American Civil War Game Club (ACWGC)

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<b>Father Corby and the Irish Brigade at Gettysburg</b>

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 (photo shown to the below).




http://www.irish-society.org/Hedgemaster%20Archives/William_Corby.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Brigade_%28US%29
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<b>Major General Scott "The Mad Prussian" Ludwig</b>
Commanding Officer, Western Theater, CSA
Interim Chief of Staff, CSA
"The Army Commissary" and "The Traveling Blowhard of Virginia"
Retried ANV Commander 2004-06

http://www.networkforgood.org

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