Lieutenant Colonel Cyrus B. Comstock

Portrayed by Kyle Wichtendahl

Cyrus B. Comstock

In support of the CWIA events, impressionist Kyle Wichtendahl portrays Lieutenant Colonel Cyrus B. Comstock, General Grant’s Senior Aide-de-Camp. 

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Kyle and Brian at White Oak Museum in 2019 as Cyrus Comstock and Ulysses Grant.

Cyrus Ballou Comstock was born in Wrentham, Massachusetts on February 3, 1831. He attended the United States Military Academy at West Point and graduated first in his class in 1855. Following his graduation, Comstock was assigned to the Army Corps of Engineers and assisted with the design and construction of several fortifications. He also served as an instructor of engineering at West Point. At the beginning of the Civil War, he assisted with the fortification of Washington, D.C. In 1862, he was transferred to the field, eventually becoming chief engineer of the Army of the Potomac. In 1863 during the Siege of Vicksburg, he served as the chief engineer of the Army of the Tennessee.
The most significant phase of Comstock's career began in November 1864 when he was appointed to the staff of Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, becoming Grant's senior aide-de-camp. In 1865, Comstock was appointed the senior engineer in the assault on Fort Fisher, North Carolina, and the assault on Mobile, Alabama, both of which were successful. By the end of the war, Comstock had earned the awards of the honorary grades of brevet major general in the Volunteer Army and brevet brigadier general in the Regular Army.
After the close of the war, Comstock served on the military commission for the trial of the conspirators in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. He was dismissed from the commission for his criticism of the proceedings. Later Comstock continued with the Army Corps of Engineers, took part in several engineering projects, and served on the Mississippi River Commission, of which he was president. Cyrus Comstock died May 29, 1910 in New York City.