Alonzo Cushing's Final Stand at Gettysburg and Lasting Legacy

Sep 20 , 2025

Alonzo Cushing's Final Stand at Gettysburg and Lasting Legacy

Blood seeps through frozen fingertips. The roar never ends.

Captain Alonzo Cushing crouched behind his gun, shards of shell and splinters ripping the air. The Battle of Gettysburg had turned Devil’s Den into hell itself. Wounded three times, his legs nearly shattered, Cushing refused to quit. He kept firing, every cannon shot a defiant prayer against the rising tide of Confederate soldiers.

The Faith-Born Warrior

Born in 1841, Alonzo Cushing grew up steeped in duty and faith. West Point shaped his steel and spirit—discipline wrapped in unwavering Christian belief. His journal whispers lines from Psalms and echoes of Romans 5:3-4:

"Suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope."

His letters home conveyed more than strategy—he cared about honor beyond medals. Cushing’s faith was his armor, a steadying hand through chaos. A man who measured worth in sacrifice, not survival.

Hell at Devil’s Den: The Final Stand

July 3, 1863. The third brutal day at Gettysburg. Cushing commanded Battery A, 4th U.S. Artillery, atop Cemetery Ridge, facing Pickett’s Charge. The Confederates surged forward, a human storm hell-bent on breaking the Union line.

Artillery wasn’t just artillery that day. Each shot was a lifeline to the line behind him. When Confederate troops breached the stone wall, Cushing’s gun crews faltered—and then he knelt, exposed, with shattered legs and a bullet wound through his abdomen.

His lips cracked against the gun’s touch hole, relighting the cannon by hand, refusing to fall silent. Frederick Weikert, a fellow soldier, recalled:

“Captain Cushing was shot three times but would not leave his post... A braver officer I never saw.”

From his limping stance came order and fury—commands shouted over the clamor, rallying his men for one last barrage despite overwhelming odds. When reinforcements arrived, Cushing was dead, blood spilled on the gun carriage. His sacrifice had stalled the Confederate advance, tipping the balance.

Medal of Honor: A Century-Long Wait for Justice

Cushing’s valor was recognized decades later. The Medal of Honor arrived posthumously in 2014, awarded by President Barack Obama:

“Captain Cushing’s actions on July 3, 1863, were critical in holding the Union line during Pickett’s Charge,” the citation read. “His courage and sacrifice saved the day.”

Why the delay? Bureaucracy and lost records dimmed his story, but his comrades never forgot. General Daniel Sickles, who commanded the Union Third Corps, called him “the bravest man” on the field.

Cushing earned the Medal of Honor alongside other beacon men like Joshua Chamberlain—true soldiers whose glory is carved in blood and grit.

Enduring Legacy: Fire in the Ashes

Alonzo Cushing died young, but his story drapes over every generation that bears the weight of battle. His was a crucible of pain turned into purpose—a soldier who chose the redemptive power of sacrifice over surrender.

Veterans today wear scars, both seen and unseen. Cushing reminds them: “Hold your ground even when the price is life itself.” His faith teaches that suffering is no meaningless shadow but a forge—“hope that does not disappoint” (Romans 5:5).

His canon fire echoes still—calling every warrior to remember what truly pins worth: steadfast courage, ultimate sacrifice, and a heart unyielding in the storm.

This is the price he paid—for us, for freedom, for legacy.

Sources

1. West Point Museum + “Alonzo Cushing: Medal of Honor Recipient,” U.S. Military Academy Archives 2. National Park Service + Battle of Gettysburg: Devil’s Den Unit Histories 3. U.S. Army Center of Military History + Medal of Honor Citations: Alonzo Cushing 4. President Barack Obama, Medal of Honor Ceremony, 2014, White House Archives 5. “Alonzo Cushing and the Heroism at Gettysburg,” Smithsonian Magazine, November 2014