James M. Comly
Encyclopedia
James Munroe Stuart Comly (1832–1887) was a brigadier general
in the Union Army
during the American Civil War
, as well as a journalist, attorney, newspaper editor and owner, historian and diplomat. He was instrumental in advancing the political career of his friend Rutherford B. Hayes
, the 19th President of the United States
.
. He was descended from a family of Quaker
s who had moved to Perry County
from Philadelphia and established a series of sawmills. When his father died when Comly was only ten years old, he moved to Columbus
and worked in a printing shop as a messenger, before becoming an apprentice
and journeyman
printer. He studied law and served as the chief law clerk for the Ohio Secretary of State, which exposed him to politics. He began writing articles for newspapers and joined the fledgling Republican Party
, supporting John C. Frémont
for president in 1856 and Abraham Lincoln
in 1860. He was the editor of the leading Republican newspaper, the Ohio State Journal.
and South
, Comly enlisted in the Union Army
in December 1861, being appointed by Republican Governor William Dennison as major
of the 23rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry
, an appointment at first not popular with the men as several experienced captains were passed over for the political appointee, Comly. The regiment was assigned to Raleigh, North Carolina
, and Comly participated in several battles in the state. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel
.
When the commander of the regiment, Rutherford B. Hayes, was wounded at the Battle of South Mountain
, Comly assumed command and led the 23rd OVI at Antietam
and several subsequent campaigns in the IX Corps until Hayes recovered. In 1863, Comly married Elizabeth Smith, the daughter of the Surgeon General
of Ohio.
In February 1864, when Hayes was promoted to division command, Comly was named as his successor as colonel
of the regiment, which he led for much of the remainder of the war until lingering effects from battlefield wounds forced him out of the field in early 1865. He was brevetted
Brigadier General
, U.S. Volunteers.
). In April 1866, Comly established a local baseball
team in Columbus and became the sport's major promoter and advocate in the region. President Ulysses S. Grant
appointed him as Postmaster of Columbus.
When Hayes was elected president in 1876, he rewarded Comly for his support by naming him the U.S. Minister to Hawaii
, a post he held until 1882. He served as a presidential elector in 1884, supporting James G. Blaine
. Comly moved to Toledo, Ohio
, and became editor of the Toledo Commercial.
In the last years of his life, Comly suffered much from his old Civil War wounds. He died in Toledo, Ohio
at the age of 55 and was buried in Green Lawn Cemetery in Columbus.
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
in the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, as well as a journalist, attorney, newspaper editor and owner, historian and diplomat. He was instrumental in advancing the political career of his friend Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes was the 19th President of the United States . As president, he oversaw the end of Reconstruction and the United States' entry into the Second Industrial Revolution...
, the 19th President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
.
Early life and career
Comly was born on a farm near the small village of New Lexington, OhioNew Lexington, Ohio
New Lexington is a village in and the county seat of Perry County, Ohio, United States, southwest of Zanesville. The population was 4,689 at the 2000 census.In 1900, 1,701 people lived in New Lexington, Ohio; in 1910, 2,559 lived here.-Geography:...
. He was descended from a family of Quaker
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
s who had moved to Perry County
Perry County, Ohio
Perry County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. Founded on March 1, 1818, it was the 55th county to be formed in Ohio. Portions of Fairfield, Washington and Muskingum Counties were taken to create Perry County. As of the 2010 census, the population was 36,058. Its county seat...
from Philadelphia and established a series of sawmills. When his father died when Comly was only ten years old, he moved to Columbus
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
and worked in a printing shop as a messenger, before becoming an apprentice
Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...
and journeyman
Journeyman
A journeyman is someone who completed an apprenticeship and was fully educated in a trade or craft, but not yet a master. To become a master, a journeyman had to submit a master work piece to a guild for evaluation and be admitted to the guild as a master....
printer. He studied law and served as the chief law clerk for the Ohio Secretary of State, which exposed him to politics. He began writing articles for newspapers and joined the fledgling Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
, supporting John C. Frémont
John C. Frémont
John Charles Frémont , was an American military officer, explorer, and the first candidate of the anti-slavery Republican Party for the office of President of the United States. During the 1840s, that era's penny press accorded Frémont the sobriquet The Pathfinder...
for president in 1856 and Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
in 1860. He was the editor of the leading Republican newspaper, the Ohio State Journal.
Civil War
When hostilities broke out between the NorthUnion (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
and South
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
, Comly enlisted in the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
in December 1861, being appointed by Republican Governor William Dennison as major
Major (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, major is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel...
of the 23rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry
23rd Ohio Infantry
The 23rd Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during much of the American Civil War. It served in the Eastern Theater in a variety of campaigns and battles, and is remembered with a stone memorial on the Antietam National Battlefield not far from Burnside's...
, an appointment at first not popular with the men as several experienced captains were passed over for the political appointee, Comly. The regiment was assigned to Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
, and Comly participated in several battles in the state. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...
.
When the commander of the regiment, Rutherford B. Hayes, was wounded at the Battle of South Mountain
Battle of South Mountain
The Battle of South Mountain was fought September 14, 1862, as part of the Maryland Campaign of the American Civil War. Three pitched battles were fought for possession of three South Mountain passes: Crampton's, Turner's, and Fox's Gaps. Maj. Gen. George B...
, Comly assumed command and led the 23rd OVI at Antietam
Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam , fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern soil. It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with about 23,000...
and several subsequent campaigns in the IX Corps until Hayes recovered. In 1863, Comly married Elizabeth Smith, the daughter of the Surgeon General
State Surgeon General
A State Surgeon General is the operational head and senior spokesperson on public health in a single state of the United States of America, the state equivalent of the Surgeon General of the United States....
of Ohio.
In February 1864, when Hayes was promoted to division command, Comly was named as his successor as colonel
Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general...
of the regiment, which he led for much of the remainder of the war until lingering effects from battlefield wounds forced him out of the field in early 1865. He was brevetted
Brevet (military)
In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...
Brigadier General
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
, U.S. Volunteers.
Postbellum
Following the war, Comly returned to his political newspaper and was editor and publisher of the Ohio State Journal, a powerful influence in helping his friend Hayes be elected Governor of Ohio. Comly guided the newspaper into statewide prominence (it would last until 1985 as The Columbus Citizen-JournalThe Columbus Citizen-Journal
The Columbus Citizen-Journal was a daily morning newspaper in Columbus, Ohio published by the Scripps Howard company. It was formed in 1959 by the merger of The Columbus Citizen and The Ohio State Journal. It shared printing facilities, as well as business, advertising, and circulation staff in a...
). In April 1866, Comly established a local baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
team in Columbus and became the sport's major promoter and advocate in the region. President Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
appointed him as Postmaster of Columbus.
When Hayes was elected president in 1876, he rewarded Comly for his support by naming him the U.S. Minister to Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, a post he held until 1882. He served as a presidential elector in 1884, supporting James G. Blaine
James G. Blaine
James Gillespie Blaine was a U.S. Representative, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, U.S. Senator from Maine, two-time Secretary of State...
. Comly moved to Toledo, Ohio
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
, and became editor of the Toledo Commercial.
In the last years of his life, Comly suffered much from his old Civil War wounds. He died in Toledo, Ohio
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
at the age of 55 and was buried in Green Lawn Cemetery in Columbus.
See also
- List of American Civil War generals
- List of Ohio's American Civil War generals