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 sketch of Fort Sumter after the bombardment. Soldiers are shown standing and moving material as a fire burns in the background. On the verso is a partial sketch entitled 'A Scene on the Potomac River- Part of a Gunboat Fortilla.'
Second color sketch showing the bombardment of Charleston from Fort Moultrie. Soldiers are shown firing cannons and waving the "Stars and Bars," the official flag of the Confederacy, as a man lays under a pole. In the background, there is Fort Sumter and several warships.
Color sketch showing the bombardment of Charleston from Fort Moultrie. Soldiers are shown firing cannons and waving the "Stars and Bars," the official flag of the Confederacy, as a man lays under a pole. In the background, there is Fort Sumter and several warships.
The illustration on the front page is captioned 'Interior of Fort Walker, at Hilton Head, immediately after its bombardment and evacuation'. The damage to the fort is in the foreground while in the background, sailing ships with small rowboats can be seen. On the verso are more illustrations. The top picture is captioned "Banks division crossing the Potomac previous to the Battle of Ball's Bluff." The left picture is captioned "Sinking of the peerless in a gale and rescue of the crew." The right illustration is captioned "Perilous position of a transport." The bottom picture is captioned "Capture of the steamer 'Fanny' by three Confederate steamers off Chicamicomica, N.C."
A color photograph captioned 'Two days after the bombardment of Sumter, April 16, 1861.' In the photo Wade Hampton and other figures look at the damage. Below the photo is another photograph showing Fort Sumter before the bombardment.
A newspaper clipping with an illustration entitled 'The U.S. gun-boat Weehawken, one of the ironclads engaged in the bombardment of Charleston.' The illustration shows what the monitor, a well-armed warship, looks like in the water. It also includes a cross cut diagram of the Weehawken's interior. The top illustration is a portrait of Field Marshal Lord Seaton.
Various illustrations of forts during the Civil War in Charleston. Captions of illustration, top row, left to right: 'View of terre-plein of the gorge of Fort Sumter', 'Parade of Fort Moultrie', 'North Western Angle of Fort Moultrie.' Captions of illustrations, middle row, left to right: 'View of terre-plein and parapet of eastern flank of Fort Sumter,' 'Barracks on north face of parade, Fort Moultrie,' 'South-western angle of Fort Moultrie.' Captions of illustrations, bottom row, left to right: 'Officers quarters, eastern portion of parade, Fort Moultrie', Western barracks, Fort Moultrie,' 'Channel face and south-western angle of the ramparts of Fort Moultrie.'
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.
