10-MUST SEES: Atlanta History Center senior military historian and curator Gordon Jones says these artifacts in new 'More Perfect Union' exhibit will speak to you

John Brown pike and captured rifle, Frederick Douglass and AHC brochure (Civil War Picket)

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when experiencing “More Perfect Union” -- the Atlanta History Center’s new Civil War exhibit -- for the first time. And I do mean experience: Video panels, sound effects, a massive film, recorded voices and, of course, hundreds and hundreds of artifacts.

I might recommend a repeat visit, as I did this week just ahead of Friday’s formal opening.

If you are pressed for time, or want to get the AHC’s take on stars of the show, I suggest seeing the following "Top 10." Five of these are mentioned in a printed brochure, “Curator Highlights,” while the other five artifacts were gleaned from an interview with Gordon Jones, senior military historian and curator, and a tour he gave to the media on Wednesday

It is remarkable Jones, now in his mid-60s, was leading the effort at the AHC when it opened its signature Civil War exhibit, “Turning Point,” in 1996. Over the past couple years, Jones has shepherded a new exhibition for the DuBose Gallery space. It is much larger in the topics it tackles.

“The new exhibition moves beyond traditional military history to explore the full scope of the era. It challenges us to ask,” the AHC says. “Who was included in the promise of American democracy? Who was excluded? And what does the legacy of that struggle mean today?”

Curator Gordon Jones during a media preview of the exhibit on July 8 (Civil War Picket)

Of course, the fulcrum of this is slavery and what it meant then and its legacy today. Many of the items in this Top 10 are related to that topic. All the items were procured since “Turning Point” opened and they largely show an evolution in interpretation of the Civil War.

While "More Perfection Union" is primarily focused on context about the war, the AHC in about six months will open a companion gallery, "The Hard Hand of War," focused primarily on weapons, gear and uniforms.

Without further ado, 10 must-sees at “More Perfect Union: The American Civil War Era.” These are in sequence as you walk through the space. (All photos by the Civil War Picket except as noted)

Dutch map of African coast, navigational chart for the Transatlantic slave trade, circa 1680

(Courtesy Atlanta History Center)

Frederik de Wit’s map/chart was a vital tool for European merchants in the slave trade, according to the AHC. The map identifies coastal landmarks, rivers, settlements and more.

Millions of enslaved people were transported from the Western and Central African coasts to the Western Hemisphere; many died during the horrific journeys.

“This is one of several items in the exhibition that demonstrates the deep roots of chattel slavery in the New World, and how the long tail of slavery led directly to the American Civil War,” the AHC brochure says.

British blunderbuss musket often used in slave trade

This circa 1750s short-barreled firearm, or blunderbuss, was made by the John Whately family in England. The European slave cartel traded guns for enslaved persons along the West African coast. It was typical for the buyers to supply weapons, iron bars, printed cloth and other metals as part of the barter.

"This one is extremely lightweight, cheaply made, and incredibly rare to find in this condition," said Jones, who believes this one may have been a sample weapon or used for another purpose.

'What to the American Slave is Your Fourth of July?'

First printing of abolitionist Frederick Douglass’ speech, “What to the American Slave is your Fourth of July?” The abolitionist gave his 1852 talk in Rochester, N.Y.

The address “confronted  the contradictions in the American promise of freedom and equality with its central question” about the holiday’s meaning to those in bondage, according to the AHC. It is considered to be a defining moment in U.S. history.

"There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices, more shocking and bloody, than are the people of these United States, at this very hour. Go where you may, search where you will, roam through all the monarchies and despotisms of the old world, travel through South America, search out every abuse, and when you have found the last, lay your facts by the side of the every day practices of this nation, and you will say with me, that, for revolting barbarity and shameless hypocrisy, America reigns without a rival," Douglass told the audience.

The presentation at the AHC includes audio of an actor reading Douglass' remarks.

John Brown letter, pikes, rifle and figurine

The story goes that a young John Brown witnessed an enslaved boy being beaten with a shovel. From then on, Brown was determined to put an end to the system of bondage.

Years later and while in his 50s, Brown and his family moved to “Bleeding Kansas," where they became engaged in the struggle over slavery. After an attack on abolitionists in Lawrence, Brown led an 1856 raid that left five men and boys believed to be slavery proponents dead.

