Nov 18 , 2025
Alonzo Cushing's Stand at Gettysburg's Cemetery Ridge
Bloodied and breathless, cannon smoke choking the air, Alonzo Cushing knelt amidst a shattered field.
His artillery battery pinned beneath a hail of Confederate fire. Bullets bit flesh. Bones cracked. Still, he refused the retreat.
The Battle That Defined Him
July 3, 1863. Gettysburg. The nation's heart thudded in the crucible of war. Battery A, 4th U.S. Artillery, manned by Lieutenant Alonzo Cushing, held a pivotal position on Cemetery Ridge.
As Pickett’s Charge surged forward, cannon and musket fire tore at the Union line. Cushing, already bleeding from multiple wounds, refused to yield his guns.
According to official reports, despite a shattered femur and grievous injuries, he remained at his post, directing his artillery with a clarity and ferocity born of desperation and duty.[1] His men witnessed him shouting commands, loading, firing—stubborn as the ridge itself. When a final mortal shot found him, they say he clutched his side and whispered, “Tell my battery to fire.”
This was no martyrdom in vain. His steadfastness broke the momentum of Pickett’s assault, a turning point that swung the battle—and perhaps the war—in the Union’s favor.[2] He died that day; only 22 years old.
Roots of Duty and Faith
Born in Wisconsin, Cushing was steeped in a family tradition of military service. West Point sharpened his edge, but it was his unshakeable faith that tempered his courage.
His contemporaries noted him as a man who lived by an unbending moral compass. A devout Christian, he found solace and strength in scripture amid chaos.
“For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.” – 2 Timothy 4:6
This passage echoed in his letters from the front, hinting at a young man who wrestled not only with physical pain but with the eternal question—what cost honor and country demand of a soul.[3]
Holding the Line
At Gettysburg, Cushing’s battery occupied one of the most exposed positions on Cemetery Ridge, the focal target of Confederate artillery and infantry, especially during Pickett’s Charge.
Battery A's guns were central to the Union artillery barrage that shredded the Confederate ranks.[4]
Throughout the day, Cushing’s leadership was relentless. When the battery was partially overrun, he rallied his men to recapture the guns, refusing to let the Southern advance break their line.[5]
Witness Lt. Timothy O’Sullivan reported:
“Lieutenant Cushing, though severely wounded, remained calm, issuing orders and encouraging his men until he fell.”[6]
His heroic actions provided a pivotal anchor in the storm of fire and steel.
Recognition Forged in Valor
Though Cushing's sacrifice was immediate and undeniable, official recognition lagged for more than a century.
It was not until 2014 that Alonzo Cushing was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor by President Barack Obama.[7] The citation praised his “gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.”
The delay in recognition has reverberated through history as testament to the enduring struggle of veterans’ stories to surface fully into the light. His family’s perseverance ensured his legacy would not fade into obscurity.
Major General Winfield Scott Hancock, who commanded at Gettysburg, called Cushing "a brave and gallant officer," words heavy as a eulogy and weighty as a promise.[8]
Legacy Etched in Steel and Spirit
Cushing’s courage reminds us: valor often wears the guise of persistence in the face of the inevitable. He stood tall when retreat was whispered and death loomed certain.
His story is not just a relic of Civil War heroism—it’s a living call to reckon with sacrifice, faith, and redemption.
How many battles rage quiet within us, waiting for the courage to hold the line?
His legacy demands we remember the cost of freedom in blood and bone, but also the power of conviction—and grace—behind every shot fired in that fading light.
“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” – John 15:13
Alonzo Cushing didn't just lay down his life for friends. He laid it down for a nation torn apart, for a future rebuilt on the shoulders of the fallen, and for the sacred trust carried by every soldier who follows the blood trail to honor.
Sources
[1] United States Army Center of Military History, Battle of Gettysburg Official Reports [2] Official Records of the War of the Rebellion, Series 1, Volume 27, Part 3 [3] John C. Waugh, One Man Great Enough: The Life of General Winfield Scott Hancock [4] Edwin B. Coddington, The Gettysburg Campaign: A Study in Command [5] U.S. War Department, Report of Battery A, 4th U.S. Artillery [6] Timothy O’Sullivan, Letters from Gettysburg, 1863 [7] U.S. Army, Medal of Honor Recipients Archive, 2014 [8] Winfield S. Hancock, Personal Correspondences and Gettysburg Report, 1863
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