[1] Cushing was five foot, seven inches tall and described as "spare, sinewy, and active as a cat" with "keen gray or bluish green eyes."

His physical stature and reputation as an Indian fighter made him renowned throughout the young American southwest immediately following the end of the Civil War.

[5] By the end of 1867, Cushing was promoted to First Lieutenant in Troop F of the 3rd Cavalry, serving first in western Texas and then southern Arizona.

Plus, the captured Apache women claimed that the killed warriors drank medicine from a medical wagon train they raided which dulled their senses and decreased their fighting effectiveness.

[6][7] Cushing was charged with pursuing Chiricahua Apache elements under Chief Cochise, who had recently broken a winter truce in the Tucson area in 1871.

[8] On May 5, 1871, Cushing came into contact with an Apache element approximately fifteen miles north of today's Fort Huachuca, in an area known as Bear Spring in the Whetstone Mountains.

Cushing's non-commissioned officer, Sergeant John Mott, managed to rescue the wounded and lead a successful retreat with the remainder of the troopers.

[8] General Orders 11 was released by the Headquarters Department of Arizona on June 2, 1871 announcing his death "while gallantly leading his command in an attack against the band of Indians."