Brown traveled to his native New England in 1857 to raise money for the cause. He carried a captured Bowie knife and contracted with Connecticut blacksmith Charles Blair to make 950 pikes for $1 each. At some point, Brown decided to use them in the South, rather than Kansas. He hatched a scheme for the weapons to be given to freed and escaped blacks, who would use them on anyone who dared to stop their rebellion. That effort ended in failure at Harpers Ferry, West Va., in 1859. Brown's radical actions hastened the Civil War, historians say.

The AHC display includes Brown’s letter to the pike manufacturer, a figurine, token, a pike and detached pike head, along with a U.S. Model 1855 rifle-musket captured by Brown during the doomed raid on Harpers Ferry.

Film 'Battle Ground / Freedom Ground: What Happened in the Civil War?'

The centerpiece of the new Civil War exhibit is an 18-minute visual timeline presentation. It is quite compelling and is in a semicircular shape, with several viewing benches.

“The film surrounds the audience in the costs and consequences of the Civil War – real quotes help tell the story of the era in the words of those who lived through it, and the audience is flanked on their left by the military costs – changes in territory, successful battles waged – and on their rights by the human costs – the increasing casualties as the war enters history as the bloodiest in American history,” says the brochure.

Flag from freedmen’s refugee camp at Craney Island, Va.

Most of the American flag is long gone, save for the 34 stars and upper-left canton. It flew over a camp on Craney Island near Hampton Roads, Va., that protected about 1,800 escaped slaves, whom Jones said were active in their liberation.

The camp operated for just over a year before closing in September 1863; it was one of dozens of such camps in southeast Virginia.

“Here on small island near Fortress Monroe, formerly enslaved people married, found work, attended school, and built new lives. But freedom was not always what they had imagined. Federal authorities were unprepared for the massive influx of refugees," the museum says.

Jones marvels at the work of conservators. “I almost didn’t recognize it as an artifact (when donated), he said. “It came in a bag.” The DuBose family – central to Atlanta’s memory of the Civil War -- donated the precious artifact.

Flag of the 127^th U.S. Colored Troops

The impetus for the AHC’s investment in artifacts related to African-American soldiers came in 2019, when it bought a hand-painted flag made for the 127^th USCT infantry. The flag depicts a soldier waving farewell to Columbia, a symbol of the United States, with the words “We Will Prove Ourselves Men" at the top

“It’s an iconic knock-your-socks-off artifact,” Jones said at the time. Even an enlisted man’s USCT uniform wouldn’t be as historically significant as this flag.”

This is one of three surviving examples of at least 12 USCT flags painted by David Bustill Bowser.

The 127^th trained at Camp William Penn near Philadelphia in 1864. It took part in combat during the siege of Petersburg and the surrender at Appomattox. USCT units -- which helped turn the tide in several campaigns and battles -- were led by white officers and it took time for soldiers to receive pay equal to their white counterparts.

The flag captures the essence of why 180,000 African Americans volunteered in the Union army during the Civil War. These soldiers and refugees showed the world Blacks were ready and able to liberate themselves.

List of enslaved Africans landed in Cuba, 1863

Documents written on parchment in 1868 detail 120 enslaved persons – some only 10 or 11 years old -- brought to Cuba five years before despite a ban on such trade.

They were found abandoned after their illegal landing near San Juan de las Playas.

The galling ledger includes their age, physical condition and, most chillingly, the branding mark burned in their bodies. The latter were recorded under the heading “distinguishing marks.”

Many of the enslaved are described by their African and Christian names.

“Placed in the colonial emancipado indentured labor system, they were ‘free’ in name but bound to years of forced labor, often on sugar plantations, the exhibit says.

Check for New York Draft Riot damages

Many opposed to Northern military conscription in 1863 rioted in New York City, overwhelming police and leading to scores of deaths and widespread destruction.

Black residents were targeted out of fears of labor competition following emancipation. The home of Hiram Dalton, 61, was ransacked and most of the household possessions were lost. A city relief fund awarded $115 to Dalton for “Damage by rioters.”

The exhibit features a Broadway Bank check written out to Dalton.

“It brought tears to my eyes,” its very human connection shining brighter than the check’s bureaucratic ink, Jones told me.

Confederate battle flag of the 6^th/9^th Tennessee combined

Charles Turner Jr. of Atlanta in recent years donated this Georgia-made flag that flew at the “Dead Angle” at Kennesaw Mountain during the epic June 27, 1864, battle.

The 6^th and 9^th Tennessee regiments consolidated during the war and its soldiers took part in the Atlanta Campaign under the Army of Tennessee as its commanders defended against the approach of Union forces.

The 6^th-9^th were stationed at Cheatham Hill, the bloodiest part of the Kennesaw Mountain battlefield, also known as the Dead Angle.

