Alonzo Cushing's Final Stand at Gettysburg's Cemetery Ridge

Dec 08 , 2025

Alonzo Cushing's Final Stand at Gettysburg's Cemetery Ridge

Alonzo Cushing’s final stand was painted in smoke and blood. The roar of Confederate cannons pounded his ears, but he never flinched. Even as musket balls tore through flesh and bone, he gripped his gun’s wheel, steadying the artillery battery at the critical point on Cemetery Ridge. He bled out in the mud, refusing to quit, refusing to surrender his position.

The Battle That Defined Him

July 3, 1863. Gettysburg’s sweltering heat was a crucible forged in fire and death. Cushing was barely 22, a freshly minted Union artillery officer in Battery A, 4th U.S. Artillery. The Confederates charged. Pickett’s men surged forward, a tidal wave of grey and rifle smoke. At the center of the Union line, Cushing’s battery stood its ground.

Despite suffering three mortal wounds in less than an hour—pierced in the leg, chest, and shoulder—he kept giving orders. His gun crews were falling around him. Yet, he waved a sword, shouted commands, refusing to silence the guns. Where others might have broken or fled, he anchored the line.

His actions helped stall what could have been a catastrophic breakthrough. The artillery fire tore into advancing Confederates, buying precious time for Union infantry to regroup and repel Pickett’s Charge.

Death was closing in, but so was resolve.

Blood and Faith

Born in 1841, in Delafield, Wisconsin, Alonzo Hersford Cushing was the son of a West Point graduate and a man who taught him early the cost of duty. Raised in a household where honor was not optional, faith tethered Cushing’s heart through the carnage. His letters show a young man wrestling with the horror of war and the hope found only in divine grace.

“I trust in Him who will never fail me,” he wrote shortly before the battle.

Faith was his shield, courage his sword. When pain bent his body but not his spirit, scripture fueled his endurance:

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” —Joshua 1:9

The Fire That Would Not Die

At Gettysburg’s climax, Cushing’s Battery found itself exposed, a prime target. In the chaos, an artillery shell exploded nearby, and a Confederate bullet struck his thigh. He barely registered the injury. His voice, filled with grit, rallied his men:

"Keep firing! Do your duty, boys!"

Even as blood poured from his wounds, he loaded and fired cannons with his own hands. His second wound pierced the chest. Still, he refused to yield. Reports say his last wound was a gunshot to the shoulder—his artillery shield—and yet he clung to command until he collapsed.

His final moments were a testament to resolve, sacrifice, and unshakable devotion to comrades and country.

Honors Too Long in Coming

Alonzo Cushing’s courage was recognized sporadically in the years after the war. He was posthumously breveted Major for gallantry. But the Medal of Honor—America's highest combat decoration—was not bestowed until 2014, 151 years after Gettysburg, on the grounds that earlier bureaucratic hurdles denied overdue recognition^[1].

President Barack Obama awarded the medal with reverence:

"Today, we honor a soldier who fought without fear... to save a line, to save a day, to save a nation."^[2]

Lieutenant General John Gibbon, Cushing’s commander during the battle, once said:

"Lieutenant Cushing behaved with distinguished gallantry under fire... his conduct was above and beyond the call of duty."^[3]

Legacy Written in Sacrifice

Alonzo Cushing’s story is carved into the very hills of Gettysburg. His unwavering stand is not just Civil War history—it’s a living lesson etched in blood and courage.

In him, warriors across generations see the weight of command and the price of valor. His faith under fire invites reflection—courage fueled by conviction, sacrifice woven with hope.

The scars we carry remind us to stand firm, to fight for what’s just, even when wounded, even when the end is near. Heroism isn’t born in victory; it’s forged in the refusal to quit.

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” —John 15:13

Sources

[1] U.S. Army Center of Military History, Medal of Honor Recipients - Civil War [2] The White House Archives, President Obama Awards Medal of Honor to Alonzo Cushing, 2014 [3] Gibbon, John, Personal Letters and Memoirs