# Alonzo Cushing honored for heroism at Gettysburg **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 7, 2014, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alonzo-cushing-honored-for-heroism-at-gettysburg/704013 "2014-11-07T20:32:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alonzo-cushing-honored-for-heroism-at-gettysburg/704013/1 "2014-11-07T20:32:56Z")
Never too late: [Obama honors Civil War hero Alonzo Cushing from Wisconsin with posthumous Medal of Honor](http://www.jsonline.com/news/waukesha/civil-war-hero-alonzo-cushing-to-receive-posthumous-medal-of-honor-b99385738z1-281764081.html) Wiki article on Cushing: [Alonzo Cushing - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alonzo_Cushing) ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alonzo-cushing-honored-for-heroism-at-gettysburg/704013/2 "2014-11-07T20:56:16Z")
Depends on which side you’re on. He wasn’t a hero to the brave men attacking that position. The Civil War was literally brother against brother. Friends at West Point found themselves leading troops against each other years later. He was a brave soldier and performed gallantly in battle. Not bad for a Yankee. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alonzo-cushing-honored-for-heroism-at-gettysburg/704013/3 "2014-11-07T21:18:16Z")
Gettysburg was an especially horrific battle for both sides. Thousands and thousands died. It took several days just to clear the area of bodies. Cushing should have been awarded a medal long ago. I can only speculate that with such heavy causalities it was difficult to process paperwork for everyone that fought gallantly. A lot of deserving people didn’t get awarded medals. > [@](#): > > First, a shell fragment went straight through his shoulder. He was then grievously wounded by a second shell fragment, which tore into his abdomen and groin. This wound exposed his intestines, which he held in place with his hand as he continued to command his battery. After these injuries, a higher-ranking officer said, “Cushing, go to the rear.” Cushing, due to the limited number of men left, refused to fall back. The severity of his wounds left him unable to yell his orders above the sounds of battle. Thus, he was held aloft by his 1st Sergeant Frederick Füger, who faithfully passed on Cushing’s commands. Cushing was killed when a bullet entered his mouth and exited through the back of his skull. He died on the field at the height of the assault. He was 22 years old. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alonzo-cushing-honored-for-heroism-at-gettysburg/704013/4 "2014-11-07T21:33:58Z")
darn spell. causalities should be casualties picked the wrong word from the suggestions. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alonzo-cushing-honored-for-heroism-at-gettysburg/704013/5 "2014-11-07T21:52:49Z")
Oddly enough, the Sgt. Fuger mentioned in the article on Cushing won the MOH at Gettysburg for his actions after Cushing was killed. I wonder if there was a concept that only one soldier from the unit should win the MOH or something like that, although the MOH wasn’t nearly so prestigious back then as it has since become. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alonzo-cushing-honored-for-heroism-at-gettysburg/704013/6 "2014-11-07T22:11:09Z")
I don’t understand this kind of bravery, but I admire it. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alonzo-cushing-honored-for-heroism-at-gettysburg/704013/7 "2014-11-07T23:11:04Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Never too late: [http://www.jsonline.com/news/waukesha/civil-war-hero-alonzo-cushing-to-receive-posthumous-medal-of-honor-b99385738z1-281764081.html](http://www.jsonline.com/news/waukesha/civil-war-hero-alonzo-cushing-to-receive-posthumous-medal-of-honor-b99385738z1-281764081.html) > > Wiki article on Cushing: [Alonzo Cushing - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alonzo_Cushing) Neither of those articles say anything about Major Cushing’s giant clanging solid brass balls. ---
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alonzo-cushing-honored-for-heroism-at-gettysburg/704013/8 "2014-11-07T23:24:29Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Cushing should have been awarded a medal long ago. I can only speculate that with such heavy causalities it was difficult to process paperwork for everyone that fought gallantly. A lot of deserving people didn’t get awarded medals. The thing I heard on the radio said that the Medal of Honor couldn’t be posthumously awarded back then. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alonzo-cushing-honored-for-heroism-at-gettysburg/704013/9 "2014-11-09T02:49:14Z")
> [@Rick](#): > > Neither of those articles say anything about Major Cushing’s giant clanging solid brass balls. Or his almost-equally-impressive younger brother, who went into the Navy: [William B. Cushing - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_B._Cushing) ---
**Author:** ![Hayden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/91b2a8/32.png) [@Hayden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hayden)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alonzo-cushing-honored-for-heroism-at-gettysburg/704013/10 "2014-11-09T03:01:04Z")
I was glad to see this last week. I live in his hometown and attended a local school that was named in his honor. He was a hero, and it’s great that he was finally recognized.