Jan 26 , 2026
Alonzo Cushing, Gettysburg Hero of Faith and Sacrifice
Alonzo Cushing fought with his last breath clinging to a shattered cannon. Blood roared in his ears, every inch of him wracked with mortal wounds. Yet through the smoke and carnage of Gettysburg’s Round Top, he held his ground. He would not yield an inch. Not while his guns could still fire.
From Wisconsin Farms to West Point Ranks
Born in Delafield, Wisconsin, in 1841, Alonzo Cushing was raised on hard soil and stiffer faith. The son of a respected family, his early years were shaped by discipline and duty. West Point called him—a crucible of honor, sacrifice, and unyielding grit. Commissioned into artillery, Cushing carried more than his ordnance; he carried a deep trust in God’s sovereign hand.
He clung to Proverbs 3:5–6: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding." That trust sharpened his resolve amid the chaos of war, steeling him to stand unshaken where others faltered.
The Battle That Defined Him
July 3, 1863. Cemetery Ridge, Gettysburg. The sun beat down on a battlefield already soaked in three days of slaughter. Confederate troops surged in a deadly wave—Pickett’s Charge crashed against Union lines.
Cushing commanded Battery A, 4th U.S. Artillery, perched on the perilous heights of Little Round Top. Confederate sharpshooters peppered his position; cannonballs tore the earth around him. Machine-gun bullets tore through his lungs.
Wounded in the thigh, then the stomach. Blood seeping through his uniform, yet his hands never faltered.
He refused to fall back.
He kept calling orders, directing the relentless fury of his guns.
His voice barely audible over the battlefield’s roar.
Eyewitnesss described Cushing staggering among his men, issuing commands, refusing aid, determined to hold the line. His final act—a fierce armored stand firing what was left of his battery until he collapsed and bled out seconds later.
Recognition Long Delayed
Cushing died on that field, July 3, 1863—twenty-four years old.
For decades, his heroism lingered in the shadows. The Medal of Honor, America's highest military decoration, was posthumously awarded to Cushing in 2014—151 years after his death. The citation praised him for "gallantry, coolness, and unflinching courage and intrepidity in the face of almost certain death."[1]
Union General Winfield Scott Hancock, who witnessed the carnage, reportedly said, "Cushing’s devotion and courage at such critical moments were decisive."
The award nomination drew from battlefield records and witness testimony, etching Cushing’s name indelibly into the annals of American valor.
Legacy Forged in Blood and Faith
Alonzo Cushing’s story is not merely of war, but of unyielding sacrifice amid hopeless odds. He believed in a higher calling, a code written in the blood of brothers in arms.
His courage teaches us discipline, humility, and a fierce commitment to duty beyond self.
He stands as a testament to those who face death with open eyes and steady hands. Where fear tears others down, Cushing lifted his battery—and his comrades—with iron will.
“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” —John 15:13
His sacrifice transcends history books. It is a spiritual legacy, a beacon for those bruised by battle and burdened by life’s trials. To remember Cushing is to honor the redemptive power of steadfast faith and the warrior’s heart.
On that hell-bent ridge, amid ceaseless gunfire and the cries of the fallen, Alonzo Cushing made a choice:
Stand fast. Fight on. Trust God’s plan beyond the smoke and blood.
That choice, eternal as the stone in Gettysburg, calls all who carry scars to rise—unchained, unyielded, unbroken.
Sources
[1] U.S. Army Center of Military History, Medal of Honor Recipients: Civil War (A-L) [2] Harry W. Pfanz, Gettysburg: The Second Day (University of North Carolina Press, 1987) [3] John Bigelow, The Campaign of Chancellorsville (Houghton Mifflin, 1910) [4] West Point Association of Graduates, Alonzo Cushing Biography and Records
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