Short URL for this page:
bit.ly/Cullum1944


[image ALT: Much of my site will be useless to you if you've got the images turned off!]
mail:
Bill Thayer

[image ALT: Cliccare qui per una pagina di aiuto in Italiano.]
Italiano

[Link to a series of help pages]
Help
[Link to the next level up]
Up
[Link to my homepage]
Home
This site is not affiliated with the US Military Academy.
[decorative delimiter]
USMA
Home

 [decorative delimiter] Class of June 24, 1861

Vol. II
p820
1944

(Born Wis.)

Alonzo H. Cushing

(Ap'd N. Y.)

12

Alonzo Hereford Cushing: Born Jan. 19, 1841, Delafield, WI.

Military History. — Cadet at the Military Academy, July 1, 1857, to June 24, 1861, when he was graduated and promoted in the Army to

Second Lieut., 4th Artillery, June 24, 1861.

First Lieut., 1st Artillery, June 24, 1861.

Served during the Rebellion of the Seceding States, 1861‑63: in Organizing and drilling Volunteers at Washington, D. C., July, 1861; in the Manassas Campaign of July, 1861, being engaged in the Battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861; in the Defenses of Washington, D. C., July, 1861, to Mar., 1862, being Ordnance Officer at General Sumner's headquarters, Jan. 21 to Mar. 21, 1862; in the Virginia Peninsular Campaign (Army of the Potomac), as Acting Aide-de‑Camp to Major-General Sumner, Mar.  p821 to Aug., 1862, being engaged in the Siege of Yorktown, Apr. 5 to May 4, 1862, — and Seven Days' Operations before Richmond, June 26 to July 2, 1862; in the Maryland Campaign as Asst. Top. Engineer at the headquarters

(Transferred to Top. Engineers, July 21, 1862: Declined)

of the Army of the Potomac, Sep. to Nov., 1862; in the Rappahannock Campaign as Asst. Top. Engineer at the headquarters of the Right Grand Division of the Army of the Potomac, Dec., 1862, to June, 1863;

Bvt. Captain, December 13, 1862,
for Gallant and Meritorious Conduct in the Battle of Fredericksburg, Va.​a1

Bvt. Major, May 4, 1863,
for Gallant and Meritorious Conduct in the Battle of Chancellorsville, Va.​a2

on leave of absence, Jan. 26 to Feb. 17, 1863; in the Rappahannock Campaign (Army of the Potomac), Feb. to June, 1863; in the Pennsylvania Campaign (Army of the Potomac), June‑July, 1863, being engaged in Skirmish near Thoroughfare Gap, June 25, 1863, — and Battle of Gettysburg, July 2‑3, 1863, when, though severely wounded,

Bvt. Lieut.‑Colonel, July 3, 1863,
for Gallant and Meritorious Conduct in the Battle of Gettysburg, Pa.​a3

he refused to leave his post beside his guns, but continued to pour grape and canister into the advancing columns of the Rebels until they had reached the very muzzles of his pieces, where he was

Killed, July 3, 1863, at the Battle of Gettysburg, Pa.: Aged 22.​b

Buried, West Point Cemetery, West Point, NY.


[image ALT: A photo of a tombstone about 1 meter tall, ogival (shaped like an artillery shell), marked with a cross and 8 line of inscription. The inscription is transcribed next to this image. It is the grave of Alonzo H. Cushing, in West Point, NY.]

Photo 2013 John Stanton, by kind permission

Brevet L Colonel

Alonzo H. Cushing.

4th Artillery.

Fell

July 3rd 1863.

at

Gettysburg.


faithful unto death.


Thayer's Notes:

a1 a2 a3 Inexplicably, the Register omits Cushing's brevets; I've supplied them, with help from Steven Maes. His final rank is attested by his tombstone.

[decorative delimiter]

b Lt. Cushing was awarded the Medal of Honor on Nov. 6, 2014, in the longest-delayed such award in American history. The best summary of his life and his action at Gettysburg that led to the medal was a page by the Town Historian of Pomfret, NY (where Cushing lived most of his life); the page is now offline, unfortunately, as the Web continues to shrink. A page, possibly temporary, with a summary biography and the citation can be read on the Department of the Army website.


[image ALT: Valid HTML 4.01.]

Page updated: 30 Nov 14