Alonzo Cushing's Gettysburg Stand and Posthumous Medal of Honor

Sep 12 , 2026

Alonzo Cushing's Gettysburg Stand and Posthumous Medal of Honor

Smoke choked the July air. Artillery shells tore earth and bone like raindrops in a storm. Amid the chaos, Alonzo Cushing stood firm, his cannon firing steady as hell itself. Blood soaked his uniform, seeping from wounds too grave to count. Yet he did not yield. Not once. Not until the end.

The Faith Forged in Wisconsin Soil

Born in 1841, Alonzo was one of five brothers from a devout family in Wisconsin. Raised with a stern sense of duty and piety, he carried a soldier’s heart wrapped in quiet conviction. West Point forged his body but something deeper shaped his soul.

A man of prayer and principle. His faith was his anchor, a light in the gnashing teeth of war. "The Lord is my strength and my shield," he surely clung to in those hellish moments. (Psalm 28:7)

Cushing’s code wasn’t just about country or battle. It was about right, even when the world turned to ashes around him.

The Battle That Defined Him

July 3, 1863. Gettysburg. The clash came with the fury of judgment. As Confederate infantry surged against Union lines, Cushing’s artillery battery at the “copse of trees” — the tip of Cemetery Ridge — became a linchpin holding the line.

When friendly troops retreated under crushing fire, Alonzo didn’t. Thanks to filthy wounds riddling his body, he ordered his battery to continue firing directly into the teeth of Pickett’s Charge.

Multiple bayonet and rifle wounds tore through flesh and bone. But Cushing propped himself up on his cannon limber, refusing aid, shouting commands amid screams and smoke. He was a living barricade—an iron sentinel refusing to give ground.

One onlooker recalled him “still at his gun, crying 'Give them hell!' even as blood flowed freely.”His determination bought crucial seconds, helping Union lines hold until full reinforcement arrived.

Cushing died that afternoon, shot through the chest, but damned if he didn’t die delivering fire on the enemy. It was not just bravery. It was unyielding sacrifice, where every heartbeat became a bullet.

Recognition Long in Coming

Medals and glory sometimes sleep for decades. Cushing’s heroism was recognized with the Medal of Honor nearly 150 years later, granted posthumously in 2014 through tireless efforts of historians and veterans’ advocates alike.

His citation reads:

“Lieutenant Cushing was wounded... but refused to leave the guns and kept up a galling fire on the advancing enemy.”

Generals praised his stand. Maj. Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock called Cushing’s action “a remarkable exhibition of courage” under fire. His wounds were multiple, but his legacy was singular.

Legacy Written in Blood and Valor

Alonzo Cushing’s story is not just another Civil War tale. It’s a portrait of what it truly means to fight when falling—to sacrifice with teeth clenched, knowing the cost.

He embodies the eternal Soldier’s paradox: to live for the moments that demand dying. His courage was not about glory but duty. Not about fame but holding the line when all else falters.

His stand at Gettysburg whispers across generations: That valor is never measured by sheer survival but by the will to endure beyond death.

“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” — Philippians 1:21

Alonzo didn’t just fire cannons that day. He fired a message through history—a summons to grit, faith, and unbreakable resolve. His scars, carved in flesh, serve as a testament that warriors do not fall quietly.

They rise in every echo of battle, in every breath of sacrifice left behind.

He fired hope into the smoke. And we still hear it.

Sources

1. United States Army Center of Military History + Medal of Honor Citation for Alonzo Cushing 2. The Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College + “Alonzo Cushing’s Last Stand” 3. Official Records of the War of the Rebellion + Battle of Gettysburg After Action Reports