Father William Corby
I went to college to study history, and I have always found the Catholic Church's history to be a fascinating subject. As an institution, it has been witness to and participant in so much of Western and world history. I thought I would try writing short monthly blogs covering various aspects of the history of the Church, its people, its movements and institutions, and its historic buildings and objects and provide links for further study of the topic if anyone is interested.
I majored in military history. With that as a starting point, I thought I would begin by sharing some stories about catholic chaplains. We will start off with Father William Corby. A catholic chaplain who served in the Union Army during the Civil War.
Father William Corby – Gettysburg, 1863
Along Hancock Avenue in Gettysburg National Military Park, there is a statue of a Union Army Chaplain standing on a boulder, arm raised in the air as he prepares to grant absolution. It is a moment frozen in time. That moment took place on July 2, 1863, the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg. Catholic Chaplain Rev. William Corby, CSC, can be seen standing tall in front of his men. While physically long gone, they are still tethered to that place and time of horrific carnage and great sacrifice. They were men fighting for many different reasons. For some, it was the noble idea of freedom or the idea that we should stay one nation, some were drafted, and some joined the fight simply because their friends did. Whatever the reason, they all too often gave what President Lincoln would later describe as “…that last full measure of devotion.”
Long before he found himself on the battlefields of the Civil War ministering to soldiers, William Corby’s life seemed to be on a different path. He was born and raised in Detroit. William's family were Irish immigrants. His father, Daniel, was one of the wealthiest real estate owners in the country. He was instrumental in founding and supporting parishes throughout Detroit. William attended public school until he was 16 years old and then began work at his father’s real estate firm.
However, after working at his father’s firm for a few years, he turned his eyes to a small, financially struggling school called Notre Dame. In 1853 he enrolled at Notre Dame, and within one year, he began studying to become a priest. Three years later, he was ordained and taught at the University and served as a local parish priest.
While William was at Notre Dame, the rift between the states was becoming more pronounced. Violence began breaking out around the country. Individual states and territories were becoming battlegrounds even before the Civil War started. With Lincoln’s election and the Southern states' succession from the Union, the rift became a split which became the Civil War. Few realized at the start that the war would drag on for years and take hundreds of thousands of lives and leave scars across the land that exist even today.
In 1861 Fr. Corby left his parish and his post at Notre Dame and signed up to become a chaplain in the Union Army. He was assigned to the 88th New York Infantry Regiment. One of the five regiments of the famed Irish Brigade. He was one of several chaplains ministering to the men of the Brigade. Fr. Corby marched with the men and served alongside them. He endured the same hardships the men did, and in doing so, he earned the respect and admiration of his soldiers. He was known for being with his men in battle, moving around the battlefield, giving aid and comfort to the wounded, and providing last rites to dying men.
On the second day of fighting at Gettysburg, only 530 men of the Brigade's original 3,000 were counted present. As his men were preparing to shore up a crumbling flank under attack from the Confederates, Fr. Corby stood upon a boulder. On the same boulder, his statue now stands. This fight, within the larger battle, would become known as the Battle of the Wheatfield. Fr. Corby gathered the remaining men of his Brigade around him, joined by others, catholic and non-catholic, officer and enlisted. The men were no longer fueled youthful idealism, that had been replaced with the grim reality of the task that lay in front of them.
Fr. Corby began speaking, telling the men of their duty to God and country and, more importantly, to each other. He encouraged them to be brave in the face of the coming fight with the Confederates just across the field. Then, raising his arm, he absolved the men kneeling before him. It is hard to imagine the fear these men must have felt with artillery sounds and fighting raging all around them. Of the roughly 500 men present, less than an hourlater, 27 were killed, 109 were wounded, and 62 were missing.
Fr. Corby stayed with the Army until 1865. When the war ended, he returned to Notre Dame, becoming the vice-president and then twice President of Notre Dame. He was fundamental in the founding of the Notre Dame College of Law, and he served in many other posts within the Church as well.
After the war, his men tried nominating him for the Medal of Honor for his bravery, compassion, and willingness to serve with them in battle and his actions at Gettysburg. While the nomination was submitted, it ultimately was not approved. He wrote a book about his war experiences and his time as a Catholic chaplain with the Irish Brigade. It was an immensely popular book entitled Memoirs of Chaplain Life. Fr. Corby died in December of 1897 of pneumonia. He was carried to his grave, not by the traditional pallbearers of priests; instead, it was the men he served with during the war. His men sang songs, played the bugle, and gave him a traditional rifle volley as they buried him.
He has been remembered in poems and songs and paintings. Perhaps the most famous is the painting by Paul Wood entitled "Absolution Under Fire," which can be seen at the Snite Museum at Notre Dame. It depicts the moment he raises his hand to grant absolution to the men kneeling in front of him. In the background, cannon can be seen firing on Confederate positions on that hot July day in 1863.
The statue of Fr. Corby was dedicated on October 29, 1910. There is a twin of the statue at Notre Dame standing outside of Corby Hall. Fr. Corby serves as an inspiration of courage, compassion, and kindness, not just for Catholics but for all seeking to help others.
In closing, I leave you with the words of Fr. Corby. Though written a century and a half ago, his words still command our attention….
“Oh, you of a younger generation, think of what it cost our forefathers to save our glorious inheritance of Union and liberty! If you let it slip from your hands you will deserve to be branded as ungrateful cowards and undutiful sons. But, no! You will not fail to cherish the prize-- it is too sacred a trust-- too dearly purchased."
I would encourage you to read more on Fr. Corby and other chaplains who I will be writing about in future postings.
Sources referenced and websites providing further information:
Irish in the American Civil War
https://irishamericancivilwar.com/2010/07/02/father-corbys-gettysburg-absolution/
Article from the National Catholic Register
The Watertown Historical Society, Watertown, WI
http://www.watertownhistory.org/Articles/Corby,%20Rev.htm
Gettysburg Stone Sentinels
https://gettysburg.stonesentinels.com/monuments-to-individuals/father-william-corby/
