Jan 12 , 2026

Alonzo Cushing’s Last Stand at Gettysburg’s Cemetery Ridge

Smoke chokes the morning sky over Cemetery Ridge. The sound of death thunders around Captain Alonzo Cushing’s artillery battery. His leg shattered, blood pouring down like a river, but his gun roars on. No backing down. No quit. Just fire. Hold the line. Until the darkness swallows him whole.

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The Blood Baptism of a Soldier

Born August 20, 1841, in Delafield, Wisconsin, Alonzo Cushing was a product of honor and steadfast discipline. West Point class of 1861, thrust into the furnace of a nation tearing itself apart.

Faith ran deep in the Cushing bloodline—descended from a family of soldiers and men of God. His unwavering belief in duty and divine justice shaped him. A soldier’s life wasn’t just orders and tactics—it was a mission.

"I cannot do otherwise than stand firm here," Cushing once said, echoing the warrior’s burden to his men.

He carried a code that outshone glory: serve the Union, protect your brothers, and never let your guard down—no matter the cost.

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The Battle That Defined Him: Gettysburg, July 3, 1863

The “high water mark of the Confederacy” was more than a phrase. For Captain Cushing, it was a crucible of pain and grit. As the Army of Northern Virginia surged forward in Pickett’s Charge, his three-gun battery sat squarely in their path.

Shells hit his position, men fell wounded or dead. Without waiting for orders, Cushing moved from one cannon to another. His leg was nearly torn off by a shell fragment. Blood soaked the earth, but he refused to quit.

He stripped the wounded from their guns, taking command himself, cranking cannoneers through the hellfire. Amidst the chaos, Cushing directed fire that tore into the assaulting Confederate ranks.

“I will never quit this piece,” he reportedly told his officers, even with death in his eyes.

Fatally wounded, he laid dying on the field, still grasping his sword. His sacrifice helped shovel victory from the jaws of disaster. His cannon’s relentless barrage disrupted the Confederates’ momentum.

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Recognition Born in the Mud and Blood

Medal of Honor awarded posthumously in 2014—a century and a half later—yet his valor had never been forgotten by those who stood shoulder-to-shoulder.

His Medal of Honor citation reads:

"In the face of a determined enemy assault, Captain Cushing, though wounded repeatedly and offered assistance to withdraw, refused to abandon his guns and continued to direct artillery fire until he fell."

Lieutenant General Winfield Scott Hancock, who witnessed the defense firsthand, described the defense as something that “helped win the battle.” His courage etched in the memory of the Army.

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The Legacy of Fire and Faith

Alonzo Cushing’s story is not one of survival. It is a testament to the raw cost of holding the line when the country itself was fraying at the edges.

His courage speaks to every soldier who has faced the decision: stand your ground, or run and live another day. The call of sacrifice rings through history’s cannon smoke.

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends,” John 15:13. Cushing lived that verse, and died by it.

Veterans today find in his story a mirror—scarred, relentless, bound by honor that transcends time. His wounds, his blood, his last stand echo louder than any flag raised on the battlefield.

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The artillery’s roar at Gettysburg still carries his name. A warrior’s grit carved into the bedrock of a nation. Alonzo Cushing did not just fire guns—he fired the soul and spirit of every soldier who fights for what is right, for a cause greater than himself.

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Sources

1. United States Army Center of Military History, Medal of Honor Recipients: Civil War 2. “Captain Alonzo Cushing and the Defense of Cemetery Ridge,” Gettysburg National Military Park Archives 3. David W. Lowe, The Guns at Gettysburg: The Story of Artillery in America’s Greatest Battle, Yale University Press 4. Official Medal of Honor citation, U.S. Army, 2014 Awards Ceremony

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