Cyrus Ballou Comstock: the war years

Abstract

Cyrus Ballou Comstock: The War Years deals with an engineering general during the Civil War. It is the author's contention that Cyrus Comstock played a significant role in the ultimate Union victory in 1865. During the Rebellion he took part in the battles of the Peninsula, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Antietam, Vicksburg, the Richmond Campaign, Fort Fisher, and Spanish Fort at Mobile Bay. He served for a time as Chief Engineer of the Army of the Potomac, commander of that army's Balloon Corps, and as Senior Aide-de-Camp to Lt. General U. S. Grant. As a result of his active role in the war he attained a volunteer rank of Bvt. Brigadier-General. Research on this paper was based primarily upon two sources: the diaries of Cyrus Comstock and the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion. Supplementary material is discussed in a Bibliographical Essay at the end of the paper. After the Civil War Comstock remained in the army until his retirement in 1904. During this period he served as personal secretary to President Grant, Superintendent of the Geodetic Survey of Northern and Northwestern Lakes, and Chairman of the Mississippi River Commission. He died in New York City on May 29, 1910. His remains are interred at the U. S. Military Academy at West Point.