Biography

Excerpt: "Comstock was educated in the local public schools and at an academy in Scituate, Rhode Island. Comstock obtained an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, through the office of U.S. Representative Horace Mann in 1851. He graduated in 1855 and was commissioned an engineer. He oversaw the construction of forts in Florida and Maryland until 1859, when he was appointed as an assistant professor of natural and experimental philosophy at West Point. After the Civil War began in 1861, Comstock was transferred from West Point to Washington, D.C., to assist with the construction of fortifications around the capital. Comstock also commanded an engineer battalion during the Battle of Chancellorsville (May 1–5, 1863)..." He was married to Elizabeth Blair in 1869.