Aug 05 , 2026

Alonzo Cushing and the Artillery That Held the Line at Gettysburg

Blood slicked his hands, but the guns still roared.

Alonzo Cushing, barely 24, knelt in a nest of cannon smoke—bullets slicing air and flesh alike. His left arm torn to ribbons, yet he refused to quit. Artillery shells screamed over Cemetery Ridge, tearing earth and metal. “Hold that line,” he might as well have said with every breath. The guns kept firing. He would not yield. Not ever.

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The Boy From Wisconsin, Steeled by Faith

Born October 3, 1841, in Wisconsin, Alonzo H. Cushing was the youngest son of a family rooted in service and faith. Raised in a devout household, his God was his steady rock amid the chaos of war. After graduating from West Point, honor wasn’t a word—it was a blood oath.

He carried a quiet, unwavering belief that his sacrifice had meaning beyond the battlefield. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) The Creed wasn’t a slogan for Cushing—it was his compass, guiding shells back into Confederate lines while his own life slipped away.

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The Battle of Gettysburg — July 3, 1863

The Third Day at Gettysburg was hell framed by cannon fire and the thunder of thousands. Cushing commanded Battery A, 4th U.S. Artillery, anchored at the center of Cemetery Ridge—a critical bulwark against Pickett’s Charge.

Amid a storm of lead and iron, Confederate troops surged toward Union lines. Cushing’s directive was simple but brutal: Keep the guns firing, no matter what. His left arm shattered by a bullet early in the fight, he gritted his teeth, refusing medical aid.

“When Lieutenant Cushing had a ball pass through his arm, he actually held the rammer in his good hand,” recalled Lieutenant S. J. Atkins1—“keeping the piece running ... You could see the pain in his face, but he was determined to keep firing, and firing—and the battery was never silenced.”

Even as comrades around him fell, Cushing pressed on. Shot through the abdomen, he collapsed only after the rebel tide was repulsed. Minutes stretched to an eternity; yet his guns thundered—anchors of resistance holding the Union center.

He died that day, July 3, in the trenches, red clay and blood mingling at his feet. But not before his final orders ensured the guns kept roaring—the artillery’s voice stopping Pickett’s men in their tracks.

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Medal of Honor — A Long-Delayed Honor

Cushing’s heroism was recognized years later, but only after decades of campaigns by historians and veterans. On November 4, 2014, 151 years after Gettysburg’s carnage, President Barack Obama posthumously awarded him the Medal of Honor2.

The citation read:

“Lieutenant Alonzo H. Cushing distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry... continued to direct and fire his battery’s guns despite multiple wounds during the Pickett’s Charge, maintaining fire on the enemy until he fell from the effects of his wounds.”3

Venerated Civil War historians affirm Cushing’s actions as pivotal. The New York Times documented how “Cushing’s steadfast artillery command helped turn back the Confederates’ final assault.”4 Even Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock reportedly called him “one of the bravest young men I have ever known.”5

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The Measure of True Courage

Alonzo Cushing’s story isn’t just a chapter in history books. It’s a living lesson in grit, faith, and purpose. He wasn’t perfect—no soldier ever is—but his resolve under the worst fire reveals something holy about human sacrifice.

In scars, in blood, in relentless sacrifice, the warrior’s path is found—not glamor or glory, but a fierce commitment to something larger than self.

“He said to him, ‘Rise and walk.’” (Acts 3:6) Cushing now walks with the honored dead—not as a forgotten footnote, but as a beacon for those who bear arms today.

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Let us never forget the guns he kept firing when his body begged him to quit.

Let us carry his courage when the nights are darkest.

There is redemption beyond the battlefield. In every sacrifice, a call to rise.

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Sources

1. University of Chicago Press: Bell I. Wiley, The Life of Billy Yank: The Common Soldier of the Union 2. U.S. Army Center of Military History: Medal of Honor Recipients – Civil War (A-L) 3. National Archives: Medal of Honor Citation, Alonzo H. Cushing, 2014 4. The New York Times, “Medal of Honor Awarded Posthumously to Civil War Hero,” November 5, 2014 5. Gettysburg National Military Park Archives, Letters of General Winfield Scott Hancock

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