants from a corpse? on the battlefield.
Willis writes from near Culpeper, Va., on the miserable marching at the Potomac; his impressive horse and the desire of the Regiment to go to S.to "storm the Yankees off Morris Island"
Willis writes from Williamsport, MD., near the Potomac River, unsure if they are to cross once again. His regiment lost 25 men in a recent encounter. Willis wonders if Vicksburg has fallen, and if his family are headed to Flat Rock, N.C., soon.
Willis writes from near Orange, Va., that he is upset by the dissatisfaction in some of the Confederate States, that he wishes a dictator was put in place (he would support Jefferson Davis in this role) and that civil law was abolished. He has lost all faith in England.
Louis Coste, Hal's third great-grandfather, arrived as a Huguenot immigrant from Montpelier, France, in the late 18th century and became a naturalized citizen in 1808. He and his wife, Lucinda Mackey, had three sons, among them Napoleon L. Coste, who went on to have a long and adventurous career in the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service. That included expeditions with naturalist James Audubon, and the placement of many of the lighthouses and other aids to navigation along the east coast. His most famous deed was at the outbreak of the Civil War when Coste commandeered the revenue cutter, William Aiken, and turned it over to the state of South Carolina. Hal recounts other significant events in the life of N.L. Coste, as well as his son, Napoleon Edward, who also served the Confederacy and later the Revenue Cutter Service. Hal next recounts his memories of his grandfather, Vincent O. Coste, who served in the U.S. Lifesaving Service, which joined with the Revenue Cutter Service in 1915 to form the U.S. Coast Guard. Vincent later commanded the Coast Guard station on Sullivan's Island. Hal next speaks of the lives of his mother and father, before detailing his own time on the island. These include his mayonnaise meal in kindergarten, his learning to swim in the creek behind the island, and especially his passion for surfing. Before ending with his general feelings regarding changes that have occurred on Sullivan's Island, Hal explains and displays the two silver life-saving medals from the Coast Guard that hang on his walls, one for Hal's own actions and one for the incredible story of his great-uncle, James Coste, who in 1898 saved a young man who would turn out to be the grandfather of Charleston's long time mayor, Joe Riley.
![007. Virginia to Stanna -- [Unknown month] 29, 1864](https://rspace.library.cofc.edu/iiif/image/25299/full/200,/0/default.jpg)
![053. Willis Keith to Anna Bella Keith -- [Sept?] 22, 1862.](https://rspace.library.cofc.edu/iiif/image/24936/full/200,/0/default.jpg)
