Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1895-02-14
GENERAL CoRsE.

4
l read of the death of my old command
er with unfeigned sorrow and regret
Yet he has only been mustered out by
that fell sergeant, Death, and all those
that followed him will in a few years
receive the summons.
AS one who fought under him in
those days that tried the metal of men
L want to give him soldierly tribute
and declare that thrice happy is that
officer who, dying, can say ''my private
soldiers all loved me" so my soldiers
love me, 'isaid the great Suorroof, II care
not what the rest Of the world thinks"
And thus it was with General Corse,
his men were so attached to him that
they gave implicit obedience, that first
duty of soldier. willingly and gladly
General Corse was no holiday SOL
dier, and, like Stonewall Jackson, he
was not fayorite with the rank and
file in the easy camp life of 1861. He
drilled the men incessantly and thor
oughly, and they grumbled. But when
actual hostilities commenced, he COM
manded regiment that for steadfast-
ness and reliability has never been sur
passed.
General Corse was born soldier and,
like the stormy petrol, he wasat his best
when the earth rocked with the tread
Of armed battalions. The fame of
regiment is due to its colonel. No
matter what material it is composed
of, it is the commanding officer who
impresses his own individuality upon
| the organization. So with Corse-his
regiment was as famous in the army Of
Lee as Cromwell's Ironsides or Picton's
light division was of old Eng
land. But the affection his sol
| diers had for him was not
due entirely to their admira-
ton and confidence in him as soldier.
He was ever kind to his men and
thoughtful of their comfort, he was
never supercillous or naughty, and his
heart was too big for the practice of
tyranny or the insolence OF Office.
Corse had not that bravery which is
contempt of life, but he was essential
ly courageous man. SALISBURY says:
'ICourage is cool and calm, the bravest
of men have the least of bullying inso-
lence, and in the very time of danger
are found the most serene and free"
All those who followed the old chief
tain can bear witness to this. | have
seen him often in those times when the
tates threw dice for death or life and
he was fearless, self-possessed and calm.
have seen him at Blackburn's Ford
where in that baptism of fire, his men
learned to- trust and admire him. L
have seen him at Seven Pines in front
command leading the forlorn hope.
/ have seen him at the second Manas
sas cheering on a bridge and fight
ing until the sun sank below the
horizon, and l have seen him
greatest yet, at the head of
nineteen guns and FIVE officers, the
survival of those who followed him
across the plains, through the valleys
and over the mountains into Maryland,
where he lay in line of battle in front
of the little village of Sharpsburg.
The faith and love his men had in him
was Displayed then in heroic colors.
Not one but looked upon the onset OF
the enemy as certain death. Yet, not
one moved. The two guns of bat
| terry of artillery which was to support
| us was appalled, at the odds opposed,
and limbered up and made for the rear.
The skeleton regiment on our right re-
treated, and when the shock came, to
withstand the charge of a full Federal
brigade, was Corse and his score of
men. Yet he was as cool and calm as
if he was witnessing a holiday pageant.
He did not give the order to fire until
the foe was in pistol shot distance,
and the volley sounded as one shot. a rally
| from the fire au advance. A stunning volley
and twenty-one officers and men out oil
Twenty-Five fell Corsc himself was wounded,
| but cool and in the midst of that bloody
scene. turned down the stars of his collar and
lay amid the dead aud dying unnoticed un-
til counter attack of Jacksons men swept
the field
In his life as citizen he was respected rs
much as the soldier. He was gentleman in
the truest sense of the word, open, loyal, true,
of humane and ailable demeanor, honorable
himself and fair in judgment OF others.
Faithful to his word, and faithful alike to
God and man, so he lived and so he died.
The surviving veterans who fought under
| him arc getting along in year. their footsteps
are dOwnhill and their faces are turned to
the setting sun. But their hearts are still
Young and their memory green, and they will
ever carry in loving remembrance the daunt-
less soldier and the true-hearted man.
ONE OF HIS VETERANS.
\ nos Nfo;pes woman who has been