In Chaplain Corby of Gettysburg, how is the Father Corby at Gettysburg of the Historical Information elucidated?
During the Civil War, Father William Corby was chaplain of the 88th New York Infantry, one of the five original regiments in the Union Army's Irish Brigade. On July 2, 1863, the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg, the Irish Brigade was preparing to enter battle when Father Corby stood on a boulder and began giving the soldiers general absolution. As Father Corby recounted in his memoir, Memoirs of Chaplain Life: "That general absolution was intended for all – in quantum possum – not only for our brigade, but for all, North or South, who were susceptible of it and who were about to appear before their Judge."The scene of the absolution is represented in Paul Wood's 1891 painting, Absolution Under Fire, which is on display at Notre Dame's Snite Museum of Art. The painting helped shape historical understanding of the absolution as a dramatic, heroic, and sacred event.
Father William Corby Union Army Irish Brigade Snite Museum of Art absolution Battle of Gettysburg Gettysburg 88th New York Infantry second day of the Battle of Gettysburg Civil War William Corby Absolution