Alonzo Cushing's Gettysburg Stand That Earned a Medal of Honor

Feb 06 , 2026

Alonzo Cushing's Gettysburg Stand That Earned a Medal of Honor

The air was thick with smoke and pain. Cannon fire crashed around the crest of Cemetery Ridge. Lt. Alonzo Cushing gripped the iron bar, his hands slick with blood. A bullet tore through his chest—still, he ordered his guns to fire. The enemy surged closer, but Cushing’s voice cut through the chaos. “Keep firing. Hold this line.” The ground beneath him stained dark, his last stand inked in sacrifice.

The Blood of Valor

Born in Wisconsin, 1841, Alonzo Cushing was forged in a family steeped in duty and faith. West Point commissioned him in 1861; his Christian conviction was steel beneath the uniform. A soldier’s honor was not just to country, but to God. His faith anchored him through the war’s relentless storm, pushing him beyond mortal limits.

He believed, like Paul wrote, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race…” (2 Timothy 4:7). Cushing’s fight was not for glory but for the men beside him, for the fragile hope of a nation at war.

The Battle That Defined Him

July 3, 1863. Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The war’s turning point spat fire and lead as Confederate forces launched their desperate assault—Pickett’s Charge. Cushing commanded Battery A, 4th U.S. Artillery, perched on Cemetery Ridge’s slope, a lynchpin to Union defense.

Amid exploding shells and shrieking muskets, Cushing sustained a severe arm wound. The blood poured freely, but he refused to quit. He shifted commands to one good hand. Then, a bullet struck his abdomen—deadly, yet he crawled back to his guns.

Eyewitness accounts describe his voice steady, rallying his men, “Keep firing! Don’t let them take this ground!” Even as he bled out and consciousness waned, the guns roared under his orders. This was a man embodying sacrifice beyond measure—grinding pain into purpose.

Lt. Col. E.B. Williston wrote afterward: “He fought with the most indomitable courage, pressing his guns to the last moment.” His battery inflicted crippling losses on Confederate ranks, stalling Pickett’s Charge and shifting the battle’s tide. Under the blood-soaked sun, Cushing’s stand crumbled only when the mortal wound claimed him.

Recognition Battle-Hardened, Posthumous Honor

Cushing died on the field, July 3, 1863, age 22. His heroism resonated but was overlooked for decades. In 2014, the Medal of Honor was bestowed posthumously—151 years after his death.

The citation reads:

“For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty... He maintained his artillery fire despite multiple mortal wounds at Gettysburg.”

President Obama awarded the medal, stating, “Cushing’s bravery helped turn the tide of the war, and ultimately save the Union.”

The Enduring Echo

Alonzo Cushing’s legacy is etched in earth soaked with fire and sacrifice. He did not live to see victory; he bled in the crucible of America’s bloodiest fight. Yet his name rises, a beacon of courage unyielding in the face of death.

His story is grit forged in faith, the true cost of freedom carved into a single officer’s chest. “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13) found brutal truth in Cushing’s final breath.

Veterans carry his spirit—scarred, steadfast, and redeemed. Civilians glimpse the price in every scar worn by those who bore arms before us. This is not the last story written in war’s inkstone, but it is a script that demands remembrance.

In every crater, every broken ridge, the heartbeat of sacrifice pulses on. Alonzo Cushing’s courage calls us to stand firm when the world burns, to hold fast to the line—no matter the cost.

Sources

1. U.S. Army Center of Military History, Medal of Honor Recipients: Civil War (A–F) 2. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies: Gettysburg Campaign, July 1863 3. C-SPAN, Medal of Honor Ceremony for Lieutenant Alonzo H. Cushing (2014) 4. E.B. Williston Letter, Personal Records of Battery A, 4th U.S. Artillery