Serving as a soldier in the U.S. Army, Corporal John W. Comfort received the Medal of Honor for his actions on November 5, 1874 in Staked Plains, Texas during the Indian Campaigns. At the time he was serving with Company A, 4th U.S. Cavalry. Comfort was about 30 years old.
The medal was presented on October 13, 1875.
Comfort was born in 1844 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. Comfort died on November 29, 1893 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the age of about 49. He is buried at Mount Peace Cemetery in Rockledge, Pennsylvania.
Comfort is one of 426 Medal of Honor recipients from the Indian Campaigns and one of 380 credited to Pennsylvania.
Official Medal of Honor citation
Ran down and killed an Indian.
Citation text: U.S. Government, public domain.
Battles and campaigns
Also served in: American Indian Wars.
Places
Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in Pennsylvania →
Timeline
- 1844Born in Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania
- November 5, 1874Act of valor — Staked Plains, TexasAge about 30. Company A, 4th U.S. Cavalry
- October 13, 1875Medal of Honor presented
- November 29, 1893Died in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaAge about 49.
- Resting placeMount Peace CemeteryRockledge, Pennsylvania
Biography
John W. Comfort (c. 1844 – November 29, 1893) was an American soldier in the U.S. Army who fought during the American Civil War and the Indian Wars from 1861 until his retirement in 1892. He was a member of the 4th U.S. Cavalry during the Texas–Indian Wars and, while battling the Kiowa and Comanche in the Staked Plains in November 1874, killed a Native American in armed combat. He was one of several soldiers cited for bravery in this battle and received the Medal of Honor the following year.
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