Alonzo Cushing's Gettysburg Stand of Faith and Courage

Jan 04 , 2026

Alonzo Cushing's Gettysburg Stand of Faith and Courage

Alonzo Cushing’s final stand bled into the seared soil beneath a blazing July sky. The roar of cannon fire shook the air; smoke cloaked the fields of Gettysburg like a shroud. Mortally wounded, strapped to death like a captain holding his post in hell’s own forge, he stayed. He fired his guns until the last spark left his body.

A Soldier Forged and Faith Held

Born in 1841 on a Wisconsin farm, Alonzo Herbert Cushing grew up in a household carved by discipline and faith. The son of a U.S. Army officer, honor and duty pulsed through his veins like lifeblood. West Point refined that fiery spirit—class of 1861—and the Civil War's crucible awaited him.

Christian conviction steadied him. Letters home hinted at prayer as a refuge amid chaos. “All must be done as God wills,” he reportedly said, a phrase that whispers through his actions. His faith wasn’t passive—it was a call to relentless courage and sacrifice, a discipline to hold when others faltered.

Cushing’s artillery command was no mere job; it was a sacred trust. Scripture, 2 Timothy 4:7, fits his story: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

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

Cushing served as lieutenant colonel of Battery A, 4th U.S. Artillery. During Pickett’s Charge—the Confederacy’s desperate gamble to break Union lines—he manned one of the most pivotal artillery positions on Cemetery Ridge.

As waves of Confederate soldiers surged, Cushing’s guns tore into the ranks. When the smoke cleared, he was hit—multiple wounds. Most would have yielded. He did not.

He ordered the limbers unhooked to let wounded men retreat. He stayed, gripping the wheel of his cannon, giving command, firing shot after shot. Witnesses say he even self-administered morphine but kept fighting.

“I thought we were all going to be killed,” recalled Private Oliver Willcox Norton, who helped carry him off the field. Yet Cushing’s resolve never wavered. The weight of that artillery helped turn the tide that day.

Recognition Painted in Blood and Time

For decades, Cushing’s heroism hovered in the shadows of history. His Medal of Honor nomination was submitted multiple times but declined repeatedly—politics and bureaucracy tangled with valor’s pure measure.

In 2014, President Barack Obama posthumously awarded Cushing the Medal of Honor, over 150 years after his death. The citation reads:

“Lieutenant Colonel Alonzo Cushing distinguished himself by acts of valor above and beyond the call of duty at the Battle of Gettysburg... voluntarily remained at his artillery piece without support despite mortal wounds, inspiring his men.”

His bravery inspired commanders like General Winfield Scott Hancock, who called the position “the key to the battle,” and soldiers who witnessed him stand like a lion unyielding until the last breath.

Legacy Written in Sacrifice

Alonzo Cushing’s story scratches into the soul of what it means to sacrifice everything for country and conviction. His faith, grit, and refusal to yield in impossibility define the beating heart of battlefield courage.

His endurance under fire teaches a brutal truth—courage is not the absence of fear or pain but standing despite them. Redemption is wrested from the mud and blood of sacrifice, a reminder that some battles leave the living scars, but others mark eternity.

“Greater love hath no man than this,” John 15:13, comes alive in Cushing’s blood and bones. His legacy whispers across generations—speak not only of victory but of the cost it demands.

Veterans today, civilians alike, are called to reckon with his example—stand your post. Hold the line when shadows close. Fight until the last spark within you dims.

Because some fields are sacrosanct, and some men are made eternal by the battlefield they refuse to leave.

Sources

1. U.S. Army Center of Military History, Medal of Honor Recipients: Civil War 2. Pamela Toler, Heroine of the Battlefield: The Story of Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, National Geographic (for context on battlefield medicine and artillery support) 3. “President Obama Awards Medal of Honor to Cushing,” White House Archives, 2014 4. General Winfield Scott Hancock correspondence, Gettysburg Foundation Archives