Howard Bass Cushing survived brutal Civil War battles before heading west.
Jim Heinz, a retired University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee police officer and Civil War buff believes there to be a connection between Howard and Luke of the movies.Howard Cushing was born in Milwaukee in 1838 before his family moved to Delafield, Wisconsin where he and his three brothers spent part of their childhood.
Two of his brothers became famous in the Civil War. There is a monument today in the city's Cushing Park honoring them. All four brothers fought in the Civil War and President Obama awarded Howard's younger brother, Alonzo, the Congressional Medal of Honor last year.
Alonzo was an artillery officer killed at the Battle of Gettysburg as his battery helped stop Pickett's Charge. After the battle,Howard petitioned the secretary of war to serve in his fallen brother's unit-- a request that President Lincoln personally approved.
When Howard joined Battery A, 4th Artillery, one of the men gave him the bloody shoulder straps Alonzo was wearing at the battle when he was killed.
--Old Secesh
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