Stephen Potter Corliss (July 26, 1842 – May 9, 1904) was an American soldier who earned a

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

on January 17, 1895 for service during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

.U.S. Army Center of Military History
Stephen P. Corliss
Medal of Honor recipients: Civil War

Life and career

Corliss was born in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

. He enlisted in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

on August 12, 1862 at

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...

, as a private into 11th New York Light Artillery Regiment. He was discharged for promotion to 2nd lieutenant on June 26, 1864 and was commissioned into Company F,

4th New York Heavy Artillery Regiment The 4th New York Heavy Artillery Regiment, U.S. Volunteers was a heavy artillery regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The regiment operated as both heavy artillery and infantry beginning in February 1862 while serv ...

. He was listed as a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...

on August 25, 1864 at the

Second Battle of Ream's Station The Second Battle of Ream's Station (also Reams or Reams's) was fought during the siege of Petersburg in the American Civil War on August 25, 1864, in Dinwiddie County, Virginia. A Union force under Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock began destr ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. He was returned on December 29, 1864 and promoted the next day to First Lieutenant, Company F, 4th New York Heavy Artillery. On February 5, 1865 he was promoted to Adjutant. His Medal of Honor citation notes that at South Side Railroad, Virginia, on April 2, 1865, Corliss "raised the fallen colors and, rushing forward in advance of the troops, placed them on the enemy's works." He was mustered out of service on December 9, 1865. He was later brevetted to the rank of colonel. On April 7, 1880 he was elected as a First Class Companion of the New York Commandery of the

Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), or simply the Loyal Legion is a United States patriotic order, organized April 15, 1865, by three veteran officers of the Army. The original membership was composed of members ...

- a military society composed of officers who served in the Union armed forces and their descendants. He was assigned insignia number 2039. Corliss died in

Pittsfield, Massachusetts Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfield� ...

and was buried at

Albany Rural Cemetery The Albany Rural Cemetery was established October 7, 1844, in Colonie, New York, United States, just outside the city of Albany, New York. It is renowned as one of the most beautiful, pastoral cemeteries in the U.S., at over . Many historical Am ...

References

External links

1st Lt. Stephen P. Corliss, Company D 4th Heavy Artillery Civil War
via New York State Military Museum
Image of Corliss
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Corliss, Stephen P. 1842 births 1904 deaths People of New York (state) in the American Civil War Union Army colonels United States Army Medal of Honor recipients Burials at Albany Rural Cemetery American Civil War recipients of the Medal of Honor