DOB/DOD: May 8, 1836 (New York City) – May 15, 1903 (New York, NY); 67 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Married Catherine A. “Kittie” Bunce (1836-1918) on July 3, 1861, in New Haven, Connecticut. Married Mary H. Munson Corliss (1851-1940).
CHILDREN: One son, Reginald Bliss Corliss (1891-1968). One daughter, Grace W. (1886-1886).
ENLISTMENT: June 21, 1861, in Hartford as a Captain.
DISCHARGE: He resigned his commission on January 21, 1863.
FAMILY: Born to John B. (1819-1857) and Harriet Pennock Corliss (1817-1853). Four brothers, Samuel W. (1840-1886), John B. (1842-?), Hiram C. (1843-1927), and Henry B. (1849-1856). One sister, Sarah C. (1847-1929).
MEDAL OF HONOR CITATION
AWARDED FOR ACTIONS DURING: Civil War
BRANCH OF SERVICE: Army
UNIT: Company C, 5th Connecticut Infantry
DATE OF ISSUE AND PRESENTATION: September 10, 1897 (35 years later)
AGE ON THE DAY OF THE EVENT: 25
CITATION:
The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Captain George W. Corliss, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism on 9 August 1862, while serving with Company C, 5th Connecticut Infantry, in action at Cedar Mountain, Virginia. Captain Corliss seized a fallen flag of the regiment; the Color Bearer, having been killed, carried it forward in the face of severe fire and, though himself shot down and permanently disabled, planted the staff in the earth and kept the flag flying.
The wound he sustained was a bullet in the right leg, and it caused him to be captured by the Confederates. After partially recovering in a Confederate hospital, he was sent to the infamous Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia. When he was finally exchanged, his disability prevented him from further field service, and he resigned on January 21, 1863.
Later, he rejoined the Union war effort in 1864 with a commission of First Lieutenant and Regimental Adjutant of the 3rd Veterans Reserve Corps, eventually brevetted Major, US Volunteers on March 13, 1865. After the war, he served in Vicksburg, Mississippi, in the Bureau of Refugees until 1869, when he resigned. He then became a successful insurance broker.
From the Record-Journal (Meriden, Connecticut) September 15, 1897
MEDAL FOR BRAVERY
AWARDED TO MAJOR CORLISS
OF THE FIFTH CONNECTICUT
Major George W. Corliss of the old Fifth Connecticut has received a medal from Congress for distinguished gallantry in the battle of Cedar Mountain on August 9, 1862. In this hand-to-hand conflict, Major Corliss commanded the color company of the Fifth, which belonged to the Fifth Brigade of the First Division of the Second Army Corps. The regiment occupied the most exposed position possible while advancing in a bayonet charge upon the enemy. Between the positions taken up by the two armies was an open field, which was necessary for the attacking party to cross before the opposing batteries could be assaulted. Advancing with his regiment into the field, Major Corliss charged the enemy down a depression, through which coursed Cedar Run, and then up an elevation into woods and brush, where the Confederates in superior numbers lay concealed in the rear of the obstructions formed of fences. The strong position taken up by the Confederates was fortified with batteries, also concealed from the view of the attacking force.
Major Corliss had stationed himself in front of the line of battle and near the color guard. The bearer of the national flag was killed and fell forward on his face before the line had advanced a few yards. Anxious to employ all the muskets possible, the commander did not detail another bearer but seized the colors himself and bore them forward under a terrific fire of musketry and artillery from the enemy. In battle, the colors are invariably a target for the guns of the foe, and, with a literal shower of bullets whistling around him, Corliss carried the standard at the head of the line until he fell, severely wounded in the right leg.
Despite his injuries, his first thoughts were for the colors. Planting the staff firmly in the ground, he continued to hold up the unfurled flag until he was relieved of it by Sergeant L.A. Palmer. The severity of the engagement is shown in the knowledge that Sergeant Palmer received no fewer than nine wounds within a few seconds after taking possession of the colors.
Major Corliss was captured in the engagement and removed to the Charlottesville Hospital. Afterward, he was confined for several months in Libby prison. After his exchange as a prisoner of war, Major Corliss promptly reported for active duty but was pronounced unfit by the army surgeon and was induced to accept an honorable discharge. After a period of recuperation, however, he returned to the service in April 1864 and was assigned to the brigade of veteran reserves, occupying the fortifications on the Alexandria side of the Potomac, rendering valuable service there until the end of the war. Subsequently, he was appointed to the staff of Major General T. J. Wood at Vicksburg in connection with the Bureau of Refugees, Freedman, and Abandoned Lands. Resigning in 1869, Major Corliss came to New York and established himself in business as an insurance broker. In 1880, he purchased “The Insurance Critic” of Chicago but transferred its publication to New York and has since continued as its proprietor and editor.
The citizens of New Haven, where, at his own expense, he recruited his company, some time ago presented to Major Corliss an elaborate gold-plated sword and a brace of silver-mounted revolvers as a testimonial of their appreciation of his action at Cedar Mountain.
From The Daily Morning Journal & Courier (New Haven, CT) May 29, 1903
MAJOR G.W. CORLISS
Death of a Former Captain of the Fifth Regiment, C.V. [Connecticut Volunteers]
Major George W. Corliss, edit and proprietor of the “Insurance Critic,” well remembered by many old New Haven friends, who died in New York recently, was formerly an officer of the Fifth Connecticut Volunteers. He was a member of the Old Guard, New York, and was buried with Masonic honors after services in the Old Guard Armory. He was a native of the City of New York, where he was born on May 8, 1836. In early life, he was a teacher and accountant, but at the outbreak of the Civil War, he raised Company C of the Fifth Connecticut Volunteers, which he commanded for two years. He was wounded at the Battle of Cedar Mountain and was confined for several months in the Libby prison in Richmond. From 1870 – 1875, Major Corliss was an insurance broker in New York. In the latter years, he became interested in the “Insurance Critic,” which he bought and moved from Chicago to New York.
From the Evening Star (Washington, DC) July 10, 1903
DEATH OF MAJOR CORLISS
Union Veteran Who Received Ten Wounds at Cedar Mountain Battle
Word has been received here of the death of Major George W. Corliss at his home in New York a few days ago. Major Corliss formerly resided in Washington and was a brother of Mr. H. C. Corliss of 612 L Street Southwest. During the G. A. R. encampment held here last October, Major Corliss paid his last visit to Washington and took an active part in the sessions of the Grand Army. He was a high-degree Mason and was buried with the honors of that order from the Old Guard Armory in New York.
Major Corliss was sixty-seven years old and a native of New York. He was a Captain In the 5th Connecticut Volunteers, which he recruited at the outbreak of the Civil War. At the Battle of Cedar Mountain, he was wounded ten times. He commanded the color company of the regiment, and after thirteen men had been shot carrying the flag to the top of a high hill, Captain Corliss seized the banner himself and finally planted it on the enemy’s breastworks. For this, he was promoted to Major. He was captured and spent several months in Libby prison in Richmond, Virginia, as a prisoner of war.
Buried in Maple Grove Cemetery, 127-15 Kew Gardens Road, Queens, New York; Summit Section, Lot 214, Grave 2. Photos by Jeff DeWitt.
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