Jan 03 , 2026
Alonzo Cushing, Gettysburg Artillery Hero Who Held the Line
The cannon roared beneath him, smoke choking the air as musket balls tore through bone and flesh. Alonzo Cushing gripped the wheel of his artillery piece, bleeding from a wound that should’ve ended him. But the guns pressed on—unrelenting, defiant. His voice, faint yet fierce, ordered his men forward despite the agony. The guns had to fire. They had to hold the line.
The Making of a Warrior and a Man
Born in Wisconsin Territory in 1841, Alonzo Cushing was a son of honor and sacrifice. West Point molded him into one of the Army’s finest artillery officers, graduating fifth in his class. But it was his faith—quiet, steady—that gave him a fierce edge. Raised in a devout Christian household, Cushing carried a personal code: duty without compromise, courage without falter.
It’s one thing to shoot straight; it’s another to stand firm when death waits.
His commitment wasn’t just to orders but to a higher calling. Those who knew him spoke of his humility and resolve. "He fought not for glory," one comrade would later say, “but because he believed it was right.” His early letters carried lines of scripture and resolve, threading God’s promises through the nightmare of war.
The Battle That Defined Him
July 3, 1863 — Gettysburg. The day the Union Army faced its most desperate test. Cushing commanded Battery A, 4th U.S. Artillery, positioned at the center of the Union line on Cemetery Ridge.
Confederate forces under General Pickett surged forward, the climax of Pickett’s Charge. For hours, Cushing's battery had been pouring iron into the advancing rebels, helping to shatter their momentum. But the Confederate lines drew ever closer, and Cushing was hit not once, but twice. His right arm shattered by bone; a bullet tore through his back and into his lungs.
He refused to be removed from the fight.
Witnesses later described a staggering figure, gunner in hand, shouting orders through blood and dust, directing the fire of his cannons. When aides tried to pull him away, the 22-year-old officer pressed forward. His last words, whispered to a comrade amid the chaos: “Leave me here. Tell my father I died defending our country.”
He died where he stood, artillery firing. His sacrifice helped blunt Pickett's Charge, a turning point in the war.
Honors Wrought in Blood
Alonzo Cushing’s valor was unquestioned, but recognition came slowly. Honor is often delayed for those who give everything.
On March 2, 2014—151 years after Gettysburg and long after his remains were relocated to Arlington National Cemetery—Cushing was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. President Barack Obama bestowed the nation’s highest military honor for his “extraordinary heroism.”
The citation reads: “Lieutenant Cushing displayed conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty at Gettysburg, remaining at his post and continuing to encourage his men in rallying the battery until he was mortally wounded.”
Generations later, his story still burns bright. Civil War historian James McPherson called Cushing “the embodiment of self-sacrifice.”
Blood and Legacy
The story of Alonzo Cushing strains every measure of courage and pain.
He was more than a soldier. He was a sentinel standing tall against the storm of death, a man who chose to carry a burden heavier than his wounds.
“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” — John 15:13
Through fields soaked in blood, Cushing’s example speaks to every veteran who’s faced the hell of combat, to every citizen who wrestles with duty and sacrifice. He reminds us that courage is not the absence of fear or pain, but the will to act despite it.
His legacy challenges us: stand firm. Trust your brothers beside you. Live with purpose, and when the call comes, answer it without hesitation.
The cannon at Gettysburg still echoes with his resolve—to fight on, to hold the line, until the last breath is spent. Alonzo Cushing gave that final breath so that freedom might endure.
Sources
1. United States Army Center of Military History — Medal of Honor Citation: Alonzo Cushing 2. James M. McPherson — Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era (1988) 3. National Park Service — Gettysburg Battlefield Unit Histories 4. Barack Obama Remarks on Medal of Honor Ceremony, 2014, White House Archives
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