New in MDL: U.S. Representative Solomon G. Comstock’s correspondence with Civil War veterans

The Northwest Minnesota History Center at Minnesota State University Moorhead holds the Solomon G. Comstock papers, one of their premier collections. Comstock was an early pioneer of Moorhead, a U.S. Representative (1889-1890), and U.S. Senator.

During his tenure as U.S. House Representative, Comstock received many letters from Civil War veterans and widows inquiring about their pensions. The pension process was often difficult for veterans, involving extensive paperwork and affidavits from individuals to prove their case. Many veterans who could not afford to hire a lawyer would write to Solomon Comstock to seek assistance in getting their pension.

Trista Raezer-Stursa, university archivist at Minnesota State University Moorhead, used this rich collection of letters for her article "'I Thought I Would Wright You a Few Lines': Solomon G. Comstock and Civil War Veteran Pensions," published in the Fall 2022 issue of Minnesota History magazine. She was awarded the annual Solon J. Buck award from the Minnesota Historical Society for this article. The Solon J. Buck Award recognizes “originality, excellence and creativity in research and writing” for articles published in Minnesota History magazine and is given to the best article of the year.

Trista and colleagues at MSUM are currently working on a Digital Humanities project about these letters, "Solomon Comstock and his Old Soldiers: Telling the Story of Minnesota Civil War Veterans with Digital Humanities." They anticipate launching the project this fall.

Learn more about this contributor and browse the Comstock collection correspondence in MDL.

Image credit: Andrew Torkelson's Civil War pension claim documents, Glenwood, Minnesota, 1890. Northwest Minnesota Historical Center, https://collection.mndigital.org/catalog/mhd:8860