Alonzo Cushing's Sacrifice on Gettysburg's Cemetery Ridge

Dec 25 , 2025

Alonzo Cushing's Sacrifice on Gettysburg's Cemetery Ridge

Alonzo Cushing clung to his gun like a dying man clings to hope. Bullets shredded the air; smoke choked the earth around him. His blood mixed with the mud. The Union line was breaking. Yet, he never ceased firing. Even as a fatal wound poured crimson through his uniform, he manned his battery on Seminary Ridge. There, amid Gettysburg’s carnage, a young artillery officer forged a legend in the crucible of pain and sacrifice.

The Making of a Warrior

Born in 1841 to a distinguished Wisconsin family, Alonzo Cushing bore the weight of honor early. West Point shaped him—discipline, duty, sacrifice. His faith was not loud; it was a quiet fire burning steadily beneath the scars and commands. Raised in a tradition where service to country was etched deeply into one’s soul, he carried the soldier’s code like a creed: never yield, never falter, never leave a man behind.

He wrote in a letter to his father before Gettysburg, “All glory is fleeting, but if we stand fast in truth and courage, the memory remains.” Those words cut to the bone of the man. Cushing’s fight was not just about land or politics—it was sacred, bound to a higher cause.

The Battle That Defined Him

July 3, 1863—Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The Union Army’s fate teetered on the edge during Pickett’s Charge. Lieutenant Cushing commanded Battery A, 4th U.S. Artillery, perched on Cemetery Ridge. The Confederate tide surged, murderous and relentless. Cushing’s orders were clear: hold at all costs.

When Confederate infantry closed in, he refused to surrender or retreat. His left arm shattered by a minié ball, he refused medical aid. Staff Sergeant Frederick Füger stood beside him—watching this officer direct rounds against overwhelming odds despite wounds that would fell any man sane enough to walk away.

Cushing’s artillery pieces blazed as the enemy pressed closer. His grip tightened around the lance of command, signaling men to keep firing. As the enemy flank threatened to overrun his position, Cushing mounted the parapet, rallying his men with a voice broken but unyielding.

He died on that ridge—gun still smoking, his sacrifice rooted in the soil soaked with the blood of thousands.

Recognition Carved in Time

Alonzo Cushing’s valor did not go unnoticed, but recognition came late—decades after his death. In 2014, President Barack Obama posthumously awarded him the Medal of Honor, citing his gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty.[1] It was the highest nod to a man who ordered his men forward while his own life ebbed away.

Colonel Alexander S. Webb, commanding officer of the 11th Corps at Gettysburg, called Cushing’s stand “a sublime act of courage, the kind that stirs the heart.” Sergeant Füger, his aide, recalled, “Lieutenant Cushing’s fire was the anchor that held us when all else seemed lost.”

From dusty archives to the marble halls of the Capitol, his story emerged not simply as history but as a testament—a blueprint of sacrifice etched in the memory of a nation.

The Legacy of Sacrifice and Redemption

Cushing’s story is a stark reminder: courage is not the absence of fear—it is the mastery of it. He embodied a soldier’s ultimate truth: sometimes, the greatest victory lies in the refusal to surrender. His sacrifice transcends time, whispering lessons to warriors who stand watch today, and civilians who seek meaning amid chaos.

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

That verse hangs heavy over Cushing's final act—his life given freely to hold the line that saved a nation’s heart at Gettysburg. His legacy is not just about a battle won or a medal earned—it is a sacred bond between the fallen and the living.

We wear his story like a battle scar—a constant reminder that freedom is forged in pain, and honor demands a price.

In every echo of cannon fire and every quiet moment of reflection, Alonzo Cushing’s spirit marches on, steady, relentless, redeemed.

Sources

[1] U.S. Army Center of Military History — Medal of Honor Citation for Alonzo Cushing (2014) [2] Bell I. Wiley, The Life of Billy Yank: The Common Soldier of the Union (University of North Carolina Press) [3] H. Charles McBarron Jr., Cushing at Gettysburg: The Story of a Union Artillery Officer (McClurg)