WI - After standing his ground 150 yrs ago, Alonzo Cushing awarded his Medal of Honor

One hundred and fifty years ago, a wounded Wisconsin soldier stood his ground on the Gettysburg battlefield and made a valiant stand before he was felled by a Confederate bullet.

Now, thanks to the dogged efforts of modern-day supporters, 1st Lt. Alonzo Cushing shall not have died in vain, nor shall his memory have perished from the earth.
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Cushing commanded about 110 men and six cannons. His small force along with reinforcements stood their ground under artillery bombardment as nearly 13,000 Confederate infantrymen waited to advance.

'Clap your hands as fast as you can - that's as fast as the shells are coming in,' said Scott Hartwig, a historian with the Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania. 'They were under terrific fire.'
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The bombardment lasted two hours. Cushing was wounded in the shoulder and groin, and his battery was left with two guns and no long-range ammunition.

His stricken battery should have been withdrawn and replaced with reserve forces, Hartwig said, but Cushing shouted that he would take his guns to the front lines.

'What that means is, 'While I've got a man left to fight, I'll fight,'' Hartwig said. Within minutes, he was killed by a Confederate bullet to the head.
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wfgodot said:

I'd heard that "clap your hands as fast as you can, that's as fast as the shells are coming in" line before. Takes your breath away. Bravery in the heat of that kind of battle is extraordinary.

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