As the AHC brochure points out, the subsequent capture of Atlanta secured President Abraham Lincoln’s re-election, “and with it, the preservation of the Union and the abolition of slavery.”

MORE COVERAGE:

https://civil-war-picket.blogspot.com/2026/06/atlanta-history-center-hopes-to-make.html

https://civil-war-picket.blogspot.com/2026/04/compelling-civil-war-artifacts-are.html

https://civil-war-picket.blogspot.com/2025/05/first-on-picket-compelling-artifacts.html

https://civil-war-picket.blogspot.com/2026/07/old-number-9-confederate-capt-keys.html

Old number 9: Confederate Capt. Key's howitzer, which for years was on loan to the Pickett's Mill battlefield, debuts in Atlanta History Center's 'More Perfect Union'

Capt. Key howitzer this week at the Atlanta History Center (Civil War Picket photos; click to enlarge)

A 12-pounder howitzer that survived numerous battles, years of vandalism and theft from a city park is now on display at the Atlanta History Center as part of its ambitious  “More Perfect Union” Civil War exhibit

The so-called Capt. Key “No. 9”  howitzer is in the corner of a new gallery featuring fascinating artifacts from the Atlanta Campaign and the July 1864 battles in Atlanta.

It joins many military items in the new exhibit. But more than half of the artifacts in "More Perfect Union" -- especially those linked to the slave trade, African-American troops and repercussions of the conflict -- have been acquired in recent years.

The gun, manufactured in Boston in 1851 for the Arkansas Military Institute, had been on loan for nearly 10 years to Pickett’s Mill Battlefield State Historic Site northwest of Atlanta. It’s possible it was used to mow down Federal attackers there who futilely charged through a ravine toward Confederates waiting for them in strength.

“Captain Key's howitzer is one of the most important artifacts /stories we have going into the new exhibit,” Gordon Jones, senior military and historian at the AHC, told the Picket earlier this year about plans for the museum to bring the cannon back to Atlanta. “It'll be a cornerstone of the Atlanta Campaign area, right up there with the U.S. Army wagon, Confederate flag that flew over Atlanta, Cleburne sword, plus more new acquisitions.”

Jones was referring to Confederate Capt. Thomas Key, whose Arkansas artillery battery served in the division of legendary Maj. Gen. Patrick Cleburne.

The AHC in 2016 lent the gun to the state park as it prepared to move the “Battle of Atlanta” cyclorama painting from Grant Park to the center’s facilities in the Buckhead neighborhood

For the AHC and history aficionados, the audacious Key and his four-gun battery are remembered for being in the thick of things in numerous 1864 Atlanta Campaign battles – Dalton, Pickett’s Mill, Peachtree Creek and Jonesboro, among others.

Yet this bronze gun has a postwar history as interesting as its service during the war. It had several homes and was vandalized while displayed outside in Grant Park. Indignities included a broken cascabel, hacksaw marks and scores of indentations.

The howitzer was subsequently stolen, turning up in a county south of Atlanta. The AHC eventually gained custody of the weapon and had it refurbished and placed on a carriage that was built in 1936.

Thomas Bailey, who makes and restores carriages and other artillery components, recalls working on the Key howitzer, which has an artillery shell jammed into its 780-pound barrel.

“It always stood out to me how beat up it was,” said the owner of Historical Ordnance Works in Woodstock, Ga. “Somebody tried breaking it up for scrap. There were saw marks on the trunnion.” He estimates the barrel had about 60 marks from a sledgehammer.

The Key battery howitzer was one of two cast by Cyrus Alger & Co. for the Arkansas Military Institute. The number 9 is stamped on its muzzle face and the barrel is marked with an eagle atop a globe.

At Chickamauga, in September 1863, his superiors lauded Key for his gallantry and effectiveness, saying that in the fiercest part of the struggle he ran his battery by hand to within 60 yards of the enemy's lines.

Key and his cannons played a large part in the Confederate victory at Pickett’s Mill on May 27, 1864. Cleburne ordered Key to place two guns to the right oblique to enfilade the ravine. 

It’s uncertain whether number 9 was one of those two, but it certainly was among the four battery guns there.

Federal troops under Brig. Gen. William Hazen charged uphill in their attempt to take the top of a ridge. Key’s howitzers were ready for them. The battery fired about 182 rounds of spherical case and canister in two hours.

