Pvt. John W. Comfort
Private John W. Comfort
On April 18, 1870, Comfort, aged 25, again enlisted at Philadelphia, this
time for five years, and was assigned to Troop A, 4th Regiment, U.S.
Cavalry, then stationed at San Antonio, TX. In March 1871, Comfort's
troop went into garrison at Ft. Richardson, TX. Comfort was awarded the
Congressional Metal of Honor for heroic conduct near Lake Tahokay, Staked
Plains, TX, on Nov. 5, 1874, during operations against the Kiowas and
Commanches. Colonel R.S. Mackenzie, commanding the 4th Cavalry,
recommended him for the Metal of Honor on August 31, 1875. He stated,that
Comfort "ran down and killed an Indian on the Staked Plains with no other
soldier within a long distance of him...This man is a very distinguished
soldier for personal gallantry." Soon afterwards, Comfort was promoted
to corporal, and later to sergeant. He was discharged from the service at
Fort Clark, TX on June 26, 1878.
If the carbine in the photogrqph was Comfort's, then the rear sight must
be a M77 Type II since that would have been the only rear sight with high
risers, first produced in May 1878. Note also the non-regulation
cartridge belt.
The above information is from Merle Olmsted. The entire
article on Comfort, written by Olmsted, can be found in the Winter 1968
issue of Military
Collector & Historian
