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

Jul 21 , 2026

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

Alonzo Cushing stood amid the roar and smoke at Gettysburg, artillery crackling like the thunder of heaven’s wrath. Wounded. Bleeding. But still gripping the wheel of his cannon. Around him, men fell—friends swallowed by bullet and shell. Yet Cushing never faltered. “Keep firing,” he ordered through cracked lips. Every round was defiance. Every breath, a testament.

Blood and Faith from the Capital's Son

Born in Delafield, Wisconsin, 1841, Alonzo here was the son of a West Point family rooted deep in military tradition. His father, William B. Cushing, famed for daring naval exploits, left a mark of relentless courage. Alonzo absorbed discipline and duty as naturally as air—West Point was destiny’s crucible.

Raised with a firm Christian ethos, faith hardened his spine. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” he might have whispered amid fire. The loyalty to country, comrades, and God formed an unbreakable chain around him. He lived by an unspoken code: fight fiercely, serve righteously, and never surrender the line or soul.

Furnace of War: July 3, 1863

The third day of Gettysburg was hell carved into earth and flesh. As Confederate forces launched “Pickett’s Charge,” the battle was won and lost on those guns. First Lieutenant Cushing commanded Battery A, 4th U.S. Artillery, positioned at a crucial point on Cemetery Ridge.

Despite a bullet tearing into his shoulder, another smashing through his abdomen, Cushing refused to abandon his post. Blood soaked his uniform, vision blurred, yet he kept calling for cannoneers to load, aim, and fire.

Witnesses report him telling Colonel Freeman McGilvery, “I will hold this position or die.” And die he did, moments later, shot through the face while rallying his men[1]. His sacrifice disrupted Confederate momentum, saving the Union center.

Honors Paid in Blood and Bronze

Alonzo’s Medal of Honor came decades later in 2014—long overdue recognition for valor that shaped the battle’s outcome[2]. The citation is succinct but searing:

“After being wounded and repeatedly ordered to leave the guns, Lieutenant Cushing remained at his post and gave direction to his artillery’s fire until mortally wounded.”

Generations of veterans and historians herald him as the “Hero of the Angle,” the artillery officer whose stand turned the tide.

His bravery earned respect from commanders and comrades alike. Colonel McGilvery declared, “No man that day behaved better or was more courageous”—words etched in the annals of American heroism[3].

A Legacy Written in Sacrifice

Alonzo Cushing carries a lesson beyond the cannon’s roar: courage is not absence of fear but will in spite of it. His scars teach that true valor demands everything—life, body, and honor.

His story is a beacon for veterans who bear wounds—seen and unseen. Cushing’s fight pushes us to find strength even as blood falls, to hold our ground no matter the cost.

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). His life whispers redemption through sacrifice. The artilleryman from Wisconsin became a living prayer—etched in the dirt of Gettysburg, eternal in the memory of those who refuse to forget.

Sources

[1] Regimental histories and reports: The War of the Rebellion: Official Records, Series 1, Volume 27, Part 1 [2] U.S. Army Center of Military History, Medal of Honor Recipients – Civil War [3] Freeman McGilvery, personal letters and battlefield reports archived in The Gettysburg Campaign, Edwin B. Coddington