Key's battery howitzer at Pickett's Mill (Picket photo), number 9 on top of dented muzzle (Georgia State Parks), gun after it was recovered in Spalding County, Ga. in 2010, and artillery Capt. Thomas Key (Wikipedia); click to enlarge images

The Federal army suffered about 1,600 casualties at the battle, compared to 500 for the South.

On July 25, 1864, Key’s Battery was issued Napoleons captured from the Federals during the Battle of Atlanta and number 9 was sent to the Macon Arsenal. The Napoleons were considered a step up.

In his postwar book, Key wrote he regretted parting with number 9, which had been with his men at Perryville, Missionary Ridge, Resaca, New Hope Church,  Peachtree Creek and other battles.

“So it cannot be thought strange that I regret having separated from my command a gun that has been my companion under such trying and bloody circumstances.”

At national battlefields, you can be a finder, but not a keeper. Kennesaw Mountain staff educates public about importance of precious artifacts -- and potential hazards

Bullet found by James Pratt; Jake Boling with Napoleon shell, assorted artifacts, crowd at Gritters Library (Picket photos)

A couple weeks back, during a program at Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, ranger James Pratt came across a spent bullet, its top smashed from an impact of some kind.

Those on the walk joked the artifact might have been planted, but the Minie ball find was a surprise, Pratt and fellow park ranger Jake Boling told three dozen people attending a presentation at Gritters Library in Cobb County, Ga.

The pair on Monday traveled about five miles from the park for a show-and-tell about artifacts related to the Civil War park northwest of Atlanta. “It’s being able to tell a story about them,” said Boling.

The education coordinator often gives talks about the battle, the land and its cultural resources, so this was a great opportunity to show off finds and explain what the park does with them.

It was also an opportunity to remind potential visitors that it is illegal to dig up and/or remove an artifact from federal property.

Boling told the audience, mostly made of children and young adults, that Kennesaw Mountain has two main collections. Items in the visitor museum or in storage are delicate, rare or have direct provenance – a chain of custody and record.

Those in the education collection are meant to demonstrate a type of clothing, ammunition or accoutrement. “Soldiers had to carry lots and lots of stuff,” said Boling

Library patrons were able to hold or look at three bullets, a knapsack hook, brass eagle buttons, a bayonet remnant, a horseshoe, shell fragment and boot heels, among other artifacts. “These soldiers marched an average of 15 miles a day,” said Boling.

Pratt said he believes the spent bullet likely was fired from a Springfield rifle used by Federal attackers on June 27, 1864. The 53^rd Indiana Infantry and other regiments created a diversionary attack on the far left against Confederate pickets, including the 1^st Alabama Infantry (see video at bottom of post).

The attack came from Memorial Field and toward Confederate rifle pits beyond the current visitor center. (At left, a replicate Hotchkiss shell and a fragment found at Kennesaw, Picket photo)

Boling told the crowd he was working in 2019 when a man told them he discovered a mud-covered item near a trail. It turned out to a shell from a 12-pounder Napoleon. Park officials say about 400 cannons were on and around the battlefield.

The visitor, in fact, had placed the shell in his vehicle, and had become concerned about it being potentially explosive. He subsequently brought it to the building and left, said Boling.

The local bomb squad drilled a hole in the solid shot to ensure it did not contain gunpowder.

The park now uses the artillery round as part of its education outreach.

Boling cautioned the audience to call police or tell rangers if they come across anything related to ammunition. “Don’t dig, because it’s illegal. Don’t dig, because it can be dangerous,” he said.

The bottom line: Don’t pick anything up.

Savannah dredging operations brought up numerous Civil War and Revolutionary War cannons and artifacts. How did the projects and weapons compare?

CSS Georgia Dahlgren pulled up from river in 2015; one of the Revolutionary War cannons in 2021 and this week's unveiling of conserved artillery pieces at the Savannah History Museum (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photos)

A stunning collection of Revolutionary War cannon recovered off Old Fort Jackson in Savannah, Ga., is now on public display, the culmination of an extensive archaeological and conservation effort.

A contractor dredging the Savannah River in 2021 came across the first of the 19 artillery pieces, which some thought might belong to CSS Georgia, a Confederate ironclad that was scuttled nearby by its crew in December 1864. But it soon became apparent they dated to the American Revolution and the British siege of the city in 1779. They were on ships scuttled by the British to prevent French support of the colonists.

The surprise discovery of the Revolutionary War weapons came following the 2015-2017 recovery of items associated with the Civil War ironclad.

