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 WASHINGTON,
D.C. -- President Barack Obama
awarded the Medal of Honor to
1st Lt. Alonzo H. Cushing for
helping stop Maj. Gen. George E.
Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg
on July 3, 1863.
The
ceremony took place in the
Roosevelt Room of the White
House on November 6, 2014. Helen Loring
Ensign accepted the medal on
behalf of Cushing, her first
cousin, twice removed. Some 24
other descendants were present
as well.
Long before
Gettysburg, the West Point
graduate "fought bravely" at the
battles of Bull Run, Antietam,
Chancellorsville and
Fredericksburg, developing a
reputation for "his cool, his
competence and his courage under
fire," Obama said.
Cushing commanded Battery A, 4th
U.S. Artillery, 2nd Corps, Army
of the Potomac, atop Cemetery
Ridge. On that fateful day, some
10,000 of Gen. Robert E. Lee's
troops advanced toward them in a
line, elbow-to-elbow, a mile
wide, in the final, desperate
hours of the battle.
Smoke from the guns obscured the
battlefield and the air was
thick with lead. In the chaos,
Cushing was hit and badly
wounded, the president
continued. His first sergeant,
Frederick Fuger, urged him to
fall back to the safety of the
rear, away from the punishing
fire. But Cushing refused,
telling Fuger he'd rather "fight
it out or die in the attempt."
Bleeding badly and growing
weaker every moment, he moved
his remaining artillery closer
to the front and continued to
defend the Union line. "He used
his own thumb to stop his gun's
vent, burning his finger to the
bone," the president related.
When Cushing was hit the
final time, the 22-year-old
Soldier fell beside his gun.
Obama said Cushing was later
immortalized by a poet, who
wrote: "His gun spoke out for
him once more before he fell to
the ground."
In a letter
to Cushing's sister, Fuger wrote
that "the bravery of their men
that day was entirely due to
your brother's training and
example set on numerous
battlefields." Etched on
Cushing's tombstone at West
Point is the simple epitaph,
"Faithful unto death," the
president said. And, his memory
will be honored later this
month, when a Navy cruiser --
the USS Gettysburg -- dedicates
its officer's dining hall as the
"Cushing Wardroom."
Unbeknownst to Cushing,
Gettysburg was a turning point
in the war, the president said,
and it was men like Cushing who
were responsible for the
victory. Historians often refer
to the where Pickett's Charge
was stopped as the "high water
mark of the Confederacy."
When President Lincoln later
dedicated the Soldiers' National
Cemetery in Gettysburg, he said
these men gave their "last full
measure of devotion."
Cushing's story "is part of our
larger American story -- one
that continues today," the
president concluded. "The
spirit, the courage, the
determination that he
demonstrated lives on in our
brave men and women in uniform
who this very day are serving
and making sure that they are
defending the freedoms that
Alonzo helped to preserve.
"And, it's incumbent on all
of us as Americans to uphold the
values that they fight for, and
to continue to honor their
service long after they leave
the battlefield -- for decades,
even centuries to come."
MEDAL LONG IN COMING
Margaret Zerwekh, 94, a
historian, attended the White
House ceremony and was
recognized by the president.
Zerwekh did research on
Cushing's service in the Civil
War. She was certain his
valorous actions merited the
Medal of Honor and lobbied her
congressmen for decades to make
it happen. She became interested
in Cushing's story, since she
lives on property in Wisconsin
that was once owned by his
father.
Typically, the
medal is awarded within a few
years of the action. Obama said,
"but sometimes, even the most
extraordinary stories can get
lost in the passage of time. No
matter how long it takes, it is
never too late to do the right
thing."
This medal is
about more than just one
Soldier, Obama said. "It
reflects our obligations as a
country to the men and women in
our armed services; obligations
that continue long after they
return home, after they remove
their uniforms and even, perhaps
especially, after they've laid
down their lives."
MOH
CITATION
After the
president's remarks, a military
aide read the full Medal of
Honor citation:
The
President of the United States
of America, authorized by Act of
Congress, March 3rd, 1863, has
awarded in the name of Congress
the Medal of Honor to 1st Lt.
Alonzo H. Cushing, United States
Army.
...Confederate
forces led by Gen. Robert E. Lee
began cannonading 1st Lt.
Cushing's position on Cemetery
Ridge. Using field glasses, 1st
Lt. Cushing directed fire for
his own artillery battery. He
refused to leave the battlefield
after being struck in the
shoulder by a shell fragment. As
he continued to direct fire, he
was struck again -- this time
suffering grievous damage to his
abdomen.
Still refusing
to abandon his command, he
boldly stood tall in the face of
Maj. Gen. George E. Pickett's
charge and continued to direct
devastating fire into oncoming
forces. As the Confederate
forces closed in, 1st Lt.
Cushing was struck in the mouth
by an enemy bullet and fell dead
beside his gun.
His
gallant stand and fearless
leadership inflicted severe
casualties upon Confederate
forces and opened wide gaps in
their lines, directly impacting
the Union force's ability to
repel Pickett's charge. First
Lt. Cushing's extraordinary
heroism and selflessness above
and beyond the call of duty at
the cost of his own life are in
keeping with the highest
traditions of military service
and reflect great credit upon
himself, Battery A, 4th U.S.
Artillery, Army of the Potomac,
and the United States Army.
By Army David Vergun
Army News Service
Copyright 2014
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