|
Father Corby’s History
The Rev. William Corby,
chaplain of the famed Irish Brigade, was nominated for the Medal of Honor wrote a moving and yet humorous book, and
distributed the Word of God to
soldiers going Corby wrote about his Civil War experiences in "Memoirs of
a Chaplains Life," recently republished by Fordham University Press. The
book was rediscovered University of Alabama history professor, Lawrence
Frederick Kohl. He brings Corby's
words alive in our century and fills in several details of the priest's life. At the start of the Civil War, Edward Sorin, first president
of the University of Notre Dame recognized the importance of helping the
Union cause and knew the Irish could either choose to support the Union or
suffer the blame of not contributing. He urged his clergymen to minister to
the men under arms and the Irish Brigade in particular. Corby and six other priests of Holy Cross order, a third of the
order's members in the United States, eventually joined up. But Corby was the first Catholic priest
with the Army of the Potomac. He chose to serve the Irish Brigade extended
his ministry to the entire Army because of the paucity of serving clergy,
especially among Catholics, in the early stages of the war. Corby and other chaplains at the start of the war received no
pay and held no rank. Later, Washington recognized the importance of
chaplains and offered each an officer's commission and pay. The Corby family
sent the young priest to war on a fine horse that others, less impressively
mounted, frequently "borrowed" so they might present a more stately
appearance. The bearded 28 year-old chaplain
tells of being mistaken for a general because of mount and fine clothes. Then
after a dusty forced march, he mused: "How hath my greatness fallen in
one night.... Last night I was taken
for a General; this morning I am
taken for a loafer." Death, of course, was a daily consequence of life in the Army of
the Potomac during Corby's three years with the troops. The priest was a witness to many men about
to meet their God. His supreme respect for the sanctity of life stands out in
his memoirs. After the gruesome 1862 battle at Antietam, Corby wrote: In "The Irish Brigade" written in 1969, Paul Jones
describes Corby at Antietam, riding along the ranks beside Meagher,
encouraging the men and giving general absolution. Corby's was a personal ministry, and he was chaplain to the
brigade, not just to the Catholics.
As often as possible in the field, he would improvise an altar to
offer the sacrifice of the Mass for the soldiers: This re-creation of
Christ's Last Supper must have had indelible significance among men who were facing
death. One of Corby's most memorable acts was on the second day at Gettysburg,
which he modestly did not describe but for which he set the scene in his
book: "And now, the two great armies are confronting each other.... At
about four o'clock the Confederates commenced firing, and one hundred and
twenty cannon from their side belched forth from their fiery throats missiles
of death into our lines...The proportions of the pending crash seemed so
great, as the armies eye each other, that even veterans who had often
'smelled powder' quailed at the thought of the final conflict. The Third
Corps were pressed back, and at this critical moment I proposed to give a
general absolution." Maj. Gen. St. Clair Mulholland described the scene: "Now
help is called for, and Hancock tells Caldwell to have his men ready... The
Irish Brigade whose green flag has been unfurled in every battle in which the
Army of the Potomac has been engaged from Bull Run to Appomattox, formed a
part of this division... The Chaplain of this brigade, Rev. William Corby,
proposed to give a general absolution to all the men before going into the
fight. While this is customary in the armies of Catholic countries in Europe,
it was perhaps the first time it was ever witnessed on this continent. Father Corby stood on a large rock in front of the brigade.
" The brigade was standing at order arms!' As he closed his address,
every man, Catholic and non-Catholic, fell on his knees with his head bowed
down. Then stretching his right hand toward the Brigade, Father Corby
pronounced the words of absolution: At another time during the Civil War, Corby was asked by men of
the brigade to appeal on behalf of a condemned man. The priest worked is way
up the chain of command seeking clemency.
Eventually he reached the White House and made his case to President
Lincoln. Lincoln, often criticized by generals for his leniency gave Corby a
note: "I will pardon, if McClellan will pardon." McClellan told Corby the man must hang:
Discipline had to be maintained. Recalled to Notre Dame near the end of the war, Corby served his
university and his nation for the rest of his life. He was a vice president
at Notre Dame in 1865 and when the Rev. Patrick Dillon died the next year,
Corby, at age 33, became the third president of the university. In 1872, the head of his order in the United States asked Corby
to move to Sacred Heart College in Watertown, Wis., to put it on a firm
financial foundation, which he did. In
1877, he was summoned back to Notre Dame for a second time to lead it. On April 23, 1879, Notre Dame was nearly
destroyed by a severe fire. Corby set about raising the money to rebuild. The
classrooms were reopened the following autumn, and the priest was called the "Second
Founder of Notre Dame." In 1886, he was elected provincial general of
the Congregation of the Holy Cross. The men who had so appreciated his wartime ministry, the
veterans of the Irish Brigade, nominated Corby for the Medal of Honor in
1893. By then, many of the more influential men who had known him in the
Civil War, such as Meagher, were dead. But there still were many who
remembered his devotion and courage. Although Corby was not awarded a Medal of Honor, the brigade
veterans presented him with a chalice, the sacred cup used in the sacrament
of Mass. It was among his most cherished possessions. A statue of Corby blessing the troops at
Gettysburg is among the monuments at the battlefield, and a copy of the
statue stands in front of the aging Corby Hall at Notre Dame. John
E Cary, a retired Navy commander, graduated from Notre Dame in 1976. His mother, Marie Corby Carey, is a niece
of the Irish brigade's chaplain.
|