That U.S. Army Corps of Engineers harbor deepening project, which involved contractors and U.S. Navy divers, recovered more than 30,000 CSS Georgia artifacts, including 241 pieces of ordnance, five cannons and two large casemate sections. The latter were documented and left in the water.

A section of the CSS Georgia's casemate in 2017 (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

The Corps of Engineers worked with Texas A&M University to conserve the CSS Georgia material and then 17 of the cannons associated with the Revolutionary War. The Savannah History Museum this week opened “Loyalists and Liberty: Savannah in the American Revolution.”

Chris Dostal, director of the conservation lab at Texas A&M, told the Civil War Picket:

“From a conservation standpoint, both projects involved large, concreted iron artillery from a marine or riverine environment, but the Savannah River cannon presented a particularly unusual opportunity because so many guns were recovered together, several with associated bore contents preserved.”

Some CSS Georgia artifacts are on display at the National Civil War Naval Museum in Columbus, Ga. (At left, one of its propellers, Picket photo).

That venue "is the only institution with CSS Georgia artifacts on loan from our office," said Kate Morrand, a conservator with the Naval History and Heritage Command. "The remainder of the CSS Georgia collection includes over 5,100 artifacts and is curated by the NHHC Underwater Archaeology Branch, based at the Washington Navy Yard."

The command was involved in the CSS Georgia project but the Revolutionary War cannons were not under its purview.

The Picket recently asked Corps officials to provide some context to how both archaeological projects dovetailed or differed.

The following responses came from Francis “Franky” Stankiewicz with Chronical Heritage, Andrea Farmer, archaeologist with the Savannah district of the Army Corps, and Cheri Pritchard, media relations chief with that office. The responses have been edited for brevity and context.

Q1: Are you any closer to knowing precisely which British ships these Revolutionary War cannon belonged to? I know the HMS Rose was ruled out.

A: We have learned a great deal since the cannon were conserved, but I would not say we can assign individual guns to specific vessels with certainty. The strongest current interpretation is that the assemblage most likely originated from the armed ship Savannah, formerly the American privateer General Arnold, and the British transport Venus, both of which were associated with the 1779 Siege of Savannah. Current research suggests that domestic colonial production is the most likely origin for the guns attributed to the General Arnold/Savannah. However, manufacture in Britain, France (particularly Bordeaux), or Spain (particularly Bilbao) cannot be ruled out. Within the realm of domestic production, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania presently appear to be the most probable manufacturing centers.

Andrea Farmer with two reenactors at the Savannah History Museum (USACE photos)

Q: There was early speculation these 19 cannons might date to the Revolutionary War era but might have been placed on the CSS Georgia or fortifications. What led you to determine they dated to the Revolution?

A: The Revolutionary War interpretation rests on several lines of evidence. Typologically, the guns are mid-to-late 18th-century 6-pounders, including examples exhibiting Armstrong-pattern characteristics as well as related short-gun variants. Historically, British and French accounts document the burning and scuttling of armed vessels in this section of the Savannah River during the 1779 Siege of Savannah, consistent with the location of the recovery area. Archaeologically, many of the cannon were recovered in a loaded condition, containing tampions, wadding, shot, powder cartridges, fuse remains, and powder residue, indicating that they were likely prepared for immediate use rather than discarded at a later date. Taken together, the age, location, and loaded condition of the guns strongly support their association with the Revolutionary War-era scuttling events in the Savannah River.

Q: From an archaeological and conservation viewpoint, how different are these cannons vs. those found at CSS Georgia site?

A: From a conservation standpoint, these cannons were unusually rich in sealed contexts. Most were heavily concreted and contaminated cast iron, but many still held preserved bore contents. That meant conservation was also excavation: tampions, hemp junk wads, shot, cartridges, and residues had to be removed and documented in sequence. CSS Georgia material, by contrast, is Civil War ironclad wreckage and ordnance context: later, more industrial, and tied to an armored floating battery. The Savannah cannon assemblage is earlier, Revolutionary War-era muzzle-loading artillery, and its research value comes heavily from the combination of gun form, loading evidence (i.e., material within), and scuttling context. (See link for more photos)

Q. I know the investigation into CSS Georgia concluded a few years back. Have you learned anything more about the site or vessel since then?

A: The CSS Georgia investigation itself concluded earlier, and the current investigations do not indicate a major new interpretation of the vessel since that work. What they do add is a broader landscape context: the cannon cluster site lies near, but is not part of, the CSS Georgia site, and prior mapping work around CSS Georgia actually helped identify the Revolutionary War cannon concentration.

