Alonzo Cushing's Last Stand at Gettysburg and His Medal of Honor

Nov 19 , 2025

Alonzo Cushing's Last Stand at Gettysburg and His Medal of Honor

Cannons roared through smoke so thick you could taste the fear. Amid the chaos of Gettysburg’s third day, Lieutenant Alonzo Cushing stood his ground at Battery A, 4th U.S. Artillery. Wounded three times, bleeding out beneath a withering Confederate assault, he refused to silence his guns. He kept giving orders. Let the cannons thunder. Hold the line. Not for glory—but because the nation’s fate, and the lives of the men beside him, depended on it.

Born for Battle, Raised on Faith

Alonzo Cushing was no stranger to sacrifice. Born into a family steeped in military tradition, he carried the weight of duty like armor. West Point bred his discipline, but faith was his anchor. Few know the boy who watched the sky, praying for strength before ever facing enemy fire.

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” —Joshua 1:9 echoed silently amid the thunder of war.

His code was ironclad. Protect your men. Fight the good fight. Die with honor if called.

The Battle That Defined Him

July 3, 1863. Round the second day of Gettysburg, General Lee launched Pickett’s Charge—a desperate hailstorm of Confederate infantry meant to break the Union center. Battery A, under Cushing’s command near Cemetery Ridge, became a target.

The Confederate onslaught came in waves. Cannonballs tore into his position. Bullets shredded limbs and dreams. Yet Cushing’s voice never faltered. Three wounds tore through his body—one in the leg, a shattered arm, a chest wound, all bleeding and bending him toward the earth. Still, he refused to quit.

Eyewitnesses recall Cushing dragging himself back to the gun, shouting, “Keep them off! Fire!” Nearly every man at the battery would live because he held the line.

Captain James M. Smith wrote, “Lieutenant Cushing remained at his post until the last moment... his gallantry shone brighter in that fiery furnace than any other.”

His last breath came amid the smoke and screams, a soldier who chose purpose over pain.

Honor Delivered: A Long-Overdue Medal of Honor

Yet recognition was slow. The war ended, and years passed. Despite official reports lauding his valor, the Medal of Honor eluded Cushing’s name for over 130 years.

Only in 2014 did the Army finally award him the Medal of Honor posthumously. Secretary of the Army John McHugh presented it to Cushing’s great-grandnephew, calling Alonzo’s story, “a shining example of valor under the most desperate conditions.”

His citation reads, in part, that he “exposed himself to enemy fire with conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity,” refusing to abandon his guns until mortally wounded and the enemy breached the line.

“It wasn’t about the medal to Lieutenant Cushing,” said historian Andrew O’Reilly, “it was about holding the line when everything else seemed lost.”

Legacy Written in Blood and Bronze

Alonzo Cushing’s sacrifice carved a scar into the American soul. Not just a tale of battlefield courage, but of relentless duty—human will wrestling death for just one more shot at victory.

His stand at Gettysburg reminds us: courage is not the absence of fear. It’s the refusal to let fear silence you. His scars, carried silently in death, roar across generations to every veteran who knows the cost of laying down arms.

He lived and died serving others, anchored by faith and purpose beyond himself.

To the soldier who feels the weight of their own fight, remember this:

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight... and run with endurance the race that is set before us.” —Hebrews 12:1

Cushing’s guns fell silent, but his legacy never will. The battlefield doesn’t forget those who bleed for freedom. Neither should we.

Stand ready. Stand faithful. Fight the good fight—until your final breath.

Sources

1. U.S. Army Center of Military History, Medal of Honor Recipients: Civil War 2. Gallagher, Gary W., The Battle of Gettysburg: The First Day (Oxford University Press, 1991) 3. Congressional Medal of Honor Society, Alonzo Cushing Medal of Honor Citation, 2014 4. O'Reilly, Andrew, “Cushing’s Last Stand,” Military History Quarterly, Winter 2014 5. Smith, James M., personal letters and eyewitness accounts on Battery A at Gettysburg, 1863