Zachary Hale Comstock was formerly known as Booker DeWitt, but after the events of Wounded Knee, Booker attended a baptism conducted by Preacher Witting to ease his horrific memories and wash away his sins at Wounded Knee. He emerged a new man, named Zachary Hale Comstock. After the baptism, Comstock became a farmer and small-time preacher. At some point, he claimed to have been visited by the archangel Columbia, who showed him a vision of a city in the sky. Zachary said he was told it was his duty to build and uphold the values of this city. Comstock convinced the U.S. Congress, to build the city, named after Columbia, to uphold Christian and American values and share them with the world.