Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 1).djvu/791

Rh thereafter performed all of the practical work of the archdiocese. In 1884 he was summoned to Rome to advise with the pope as to the work of the proposed Plenary council, and represented New York in that body. Dr. Corrigan, when early in 1886 he received the pallium, was the youngest archbishop, excepting Archbishop Se- ghers, in the American episcopate. On 10 Oct., 1885, Cardinal McCloskey died, and Archbishop Corrigan became metropolitan of the diocese of New York. He was no longer archbishop, in title, of a deserted strip of Arabian soil, but the chief spiritual ruler of one of the most important dio- ceses in the world. He was not obliged to wait, according to the usual custom, for the pallium, in order to exercise his functions. By a special act of courtesy done to a prelate who had so far re- markably distinguished himself in the apostolic virtues befitting his state, Rome permitted him to perform the acts of his office as soon as he succeeded to the archbishopric. Archbishop Cor- rigan is a scholar, with a keen interest in modern literature. He has, in the pulpit, the art of con- vincing and stimulating ; and the modulations of a voice, trained in the laest schools, give variety and interest even to the most abstract theological theme. He is not a great pulpit orator, in the rhetorical sense of the phrase, but a genial and pleasant talker, who never fails to soften and charm his audiences. His administration of the archdiocese of New York has already shown the results to be expected from his successful career in Newark. The fourth provincial council and fourth synod of New Y^ork were principally influ- enced by him, while the five succeeding synods were held under his guidance. During his ad- ministration over fifty new Catholic churches have been erected in this city, several institutions of charity established or enlarged, and the fine theo- logical seminary in Yonkers completed.

CORSE, John Murray, soldier, b. in Pitts- burg, Pa., 27 April, 1835 ; 'd. in Boston, Mass., 27 April, 1893. He was gi'aduated at the U. S. mili- tary academy, entering the army as major of the 6th Iowa volunteers in August, 1861 ; served under Gen. Fremont, and on the staff of Gen. John Pope ; but after the victories of Island No. 10 and Shiloh preferring active service, joined his regiment, and became its colonel. He commanded a division at Memphis, and was commissioned a brigadier-gen- eral on 11 Aug., 1863. He served in the Chatta- nooga campaign, distinguished himself at Chicka- mauga, and was wounded at Missionary Ridge. In Sherman's march to the sea he commanded a division of the 15th corps. When, after the evacu- ation of Atlanta, the Confederates crossed the Chattahoochee and destroyed the railroad, Corse was ordered from Rome to the relief of Allatoona, where large commissary supplies, guarded by 890 men, under Col. Tourtellotte, were threatened by an infantry division of the enemy. Gen. Corse ar- rived with 1,054 troops before the Confedei'ates ; but when the latter came up, being greatly supe- rior in numbers, they closely surrounded the position. To the summons of the Confederate general, French, to surrender and avoid a needless effusion of blood. Gen. Corse returned a defiant answer. The Confederates, numbering 4,000 or 5,000, attacked the fortifications furiously, 5 Oct., 1864, but were repeatedly driven back. Gen. Sherman, who had despatched a corps to attack the Confederate rear, signaled from Kenesaw mountain, where he heard the roar of battle, eigh- teen miles away, for the commander to hold out, as relief was approaching; and when he learned by the sun-telegraph that Corse was in command, he said : " He will hold out ; I know the man." Gen. Corse's ear and cheek-bone were shot away during the engagement, but he continued to direct his men. At the approach of the relieving force, the assailants retired. Gen. Sherman made the brave defence of Allatoona the subject of a general order, emphasizing the principle in warfare that fortified posts should be defended to tlie last, without regard to the strength of the attacking force. Corse received the brevet of major-general, 5 Oct., 1864. After the war. Gen. Corse was for two years (1867-'9) collector of internal revenue in Chicago, 111. He then spent four years in Eiirope, and on his return engaged in railroad contracting, and built several hundred miles of road in the neighborhood of Chicago. In 1881 he removed to Massachusetts, i-esiding in Boston and in Win- chester, where he settled in 1882, after marrying for his second wife a niece of Franklin Pierce, i He was a vigorous opponent of Gen. Butler in his political campaigns, and became chairman of the executive committee in the democratic state cen- tral committee. On 9 Oct., 1886, he was appointed postmaster of Boston by President Cleveland.

CORSE, Montgomery Dent, soldier, b. in Alexandria, Va., 14 March, 1816; d. in his birth- place, 11 Feb., 1895. He served as a captain in the Mexican war, and lived in California from April, 1849, till December, 1856, when he returned to Virginia and became a banker in Alexandria. He entered the Confederate service in May, 1861, as colonel of fhe 17th Virginia regiment. He was wounded in the second battle of Bull Run, and engaged at Boonsboro and Antietam. He was connnissioned a brigadier-general in November, 1862, commanded a brigade in Pickett's division in the expedition against Knoxville, and was cap- tured at Sailor's Creek, Va., on 6 April, 1865. After the war he resumed the business of a banker and broker at Alexandria till 1874.

CORSON, Edward T., surgeon, b. in Montgomery county, Pa., 14 Oct., 1834; d. in Plymouth, Pa., 22 June, 1864. He entered the navy as assistant surgeon, 20 May, 1859, and was ordered to China and Japan in the U. S. steamer &ldquo;Hartford,&rdquo; where he remained until the winter of 1861. He was subsequently, for a short time, at the naval asylum, Philadelphia, and, upon application for sea service, was ordered to the &ldquo;Mohican,&rdquo; returning, after a cruise of 40,000 miles, without the loss of a man by sickness. He was promoted to surgeon, 31 July, 1862.

CORSON, Hiram, educator, b. in Philadelphia, 6 Nov., 1828. After being employed for some time as a private tutor and assistant teacher in the Treemount seminary at Norristown, Pa., he became connected with the library of congress and with that of the Smithsonian institution at Washington in 1849, and continued there until 1856, when he resumed teaching. In 1859 Mr. Corson removed with his family to Philadelphia, and for some years devoted himself to teaching and lecturing on English literature. In 1865 he was elected professor of history and rhetoric in Girard college, resigning this place in 1866 to accept the professorship of rhetoric and English literature in St. John's college, Annapolis. In 1870 he was elected to the chair of English language and literature, rhetoric, and oratory in Cornell, which office he still holds. He has published Chaucer's &ldquo;Legende of Goode Women,&rdquo; containing an introduction on the versification of Chaucer, and glossarial and critical notes; &ldquo;An Elocutionary Manual,&rdquo; with an introductory essay on the study of literature and