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 “Hartford,”
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 “Mohican,” 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 “Legende
of Goode Women,” containing an introduction on
the versification of Chaucer, and glossarial and
critical notes; “An Elocutionary Manual,” with an
introductory essay on the study of literature and
