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

Oct 03 , 2025

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

Alonzo Cushing’s hands trembled, blood mixing with dirt as cannon smoke thickened the July air at Gettysburg. Wounded three times, he refused the aide’s desperate plea to leave—his battery a linchpin holding the Union line. Every shift of death’s blade cut deeper, yet he stayed, firing round after round, defiant until the shadows closed in. No retreat. No surrender. Only fire.

A Soldier Born of Honor and Faith

Alonzo Cushing wasn’t forged in war but in faith and discipline.

Raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Cushing was the son of the Episcopal Bishop of Wisconsin. His upbringing was steeped in a solemn sense of duty—duty to God, country, and comrades. West Point shaped him next, his commission in the U.S. Army reflecting a calling beyond mere soldiering.

His character was grit and grace intertwined. Letters spoke of a man who saw service as a higher purpose. Integrity was his armor long before the uniform.

“I have learned that the greatest battle ground lies within, and true courage is in standing firm when all hopes flicker.”

His faith was steady. The Scriptures that guided him in quiet moments were also his shield in battle. A warrior who believed in sacrifice’s eternal worth.

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

Cushing was a First Lieutenant commanding Battery A, 4th U.S. Artillery during Pickett’s Charge—the apex of the Civil War's bloodiest day.

The Union line was breaking under wave upon wave of Confederate assault. His battery atop Cemetery Ridge was the thin red line between collapse and victory.

With cannons firing, men falling, Cushing stood exposed. Enemy sharpshooters targeted him, his leg shattered by a bullet, yet the guns never fell silent. The lieutenant refused morphine, refusing to let the pain betray the gun crews. Amidst the chaos, his voice carried orders. Calm. Unyielding.

One of his staff, Sergeant Frederick Füger, later recalled,

“Lieutenant Cushing never faltered; though bleeding profusely, he insisted on directing the fire of his battery. He was the life of that position.”

Despite mortal wounds, Cushing’s artillery kept sweeping the Confederate ranks. His command was the backbone of the Union defense in those critical minutes.

He died on the hill, his final cannon shot fired into history.

Recognition Carved in Sacrifice

Cushing’s valor was immediate truth for those who saw it, but official Medal of Honor recognition lagged—over 130 years later.

On November 4, 2014, Alonzo Cushing received the Medal of Honor posthumously—the only post-Civil War award for Gettysburg. President Barack Obama called Cushing

“a model for this nation’s enduring lessons of courage and sacrifice.”

His citation recounts,

“Lieutenant Cushing exhibited extraordinary heroism on July 3, 1863, at the Battle of Gettysburg, maintaining his artillery fire under intense enemy attack despite mortal wounds.”

His sacrifice echoes with the weight of that last stand—a young officer who refused to let his battery fall when the fate of a nation hung in balance.

A Legacy Etched in Valor and Redemption

Cushing’s story is a war poem written in blood and courage.

He teaches warriors and civilians alike that true strength does not lie in avoiding death but in embracing duty beyond pain. He stood firm when the walls near crumbled.

But his legacy is also a call to redemption. In the smoke of battle, he glimpsed a higher purpose—a purpose we all wrestle with on and off the field.

“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His faithful servants.” —Psalm 116:15.

Alonzo Cushing did not die in vain. His steadfastness at Gettysburg reminds us that sacrifice is never the final word—it's the opening line of a story greater than ourselves.

He carried the torch through hellfire. And that flame still lights the way for those who stand watch.

Sources

1. U.S. Army Center of Military History, Medal of Honor Citation—Alonzo Cushing 2. The Smithsonian Magazine, “The Long Overdue Medal of Honor for the Civil War’s Hero of Pickett’s Charge” 3. James Hickey, The 4th U.S. Artillery in the Civil War: Gettysburg and the Artillery’s Role 4. Frederick Füger's eyewitness account, Official Records of the War of the Rebellion Vol. 27