Oct 09 , 2025
Alonzo Cushing Gettysburg hero who held the line despite mortal wounds
The cannon roared. Smoke choked the air. Bloodied hands gripped the wheel, tightening on the wheel even as ribs shattered like dry twigs beneath the blow. Alonzo Cushing would not fall silent.
Not today. Not while Gettysburg bled.
Born of Honor and Steel
Alonzo Cushing was not born to the battlefield, but he was forged for it.
Raised in Delafield, Wisconsin, into a family shaped by service and sacrifice, he carried a quiet, unyielding faith deep in his marrow. West Point polished his resolve, but his soldiers would come to know a fierceness beyond any academy lesson.
A devout Christian, Cushing’s courage came from something greater than duty. He believed his fight was a sacred trust.
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid... for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” — Joshua 1:9
This scripture wasn’t just ink on a page for Cushing—it was a lifeline in the storm.
The Battle That Defined Him
July 3, 1863.
The sun hammered down on Cemetery Ridge as Pickett’s Charge thundered forward—15,000 Confederates crashing like waves against the Union lines.
Alonzo Cushing commanded Battery A, 4th U.S. Artillery, precisely positioned near the center of the Union defense.
The enemy bombardment was brutal. His men were slaughtered. His body betrayed him—wounded three times, an elbow shattered, ribs shattered, and his lung pierced. Blood soaked his uniform, blurred his sight.
Yet, he refused to relinquish command.
Witnesses describe him shouting orders through agonizing pain, dragging himself forward on his knees to regain his cannon's position under heavy fire.
He rallied his men, kept the guns blazing into the charging Confederate ranks.
Corporal Frederick Fuger, who would survive and testify, said this about the moment:
“Lieutenant Cushing’s conduct was a marvel of heroism and derr- hardihood... He was assisted by only a single man. His face was covered with blood. He kept deliberately commanding his battery amid the storm...”[^1]
As the enemy surged, Cushing’s steadfastness held a vital position in the Union defense, buying precious seconds for the infantry lines behind him.
Minutes later, gravely wounded, he fell where he fought— the last to leave the breach.
Valor Immortalized
Cushing died on the field, July 9, 1863, at just 24 years old.
His Medal of Honor would come over 130 years later—in 2014—an overdue testament to his sacrifice and grit.
His citation reads, in part:
“Lieutenant Cushing served courageously… while severely wounded and exposed, he refused to leave his position and continued to direct effective artillery fire against the enemy.”[^2]
His commander, Brigadier General Alexander Webb—himself a Medal of Honor recipient—recognized the gravity of Cushing’s actions:
“The young officer, though desperately wounded, gave commands to his men to keep the guns in action.”[^3]
The battlefield was littered with the dead and dying, but few carried the mark of unbroken spirit like Cushing.
A Legacy Etched in Iron and Faith
Alonzo Cushing’s story is not just about artillery shells and blood-drenched earth.
It’s about unfinished duty. About grit that doesn’t waver when flesh and bone scream for mercy.
It’s about the warrior’s burden—the cry to hold the line, not because glory waits, but because lives depend on it.
His sacrifice is a raw, living reminder that courage is often quiet—the refusal to quit when the body fails the soul.
“For I am already being poured out like a drink offering...” — 2 Timothy 4:6
Cushing poured out his life on that ridge—the most precious offering a soldier can give.
His story comes to us from the smoke and blood of history, but its heartbeat remains a challenge: stand—when all else falls.
Let the scars he bore remind us that sacrifice endures beyond the battle. That redemption can rise from the ashes of war. That honor, once earned, never fades.
To every veteran who’s felt the weight of a dark horizon, and to every civilian who struggles to grasp the cost of freedom—Alonzo Cushing’s courage is your legacy.
Remember the price. Live worthy of the sacrifice.
[^1]: The War of the Rebellion: Official Records, Series I, Volume 27, Part 1, Report of Brigadier General Alexander S. Webb [^2]: U.S. Army Medal of Honor Citation, Alonzo Cushing, 2014 [^3]: Report of Brigadier General Alexander Russell Webb, July 1863, Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies
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