Unit History

Battery A, 4th US Artillery was originally created by an Act of Congress on March 2, 1821. Before the Civil War, Battery A, 4th Us Artillery participated in the following:

"Nullification" crisis in Charleston, SC, 1832
Creek Indian War in Alabama, 1833
Seminole War in Florida, 1835-1836
US - Mexican War, 1846-1848
Seminole Indian uprising, 1856

In 1857, Batteries A and I of the 4th US Artillery were sent to Fort Laramie and by 1861, Batteries A and C of the 4th US Artillery were assigned to Fort Crittenden in Utah territory to protect settlers from Indians. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Battery A was assigned to return to Washington D.C. to help defend the Capitol. It would take a few months before the battery would arrive.

During the outbreak of war, Alonzo Cushing graduated from West Point Military Academy with other cadets such as George Custer, Patrick O'Rorke, and Edmund Kirby. Some of the notable cadets who left the Academy to enlist with the Confederacy were Thomas Rosser, John Pelham, and Fitzhugh Lee. There were to be no graduation exercises for the Class of 61'. The Cadets were simply relieved of duty at West Point and assigned to posts. On June 24th, 1861, Alonzo Cushing was given the rank of a Second lieutenant and First lieutenant in the 4th United States Artillery.

Nearly all of the 82 enlisted men who accompanied Battery's A and C to Washington D.C. had served with the two units in Utah. From September, 1861 through the winter of 1862 Battery A brought men into the ranks from volunteers from the following; 5th New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry, 53rd and 81st Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, 52nd, 57th, 61st, 63rd, 66th, 69th, 88th New York Volunteer Infantries as well as men from the 14th New York Independent Battery. In all, 51 infantry men were added to the roll of Battery A. continue...