Breaking my travel-imposed silence to post this news about Alonzo Cushing being awarded the Medal of Honor. Cushing’s one of the lowest-ranked Gettysburg veterans I can name, and almost every book on the battle will mention his brave actions in the face of his mounting wounds.
I wonder if this opens the door to his brother, William, getting one too?
Despite two severe wounds, Cushing, 22, stayed at his post and directed artillery fire upon hordes of Confederates charging the center of the Union line at Cemetery Ridge — a doomed assault known as Pickett’s Charge. A bullet to the head finally felled the young officer.
More than 151 years after his heroic service, Cushing will receive the Medal of Honor posthumously, the White House announced Tuesday.