His killer forgot to look in his boots.

Christian Foster was born in Ohio about 1836. No additional information regarding his birth, family, or early years is available. He was reported to have been raised in Santa Cruz County and in 1861 was working as a farm laborer in the Pajaro Valley near Watsonville.

On October 21, 1861, Captain Thomas Tidball recruited Foster into Company K of the 5th California Infantry. After his enlistment, he proceeded with other newly recruited men to Camp Union near Sacramento to begin training.

When the company arrived at the training facility, their first two months were spent assisting in flood relief resulting from the great storm of 1861-1862. The time that the company remained at Fort Union only provided them with the rudiments of infantry drill, tactics and equipment maintenance.

Foster's company was assigned guard duty on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay in January 1862 and soon after its arrival, Christian Foster was elected as the 2nd Sergeant of the company. After a short stay at the facility, his unit was ordered to report to Camp Latham near Los Angeles. Following the death of Eugene Van Asche on April 10, 1862, Christian Foster was elected First Sergeant of Company K.

Company K formed with other California Column units about May and proceeded to Tucson by way of Yuma Arizona. After completing a series skirmishes with Apache Indians during an expedition out of Tucson, the company was assigned to Fort Bowie near the New Mexico border. In May and June 1864 local infantrymen participated in the Gila River Expedition. The purpose of this campaign was to eliminate, capture or disperse hostile Apache tribes. The only company casualty during this encounter was First Sergeant Christian Foster who was wounded in the knee from a spent musket minie ball.

Company K returned to Fort Bowie and remained there until October 1864 when they were ordered to Las Cruces, New Mexico, to be discharged on November 27, 1864. Rather than return to Santa Cruz, Foster chose to remain in New Mexico. Santa Cruz historian Tom McHugh reported, "Christian Foster was murdered on the streets of Santa Fe, New Mexico, in October 1866. He had been raised in Santa Cruz. Stolen from him after his murder were bounty money and a deed for 160 acres of land, but overlooked was a considerable amount of money hidden in a boot".

(USCR, 1860 US Census, CA, Santa Cruz; CMWR, Pg.716; Pacific Sentinel February 8, 1862; Official Record War of the Rebellion Vol. 50, Chapter LXII, page 917; SCSn November 12, 1972)