In Gettysburg, on the battlefield, is this marker made in honor of Father Corby.
The statue is located on the battlefield, along Hancock Avenue, on the east side.
The statue is a life-sized figure situated on a rock. The figure is standing, with his back arched slightly such that he can look up to the sky. His right hand is raised, and his left rests a bit above his heart. Both feet are on the ground, but his knees are slightly bent. There is a hat and gloves on the ground by his feet. He has a long beard flowing over his front. On the base of the sculpture is the name, Samuel Murray, the sculptor. The boulder he is on is believed to have been the one that he stood on while there.
A couple sites were found concerning Father Corby. Father William Corby was born on October 2, 1833 in Detroit. He went to Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana where he committed himself to religious life. At the outbreak of the U.S. Civil War in 1861, Corby joined the Chaplain Corps in the U.S. Army and was assigned the 88th NY Vol. Infantry, known as the Irish Brigade, since it was comprised mostly of Irish Catholics.
The Irish Society has this specifically about his service at Gettysburg:
"In the summer of 1863, the Irish Brigade was no longer the impressive force it had been. Nearly two years of war had reduced its numbers from 3000 to 530 combat ready troops. The Union forces had suffered severe losses in the early battles at Gettysburg. Yet among the units sent to restore the Union lines was the battered Irish Brigade led by Colonel Patrick Kelly. Before the Brigade engaged the Confederate soldiers at a wheat field just south of Gettysburg, Father William Corby, in a singular event that lives in the history of the Civil War, addressed the troops. Placing his purple stole around his neck, Corby climbed atop a large boulder and offered absolution to the entire unit, a ceremony never before performed in America. Kohl, editor of Corby's memoirs, tells us that Father Corby sternly reminded the soldiers of their duties, warning that the Church would deny Christian burial to any who wavered and did not uphold the flag. The members of the Brigade were admonished to confess their sins in the correct manner at their earliest opportunity. Those who witnessed this event would never forget it, for at a crisis point for the young nation, Father Corby had married the Catholic faith and American patriotism. Over the years, this event would become the subject of poems, sculptures and an impressive painting, "Absolution Under Fire" by Paul Henry Woods. With their sins forgiven, the Irish Brigade plunged into battle and were met with withering fire from the Confederate soldiers. At the end of the day, 198 of the men whom Father Corby had blessed had been killed. On October 29, 1910, a bronze statue of William Corby, C.S.C. was dedicated at the battlefield at Gettysburg, the only statue at Gettysburg to memorialize a chaplain."
After the war, Corby was twice president of Notre Dame, making a tremendous impact there, and helped Sacred Heart College in Watertown, Wisconsin, get on a strong footing. He also later became the Provential General ad Assistant General of the Congregation of the Holy Cross for the United States.
He died of peumonia in 1897. Rather than by his peer priests, his casket was borne by veterans of the Civil War. A cannon salute was done, as well as a song was sung by the veterans in his honor.
Source:
(
visit link)