The Very Reverend William Corby C.S.C.
3rd President of the University of Notre Dame
In office 1866–1872
Preceded by	Patrick Dillon
Succeeded by	Auguste Lemonnier
In office 1877–1881
Preceded by	Patrick Colovin
Succeeded by	Thomas E. Walsh
Personal details
Born	(1833-10-02)October 2, 1833 Detroit, Michigan
Died	December 28, 1897(1897-12-28) (aged 64) South Bend, Indiana
Resting place	Holy Cross Cemetery,Notre Dame, Indiana

William Corby, CSC (October 2, 1833 – December 28, 1897) was an American Catholic priest of theCongregation of Holy Cross and a Union Army chaplain in theAmerican Civil War attached to theIrish Brigade. He served twice as president of theUniversity of Notre Dame.

He was born inDetroit, Michigan, to Daniel Corby, an Irish immigrant, and his wife Elizabeth, a Canadian. He attended public school until age 16, then joined his father's real estate business. In 1853, he enrolled in the 10-year-old college of Notre Dame inSouth Bend, Indiana, and began study for the priesthood three years later. Following ordination, he taught at Notre Dame, and served as a local parish priest.

Corby left his position at Notre Dame and joined the predominantly Catholic Irish Brigade in 1861. He spent the next three years as chaplain of the88th New York Infantry, which was one of the five original regiments in the Irish Brigade.^[1] His memoir of the Irish Brigade became a best-seller.^[2]

During theBattle of Antietam he rode along the line of the Brigade while giving his men a general absolution, of whom 540 became casualties before they were relieved after exhausting their supply of ammunition. After the absolution, Father Corby tended to his fallen men on the battlefield hearing their confessions where they fell. After the battle, he remained on the battlefield for several days, celebrating Mass for the wounded.

He is perhaps best known for givinggeneral absolution to theIrish Brigade on the second day of theBattle of Gettysburg. Of the Brigade's original 3,000 men, only about 500 remained. Of the men Father Corby absolved that day, 27 were killed, 109 were wounded, and 62 were listed as missing.^[3]

The scene of Fr. Corby blessing the troops was depicted in the 1891 paintingAbsolution under Fire by Paul Wood,^[4] and dramatized in the 1993 filmGettysburg.

A statue bySamuel Murray – Father Corby, with right hand raised in the gesture of blessing – some say it stands upon the same boulder on which the priest stood while blessing the troops that morning. It was the first statue of a non-general erected on theGettysburg Battlefield, and was dedicated in 1910.^[1]

He is widely remembered amongmilitary chaplains and celebrated byIrish-American fraternal organizations. Corby Hall at Notre Dame is named for him, anda copy of the Gettysburg statue stands outside the building. An organization of Notre Dame alumni is named The William Corby Society.^[5]

Following his service in the Civil War, he returned to Notre Dame and served as its vice-president, 1865–66; and president twice, 1866–72 and 1877-81. Under Corby's first administration, enrollment at Notre Dame increased to more than 500 students. In 1869 Corby opened thelaw school, which offered a two-year course of study,^[6] and in 1871 he began construction of Sacred Heart Church, today theBasilica of the Sacred Heart, Notre Dame. The institution was still small, and Corby taught in the classroom and knew most students and faculty members. In 1869, the entire student body and the faculty presented him with the gift of a 'black horse and, when he left the presidency three years later, they presented him with a matching carriage.^[7]

Corby became president again following the short term of Fr. Patrick Colovin. When Corby returned to the presidency, Notre Dame had not yet become a significant academic institution. Corby's presidency saw theApril 1879 fire that destroyed the old Main Building of the school. Corby sent all students home and promised that they would return to a "bigger and better Notre Dame." Corby overcame the $200,000 fire loss and rebuilt theMain Building - which now stands with its "Golden Dome." During his administration, he also constructedWashington Hall (then named Music Hall), in which he took much pride, and started the construction ofSt. Edward's Hall for the minims program.^[8] In addition to his presidency, he was serving as the Holy Cross Provincial, when Fr. Sorin, who had become Superior General of the Congregation, wrote to him to tell him that he would have to relinquish one of his positions. Corby wanted to remain president, but was overruled by Sorin.^[7]

• Roman Catholic Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA#Chaplains in Civil War

• Bergen, Doris L. (ed.).The Sword of the Lord: Military Chaplains from the First to the Twenty-First Century. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2004.ISBN 0-268-02175-9.
• Corby, Fr. William, CSC.Memoirs of Chaplain Life: Three Years with the Irish Brigade in the Army of the Potomac. Edited by Lawrence F. Kohl. New York: Fordham University Press, 1992.ISBN 0-8232-1251-3Memoirs of Chaplain Life: Three Years with the Irish Brigade in the Army of the Potomac

• Media related toWilliam Corby at Wikimedia Commons
• Father William Corby from Irish Cultural Society of the Garden City Area.
• William Corby Archives from University of Notre Dame.
• William Corby atFind a Grave

• Presidents of the University of Notre Dame
• Irish Brigade (U.S.)
• Union army chaplains
• Congregation of Holy Cross
• American people of Irish descent
• Clergy from Detroit
• 1833 births
• 1897 deaths
• American people of Canadian descent
• 19th-century American Roman Catholic priests

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