Q: Do you have a schematic/map or illustration showing their precise location in the Savannah River? And do you have anything similar showing the CSS Georgia cannon location -- or both put together?

A: To help preserve and protect these cultural resources long-term, we are not publicly disclosing their precise locations. While the locations are known to a limited number of researchers and resource managers, there is broad agreement that this information should remain restricted for now. Limiting access helps protect the sites from disturbance while supporting future research and analysis that may provide additional insights. Researchers continue to use a variety of mapping products, including sonar and multi-beam imagery of the Cannon Cluster Site near Fort Jackson. Specific details about the exact locations of these resources and their relationship to one another are also being withheld to support ongoing stewardship and future study. In addition, the Savannah Harbor shipping channel is heavily trafficked by large commercial vessels. Restricting site locations helps discourage unauthorized diving activity and reduces potential safety risks. (At left, anchor from one of the 18th century vessels, USACE)

Q: Finally, what is your long-term perspective on both CSS Georgia and these 19 cannons -- What do they tell us about their chapters in American history?

A: Although separated by nearly a century, CSS Georgia and the Revolutionary War cannon cluster represent two distinct chapters in Savannah's long history as a strategically important river port. CSS Georgia represents the Civil War effort to hold the river with improvised Confederate naval technology, including an ironclad that functioned more as a floating battery than an effective maneuvering warship. The cannon cluster reaches back to the Revolution when British forces deliberately used vessels and their armament to obstruct the river and help stop the French fleet during the Siege of Savannah. Together, they show that control of the Savannah River was repeatedly central to military strategy, commerce and the fate of the city.

'Faithful Unto Death': Gettysburg hero Alonzo Cushing's Medal of Honor will be displayed at park visitor center for this week's 163rd anniversary

1st Lt. Alonzo Cushing (center, back) and other artillery officers at Antietam in 1862 (Library of Congress)

The Medal of Honor awarded to artillery 1^st Lt. Alonzo H. Cushing will be displayed at Gettysburg National Military Park on the anniversary of his death during Pickett’s Charge.

The medal and display box will be on exhibit July 1-5 at the park’s museum and visitor center.

“This rare display coincides with the anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, offers visitors a unique opportunity to reflect on Cushing's sacrifice where it occurred and provides them with the opportunity to view the nation’s highest military decoration awarded to one of Gettysburg’s most recognized Union officers,” the Gettysburg Foundation said.

Cushing's Medal of Honor has been displayed at various sites (Gettysburg Foundation)

The Delafield, Wisc., native was raised in Fredonia, N.Y. Cushing, one of three brothers who had distinguished military service, was only 22 when he fell leading his battery.

At Gettysburg, Cushing and his battery of six 3-inch ordnance rifles took position with Brig. Gen. Alexander S. Webb's brigade on July 2, 1863. They were engaged throughout the day and again on July 3 as Confederate forces opened a two-hour artillery bombardment that preceded the assault known as Pickett's Charge, the foundation said.

Battery A, 4th U.S. Artillery was at a spot dubbed "The Angle."

Cushing suffered two grievous wounds and directed the operation of a field piece during the massive Rebel advance. He refused to leave the field. A bullet to the head killed him instantly.

In 2014, the young officer received the Medal of Honor from President Barack Obama for demonstrating conspicuous gallantry, inflicting severe casualties on the enemy and helping to turn back the charge. A descendant living in California accepted it on Cushing's behalf.

"This medal is a reminder that no matter how long it takes it's never too late to do the right thing," Obama said during the brief ceremony at the White House Roosevelt Room.

It was rare for a Federal officer during the war to receive a Medal of Honor and historians acknowledge efforts to recognize Cushing at the time probably were sidetracked because others survived the momentous July 1863 battle in Pennsylvania and wrote about their service.

It was largely up to the descendants of Cushing, who like his three brothers had no children or direct descendants, to keep alive his legacy, saving his letters, traveling to Gettysburg and sharing stories around the Thanksgiving table.

Among those joining the Cushing and Loring families in Washington, D.C. for the White House and U.S. Army ceremonies was Margaret E. Zerwekh, then 94, of Delafield.

Zerwekh, who died in 2018, lived on property once owned by the Cushing family. She performed research on him and petitioned a congressman years ago to support the honor. Efforts involved additional politicians and military experts who studied records of the young artilleryman's stand at Gettysburg.

Cushing's citation reflects the same devotion expressed in the words inscribed on his headstone (left, click to enlarge) at West Point: "Faithful unto Death." 

Cushing's medal is now part of the collection at Gettysburg National Military Park.