An American Civil War Group To Captain Daniel W. Comstock & His Son Major Paul Comstock

An American Civil War Veteran Captain (Honorable) Daniel W. Comstock (Father) and Spanish-American War and First World War Veteran Major Paul Comstock (Son) Group: Father: Captain (Honorable) Daniel Webster Comstock: Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) Commander's Presentation Badge (two-piece construction, weighing 48.4 grams, badge in 14K Gold with blue enamels, inset old rose cut stones on the five star points, hand engraved "PRESENTED TO D.W. Comstock "COMMDR" DEPT. IND. by the unanimous Vote OF THE 34th ANNUAL ENCAMPMENT G.A.R. 1914." on the reverse, 46.5 mm x 47.3 mm, suspended from a Gold and black enamelled bar with two inset old rose cut stones via two chains, two piece Cavalry insignia in Gold and yellow enamels suspended from the center of the bar, chipping evident in the yellow enamels, surmounted by a eagle with crossed cannons and cannonballs hanger with pinback in Gold, measuring 46.5 mm x 110 mm overall); and Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS) Membership Badge (silver gilt with red, white and blue enamels, 32.2 mm, number engraved "11895" (son) on the obverse and "4201" (father) on the reverse of the suspension, original ribbon, catch broken on the pinback). Son: Major Paul Comstock: Army Spanish War Service Medal (bronze, number impressed "11410" on the edge, 32 mm, original ribbon with brooch pinback); Army of Cuban Occupation Medal (bronze, number impressed "M. No. 142" on the edge, 33 mm, original ribbon with brooch pinback); WWI Victory Medal, 1 Clasp - FRANCE (bronze gilt, 36 mm, original ribbon with brooch pinback); and United Spanish War Veterans Medal (bronze gilt, 35.2 mm, without ribbon). Extremely fine.

Footnote: Father: Captain (Honorable) Daniel Webster Comstock was born on December 16, 1840 in Germantown, Montgomery County, Ohio, the son of James Comstock (1782-1860) and Mary Croake Comstock (1802-1866). He attended the common schools, later attending and graduating from Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio in 1860 with the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1861, commencing practice in New Castle, Indiana in September of that year. In 1862, he was elected District Attorney for the 11th Common Pleas District. However, with the advent of the Civil War, Daniel Webster Comstock resigned his position, in order to enlist with the 9th Indiana Cavalry (121st Regiment Volunteers). He was to see a series of promtions while in the Union Army: to Regimental Sergeant Major, to First Lieutenant of Company F, to Captain of Company C, and to Acting Assistant Adjutant General of the 1st Brigade, 7th Division of the Military Division of Mississippi. He was in service until September 1865, when he received an honorable discharge. In 1866, he established his permanent home in Richmond, Indiana and was soon elected City Attorney. He married Josephine Albright Rohrer Comstock (born in Ohio in 1838 - died Richmond, Wayne County, Indiana, on January 14, 1925) on June 2, 1867 in Germantown, the couple later having a son, Paul Comstock and two daughters, Elizabeth Comstock and Clara Comstock, the latter later becoming Dean of Women at Earlham College in Richmond. In 1872, he was elected Prosecuting Attorney of the Wayne Circuit Court and was re-elected in 1874. In 1878, he was elected to the Indiana State Senate, representing Wayne County. In the Senate, he became a member of the Judiciary Committee and Chairman of the Joint Committee on the Revision of Laws. He was known as a master of the science of law and also of its application and interpretation, eminently qualified for the duties of the bench. For two terms, he served as judge of the 17th Judicial Circuit, from 1886 to 1895. Each time he was nominated without opposition. In October 1896, Judge Comstock resigned from the circuit bench, to accept the nomination of the Republican party as a candidate for Judge of the Appellate Court. He was elected and served as an Appellate Judge until January 1911. He then resumed his law practice at Richmond but in 1916, he was elected on the Republican ticket to the 65th Congress, to represent the 6th Indiana District. JudgeComstock entered Congress on March 4, 1917 but was not spared to serve in the body with the distinction expected of him, since his death occurred a little more than two months later. The many encomiums passed upon his character and his life by his fellow citizens, the different bar associations, the press of the country, and his fellow members in Congress brought solace to his sorrowing family. His comrades of the Grand Army of the Republic mourned his passing, especially those in the Department of Indiana, of which he had been Department Commander for the last four years of his life. Captain (Honorable) Daniel Webster Comstock died on May 19, 1917 in Washington, District of Columbia. He was interred in Earlham Cemetery in Richmond, Wayne County, Indiana. Son: Major Paul Comstock was born in Richmond, Indiana on March 16, 1873, the son of Captain (Honorable) Daniel Webster Comstock (1840-1917) and Josephine Albright Rohrer Comstock (1838-1925). He was educated in the grammar and high schools of his native city, later attending Earlham College in Richmond and Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio, as had his father before him. From 1893 to 1898, he was employed in the maintenance of the Way and Claim Departments of the Pennsylvania Railroad. In the spring of 1898, after the beginning of the Spanish-American War, he assisted in raising Company F, 161st Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He was made First Lieutenant of his company, and when the regiment arrived at Jacksonville, Florida, it became a part of the 7th Army Corps, commanded by Gen. Fitzhugh Lee. He was with his company in the Army of Occupation in Cuba from December 1898 to April 1899. Comstock returned to the United States with the rank of Captain and was honorably discharged at Savannah, Georgia. For his service during the Spanish-American War, Captain Comstock was awarded the Army Spanish War Service Medal and the Army of Cuban Occupation Medal. In 1900, he was admitted to the Indiana bar and soon began the practice of his profession in Richmond. Along with a busy law practice, he participated in many political and civic services. He was Prosecuting Attorney of Wayne County from 1901 to 1902, and from 1920 to 1924, he was Chairman of the County Central Republican Committee. He married Ella Willard Wilson Comstock (born Ironton, Ohio, on March 16, 1876 - died Richmond, Indiana, on June 30, 1951) in 1903, the couple later having two daughters, Winifred Comstock (later Bowman) and Kathleen Comstock. While past the draft age, he felt it was his duty to give the benefit of his military training to the Government when the United States joined the Allies in 1917 in the First World War. After passing the necessary examination, he was accepted and assigned as Assistant Instructor at Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indianapolis, Indiana, remaining there until August 15, 1917, when he was ordered to Camp Taylor, Kentucky. He was placed with the 84th Division and in June 1918, he took the first detachment of troops to Camp Sherman. On September 8, 1918, he went on to Camp Mills, Long Island and then proceeded overseas. For a time, he was assigned to the General Headquarters of the American Expeditionary Forces in France, later becoming an Inspector of the 28th Division and Assistant Inspector of the 2nd Army Corps under General Bullard, and finally made Inspector of the 80th Division. After the armistice, he returned home and was honorably discharged at Camp Lee, Virginia with the rank of Major on June 4, 1919. For his First World War service, Major Comstock was awarded the WWI Victory Medal with France clasp. Shortly afterward, he resumed his law practice in Richmond. In addition to being a veteran of two wars and a member of the Indiana bar, he was and am active member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church of Richmond and was a member of its vestry. For four years, he was Secretary of the Board of Trustees of the Indiana World War Memorial, a position that required a vast amount of work and responsibility. He was a member of the Richmond Post of the American Legion, the Country Club and the University Club of Indianapolis. Major Paul Comstock died on February 9, 1942 in Richmond, Indiana, at the age of 68. He was interred in Earlham Cemetery in Richmond, Wayne County, Indiana, Plot: Section 3. Lot 69.