A newspaper sketch of the Battle of Fort Sumter. The illustration reads 'The main battery at Fort Sumter guns bearing on Fort Moultrie and the channel during the action of April 12.'
A certificate appointing John Julius Alston to the post of Aide-de-Camp to the Brigadier General of the fourth Brigade Infantry with the rank of Captain on January 30, 1860. This was signed by William Henry Gist, William R. Huntt, William Alston Pringle, and James Simons.
A certificate naming John Julius Alston an attorney in the state of South Carolina on April 4, 1860, signed by John Belton O'Neall, Job Johnston, Francis H. Wardlaw, and Thomas J. Gantt.
A certificate naming John Julius Alston a solicitor in South Carolina on January 16, 1861, signed by John Belton O'Neall, Job Johnston, and Thomas J. Gantt. Chancellor Wardlaw was noted as absent. At the bottom, "United States of America" is crossed out and replaced by "Commonwealth of South Carolina."
A certificate appointing John Julius Alston to the post of Senior First Lieutenant in the Battalion of Artillery in the Regular Enlisted Force of South Carolina on August 13, 1861. This was signed by Francis Wilkinson Pickens, James A. Duffus, and William H. Peronneau.
Two illustrations about the Civil War with an accompanying article. The top illustration is captioned 'The war in America: Charleston, from Fort Johnson.' The bottom illustration is captioned 'The war in America: The defences of Charleston, looking seaward.' The article details the difficulties of reporting from the South because of Union blockades.
