Alonzo Cushing's Courage at Gettysburg and Medal of Honor

Nov 20 , 2025

Alonzo Cushing's Courage at Gettysburg and Medal of Honor

The enemy swarmed the ridge. Smoke and fury choked the air. Alonzo Cushing lay shattered among his guns, his blood soaked the ground beneath him, but still, the cannons roared. Even death could not silence that fire.

The Forge of Conviction

Alonzo Cushing was born into a lineage built on duty. West Point, Pulaski’s legacy, an old America steeped in honor and sacrifice. The young artillery officer carried a quiet but fierce faith—his courage tethered not just to country, but to God. “Greater love hath no man than this,” he would have known. A soldier’s heart bound to a higher cause.

He wasn’t naïve about war’s cost. His upbringing hammered home a code: hold fast, no matter the price. That unyielding grit shaped the man who stood manning a cannon on July 3, 1863, at Cemetery Ridge. His resolve was forged in the fires of personal conviction and a duty that transcended self-preservation.

The Battle That Defined Him

Gettysburg wasn’t just a battle. It was a crucible of sacrifice.

Into the maelstrom surged Pickett’s Charge. Waves of Confederate infantry barreling toward Union lines with a desperate fury. Cushing commanded Battery A, 4th U.S. Artillery. His guns laid into the charging rebels like thunder.

But the enemy came too close. His crew fell, one by one, to the brutal fusillade and bayonets. And then, Alonzo Cushing, hit multiple times—wounded in the face, abdomen, and legs—still ordered his men forward. Firing until he physically could not, refusing to abandon his post, refusing to let the enemy break the line.

Witnesses described a man who refused aid, who urged his gunners to keep shooting. His last acts were magnetic, holding back a tide of death at the heart of the Union line. He collapsed, riddled with wounds, dying on the field he refused to yield.

Valor Beyond the Grave

Cushing’s actions were not recognized for over a century. That delay does not diminish their weight.

In 2014, after persistent advocacy and thorough review of battlefield reports, he was awarded the Medal of Honor. His citation reads: “During the repulse of Pickett’s Charge...he remained at his gun until he fell, mortally wounded…contributing materially to the victory.” [1]

Major General Winfield Scott Hancock, commanding the same corps, reportedly said, “No officer has exhibited more gallantry.” [2]

Cushing’s Medal of Honor stands as a beacon for valor — awarded posthumously but no less earned by the blood and courage whispered in the Gettysburg winds.

Enduring Legacy

Alonzo Cushing’s story is not merely of a man killed in battle. It is of a warrior’s soul laid bare upon the altar of sacrifice. “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.” (Psalm 116:15)

His armor was faith-hardened. His battlefield was a crucible where honor met agony and still held. Today’s soldiers see in Cushing the meaning of “never leave a man behind”—whether living or dead, whether in the roar of artillery or the silence of remembered courage.

His name graces forts, schools, and memorials, but more than that, his life challenges all who wear the uniform, all who fight for a cause bigger than themselves. The lesson echoes unyielding:

Stand firm in the fight, hold fast to your conviction, even when the cost is everything.

A man wounded, bleeding, dying—still firing.

To remain faithful in the darkest moment is the legacy Alonzo Cushing leaves behind.

Let that truth roar louder than guns ever could.

Sources

1. Congressional Medal of Honor Society + "Medal of Honor Citation: Alonzo H. Cushing" 2. Harry W. Pfanz, Gettysburg: The Second Day, University of North Carolina Press