Alonzo Cushing's Gettysburg Valor and His Posthumous Medal of Honor

May 22 , 2026

Alonzo Cushing's Gettysburg Valor and His Posthumous Medal of Honor

Alonzo Cushing manned his cannon at Gettysburg as the world burned around him. Bullets tore the air. Flesh and metal screamed. His legs shattered beneath him, but his grip never faltered. The guns did not fall silent. Not while he still breathed.

This was a man who defined valor not with ease, but in the brutal teeth of death.

The Boy Behind the Gun

Born on January 15, 1841, in Delafield, Wisconsin, Alonzo H. Cushing came from a family steeped in military tradition and service to country. West Point molded him; discipline, duty, and faith fused within his core.

He carried more than a uniform into battle—he carried a code.

Raised in the mid-19th century American Protestant values, Cushing’s convictions were deeply rooted in sacrifice and purpose. The soldier’s burden was not just a job, but a covenant. The Bible’s words were a silent soundtrack to his life:

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

His artillery battery at Gettysburg was more than a weapon—they were his brethren, and he their guardian.

The Furnace of Gettysburg

July 3, 1863. Little Round Top, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The Confederate Army surged like a tidal wave, threatening to wash away the Union left flank.

Lieutenant Cushing commanded Battery A, 4th U.S. Artillery. His orders were clear: hold the line at all costs. They were throwing everything into that cauldron—the fate of the battle, the war itself hung in that moment.

His artillery hammered broken infantry as Confederates advanced. A shell snapped his leg in two, and yet he forced himself upright. He refused to leave.

"Keep firing! Don’t give ground!" his voice must have carried over the roar. Even as blood poured from his wounds, Cushing directed his men. His every command squeezed death into Confederate ranks.

He was shot again, twice more—once in the abdomen. Mortally wounded, he slumped against his cannon. A comrade’s last moments:

“You saved the line, Lieutenant...”

Cushing’s actions sealed the Union’s hold on Little Round Top. Few moments in American military history match the sheer grit and determination he displayed.

Recognition Years After the Guns Fell Silent

Cushing died on that Pennsylvania hill, July 3rd, 1863. His sacrifice lived only in memory for many years. It wasn’t until long after the nation had healed from its scars that official recognition came.

The Medal of Honor—America’s highest military decoration for valor—was awarded posthumously in 2014, 151 years later.

Official citation:

_"Lieutenant Cushing maintained a position under heavy enemy fire, exhibiting extraordinary heroism in the face of mortal wounds by continuing to direct artillery fire against Confederate troops."_

General Gouverneur K. Warren, commander at Little Round Top, called Cushing:

_“One of the bravest men I have ever seen.”_

His story reverberates because it is not mythic exaggeration—it is the raw truth of a soldier who chose duty over death.

The Legacy Written in Blood and Iron

Cushing’s story screams the hard truth of war: Valor is not born in comfort. It is forged in fire, blood, and the heartbreak of final moments.

Not all heroes live to see praise.

His Medal of Honor came too late for him to hear. But it speaks to every combat veteran who stood their ground when the world surrendered. For those with scars unseen, whose battles rage long past the last gunshot, Cushing’s resolve remains a compass.

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

He reminds us: Courage is not the absence of fear. It is the decision to press on when fear screams otherwise. Faith, honor, and sacrifice—they are the legacies left in blood on the ground and etched in the soul.

Cushing’s cannon still echoes. Not as sound, but as truth: Some fight for a moment. Others fight for a lifetime. And some, like Alonzo Cushing, fight beyond death itself.

Sources

1. United States Army Center of Military History, Medal of Honor Recipients Civil War (A-L). 2. "Alonzo Cushing: Army Hero of the Battle of Gettysburg," Congressional Medal of Honor Society. 3. Harry W. Pfanz, Gettysburg: The Second Day, University of North Carolina Press. 4. Major General Gouverneur K. Warren, Official Reports, The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies.