The FReeper Foxhole Revisits the Profile of Casimir Pulaski - July 3rd, 2004

http://www.paulbrozek.com/pulaskipark_2002/pulaski.htm ^

[snippy_about_it]

Lord,

Keep our Troops forever in Your care

Give them victory over the enemy...

Grant them a safe and swift return...

Bless those who mourn the lost.
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FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer
for all those serving their country at this time.

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The FReeper Foxhole Revisits

Count Casimir Pulaski
1747 - 1779

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Introduction

Casimir Pulaski belongs to that select group of heroes, including the Marquis de Lafayefte, Thomas Paine, Giuseppe Garibaldi, and Pulaski's fellow countryman, Thaddeus Kosciuszko, who opposed tyranny not only in their homelands, but wherever they found it. We especially honor Pulaski because he paid the ultimate price, having sustained a mortal wound while fighting for American independence at the battle of Savannah in 1779. Today he remains a symbol of the ideal of valiant resistance to oppression everywhere in the world.

The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

Pulaski was born on March 4,1747, in Winiary, some 40 miles outside of Warsaw. His family belonged to the minor Polish nobility, and his ancestors fought with King Jan Sobieski against the Turks at the siege of Vienna in 1683. His father Jozef successfully built up the family fortune and deeply involved himself in politics. But the vast Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth had fallen on hard times. No longer the military power of Sobieski's day, it came increasingly under the domination of its aggressive neighbors, particularly Tsarist Russia.

Russia demonstrated its influence over the Commonwealth's affairs when in 1764 Empress Catherine the Great imposed her candidate Stanislaus Poniatowski, as the Commonwealth's next elected monarch. Poniatowski sought to carry out much needed reforms, but aroused the suspicion of the nobility who feared the establishment of a royal despotism. Moreover, the Russian ambassador regularly interfered in the Commonwealth's domestic affairs, in 1767, even using Russian troops to coerce its parliament into passing legislation that ended the privileged position of the Catholic Church.



In these circumstances, in 1768, Jozef Pulaski joined with others in initiating an insurrection known as the Confederation of Bar, a town in the Ukraine, where it was formed. Under the motto, "For Faith and Freedom," the elder Pulaski assumed the military leadership of the confederation, and Casimir on his 21st birthday took command of a detachment of partisans. For the next 3 1/2 years, in military campaigns against Russian forces that sought to put down the rebellion, the young commander proved his valor and genuine military talent in more than a dozen major action and numerous skirmishes.

Exile

In October 1771, Pulaski undertook one last major expedition as part of a plot to abduct the king. The plot misfired, but it led to the young Casimir being unjustly accused of attempted regicide and later, after he left the country, to a death sentence. When in 1772, Russia, Prussia, and Austria began negotiations to partition the Commonwealth, he and the other confederates saw the futility of continuing the struggle. In the face of the charges against him, he was forced to flee his homeland, never to see it again. Within months of his departure, the Commonwealth's aggressive neighbors agreed to divide over a quarter of its territory among themselves. The effort to defend the Commonwealth had failed, but the heroism of Pulaski and other confederates would inspire future generations of their countrymen.

Meanwhile, Pulaski faced a difficult exile. After two years in western Europe, he again joined battle against Russia, this time, on the side of the Turks. Their defeat forced him to return to France where, in the summer of 1776, he learned of America's war for independence and sought permission from the Americans to join their forces. Most American colonists were not yet enthusiastic in the support of the war, and George Washington, a commander-in-chief, needed battle-tested officers like Pulaski. Finally, in May 1777, Pulaski received a letter of recommendation from Benjamin Franklin, the American commissioner in Paris, and left for America, landing near Boston in July. In August, he reported to Washington's headquarters near Philadelphia.

The American Revolutionary War

On Washington's recommendation, the Continental Congress appointed Pulaski general of the cavalry on September 15, 1777. But even before his formal appointment, he demonstrated his value. At the battle of Brandywine Creek, where Washington's forces suffered a defeat, Pulaski led a counterattack that covered the retreat of the Americans and helped prevent a military disaster.



Pulaski spent the winter of 1777 training his soldiers at Trenton, not far from Washington's headquarters at Valley Forge. He introduced new battle drills in an effort to transform them into a highly mobile force. But, realizing that the Americans did not share his conception of the cavalry as a separate combat force, Pulaski asked to be relieved of his position and allowed to form a special infantry and cavalry unit capable of more independent action. With Washington's support, Pulaski gained the consent of Congress on March 28, 1778.

It took Pulaski, regarded as "the father of the American cavalry," another five months to form his legion at his headquarters in Baltimore, where he recruited Americans, Frenchmen, Poles, Irishmen, and especially Germans; mainly deserters from the Hessian mercenaries employed by the British. But for some time the American command could not find a suitable role for Pulaski's legion, leading him again to request reassignment. Finally, on February 2,1779, he received orders to proceed to South Carolina to reinforce the southern American forces under British attack.

Now Pulaski began his most active period of service in the war with the front line combat he sought. At the head of a troop of some 600, Pulaski arrived in Charleston in May 1779, just in time to contribute to its successful defense against a much larger British force, which after occupying Georgia was steadily advancing northward. This victory proved pivotal in the war in the South as it broke the British momentum and boosted American morale.



What remained was to win back the territory that the British had occupied. Savannah became the fateful goal. Newly arrived French forces under Admiral Charles Henri d'Estaing together with the Americans planned a risky all out assault on the heavily fortified town. The siege began on October 9. The mission of the Pulaski Legion was to follow in behind the French infantry and break down the enemy's line of defense. But the French got caught in a cross fire, and d'Estaing himself was wounded. Awaiting the proper moment for his cavalry to enter the battle, Pulaski could see the infantry breaking ranks under heavy fire. To try to save the situation, he charged forward into the battle only to be grievously wounded himself. Carried from the battlefield, he was put on a ship to be taken back to Charleston, but never regained consciousness. On October 11, 1779, the 32 year old Polish commander died at sea, where he was buried.

In Honor of Pulaski

Americans have always recognized Pulaski's heroism and the price he paid for their freedom. Shortly after his death a solemn memorial service was held in Charleston, and, before the end of 1779, the Continental Congress resolved that a monument should be erected in his honor, though a statue was not put into place in Washington, D.C., until 1910.

Over the years Americans have kept alive his memory naming many countries, towns, streets, parks, and squares after him. Among those of Polish descent, his fame rivals that of Kosciuszko, who, after his service in the American Revolutionary War, returned to his homeland, where, in 1794, he led an insurrection against the same Russian domination that Pulaski had fought before coming to America.

In his first letter to Washington, after arriving in America, Pulaski wrote, "I came here, where freedom is being defended, to serve it, and to live or die for it." He proved true to his word. For this, we honor him as a soldier of Liberty for all.

[Valin]

On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on July 03:
1423 Louis XI king of France (1461-83)
1567 Samuel de Champlain explorer (Lake Champlain)
1731 Samuel Huntington (Gov-Ct), Continental Congress pres
1738 John Singleton Copley Mass, finest colonial American artist
1828 John Austin Wharton, Major General (Confederate Army), died in 1865
1854 Leos Jan cek Hukvaldy Moravia Czech, composer (Foster Suite)
1861 Peter Jackson heavyweight, boxing hall of famer
1874 Sir Apirana Turupa Ngata Kawaka NZ, Maori political/cultural leader
1883 Alfred Korzybski Poland, scientist (Science & Sanity)
1883 Franz Kafka Czech, author (Metamorphosis, Trial, Amerika)
1886 Raymond A Spruance, US admiral/fleet commander/ambassador
1893 Mississippi John Hurt, Played the straight natural Blues
1906 George Sanders Russia, actor (All About Eve-Academy Award 1950)
1909 Earl L Butz US Secretary of Agriculture (1971-76); a real Butz
1913 Dorothy Kilgallen Chic Ill, columnist (What's My Line?)
1925 Tony Curtis [Bernard Schwartz] Bronx NY, actor (Some Like it Hot)
1930 Pete Fountain New Orleans, jazz clarinetist (Lawrence Welk 1957-59)
1935 Harrison H "Jack" Schmitt Santa Rita NM, astronaut (Apollo 17)
1937 Tom Stoppard playwright (Rosencrantz & Guildenstern-1968 Tony)
1940 Fontella Bass St Louis Mo, vocalist (Rescue Me)
1941 Gloria Allred feminist attorney
1943 Geraldo Rivera aka Gerry Rivers, nosey newsman (Geraldo)
1943 Norman E Thagard Marianna Fl, MD/astronaut (STS 7, 51-B, 30, 42)
1945 Michael Cole Madison Wisc, actor (Pete-Mod Squad)
1948 Paul Berrere rocker (Little Feat-Truck Stop Girl)
1949 Jan Smithers N Hollywood Calif, actress (Bailey-WKRP)
1951 Jean-Claude 'baby Doc' Duvalier deposed Haitian president-for-life
1962 Tom Cruise Syracuse, actor (Risky Business, Color of Money, Rainman)
1979 Lauren Alviti, Miss Rhode Island Teen USA (1997)

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Deaths which occurred on July 03:
0683 Leo II, Pope (681-83), dies
1570 Antonio Paleario, Italian humanist, executed by inquisition at 67
1642 Maria de' Medici, French queen-mother, dies at about 69
1778 Jean-Jacques Rousseau, French writer/composer (Pygmalion), dies

1862 William Barksdale, Confederate brig-general, dies in battle at 40
1863 Alonzo Hersford Cushing, US Union lt, dies in battle at about 22
1863 Lewis Addison Armistead, Conf brig-gen Gettysburg/dies in battle at 46
1863 Richard Brooke Garnett, US Confederate brig-gen, dies in battle at 45
1863 Samuel Kosciuzko Zook, US Union general-major, dies in battle at 40

1863 Little Crow, [Ta-oya-te-duta], Santee Sioux indian chief, dies
1971 Jim Morrison rocker (Doors), dies of heart failure in Paris
1972 Mississippi Fred McDowell, Blues singer, dies at 68
1981 Ross Martin actor (Mr Lucky, Wild Wild West), dies at 61
1986 Rudy Vallee singer (Vagabond Dreams), dies at 84
1989 Andrei Gromyko Soviet diplomat, dies just short of his 80th birthday
1989 Jim Backus actor (voice of Mr. Magoo, Gilligan's Island), dies at 76 of pneumonia
1992 Marc Tannenbaum, rabbi (only Jew to attend Vatican II), dies at 66
1993 "Curly" Joe DeRita, last of Three Stooges, dies of pneumonia at 83

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Reported: MISSING in ACTION
1966 GAGE ROBERT H.---COLUMBUS OH.
1966 PHILLIPS DAVID J. JR.---MIAMI BEACH FL.
[REFNO 0382 LIVE POW REPORT 1984]
1966 RENO RALPH J.---FAYETTEVILLE NC.
1967 SEYMOUR LEO E.---TOWANDA PA.
1972 CUTHBERT STEPHEN H.---OAKLAND CA.
[REMAINS RETURNED...I.D. 12/20/90]
1972 MARSHALL MARION A.---UPPER MARLBORO MD.
[03/29/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE IN 98]

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.

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On this day...
0323 Battle at Adrianopolis: Flavius Julius Crispus' beats emperor Licinius
0683 St Leo II ends his reign as Catholic Pope
0987 Hugo Capet crowned king of France
1608 City of Quebec founded by Samuel de Champlain
1187 Crusaders enter Tiberias
1661 Portugal gives Tanger and Bombay to English King Charles II
1754 George Washington surrenders to French, Ft Necessity (7 Years' War)

1775 Washington takes command of Continental Army at Cambridge, Mass

1778 British forces massacre 360 men, women & children in Wyoming, Pa
1806 Michael Keens exhibits 1st cultivated strawberry
1814 Americans capture Fort Erie, Canada
1816 French frigate "Medusa" runs aground off Cap Blanc. Gross incompetence kills 150 in calm seas
1819 1st savings bank in US (Bank of Savings in NYC) opens its doors
1839 1st state normal school in US opens, Lexington, Mass, with 3 students
1841 John Couch Adams decides to determine the position of an unknown planet by irregularities it causes in the motion of Uranus
1848 Slaves freed in Danish West Indies (now US Virgin Islands)
1852 Congress authorizes US's 2nd mint (San Francisco, Calif)
1853 Commodore Matthew Perry reach Japan
1861 Colonal Jackson receives his commission as brigadier general
1861 Pony Express arrives in SF with overland letters from NY
1861 Martinsburg, VA - Confederate forces pull out before US advance
1863 Battle of Donaldsonville, LA
1863 Battle of Gettysburg Pa ends, major victory for North
1864 Battle of Chattahoochie River, GA [until Jul 9]
1864 Harpers Ferry, WV - Federals evacuate in face of Early's advance
1871 Jesse James robs bank in Corydon, Iowa ($45,000)
1884 Dow Jones published it's 1st stock avg
1886 1st NY Tribune printing using 1st commercial linotype machine
1886 In Germany, Karl Benz drives 1st automobile
1890 Idaho admitted as 43rd US state
1895 Start of Sherlock Holmes "The Adventure of Black Peter" (BG)
1898 American troops land on a deserted Wake Island
1898 Joshua Slocum completes 1st solo circumnavigation of the globe
1898 US Navy defeats Spanish fleet in Santiago harbor, Cuba
1913 Common tern banded in Maine; found dead in 1919 in Africa (1st bird known to have crossed the Atlantic)
1915 US military forces occupy Haiti, remain until 1934
1916 1st of 3 fatal shark attacks occurred near NJ shore (4 die)
1929 Dunlop Latex Development Laboratories made foam rubber
1930 Veterans Administration created
1932 1st Sunday game at Fenway Park, Yanks beat Red Sox 13-2
1932 John McGraw retires from baseball
1934 C Jackson discovers asteroid #1367 Nongoma
1934 FDIC pays off 1st insured depositors, Fon du Lac Bank, East Peoria IL
1939 Ernst Heinkel demonstrates 800-kph rocket plane to Hitler
1939 Lou Gehrig day; Gehrig makes "luckiest man" speech

1940 British Royal Navy sinks French fleet in North Africa

1942 Germany troop march into Sebastopol
1947 252,288 people (record) pass through Grand Central Station, NYC
1947 Cleveland Indians purchase Larry Dolby, the 1st black in the AL
1948 Kidnapper Caryl Chessman sentenced to death
1950 1st time US & North Korean forces clash in the Korean War
1962 Algerian Revolution against French ends (Algeria gains ind on 7/5)
1966 Brave pitcher Tony Cloninger, is 1st NL to hit 2 grand slams in a game
1966 Race riots in Omaha Nebraska
1968 41øF lowest temperature ever recorded in Cleveland in July
1968 Cleve Indian Luis Tiant strikes out 19 Minn Twins
1969 78,000 attend Newport Jazz Festival, Newport, RI
1970 200,000 attend Atlanta Pop Festival
1970 L Chernykh discovers asteroid #3702
1973 Brothers Jim & Gaylord Perry face each other for only time, Tigers beat Indians 5-4, as Gaylord loses

1976 Israel launches rescue of 103 Air France crew & passengers being held at Entebbe Airport in Uganda by pro-Palestinian hijackers

1978 Supreme Court rules 5-4, FCC had a right to reprimand NY radio station WBAI for broadcasting George Carlin's "Filthy Words"
1983 Calvin Smith of US becomes fastest man alive (9.93 s for 100 m)
1984 Supreme Court rules Jaycees may be forced to admit women as members
1985 CBS announces a 21% stock buy-back to thwart Ted Turner's takeover
1986 Pres Reagan presided over relighting of renovated Statue of Liberty
1987 2 men became 1st hot-air balloon travelers to cross Atlantic
1988 US Vincennes in Strait of Hormoez shoots Iran Airbus A300, kills 290
1989 Supreme Court rules states do not have to provide funds for abortions
1989 The movie "Batman," set record of quickest $100 million (10 days)
1999 President Bill Clinton, acting to head off potential problems with the safety of imported food, said he was ordering inspectors at American ports to brand all unsafe and rejected food products as refused by the U.S.
(Thank god! Someone finally had the nerve to force the inspectors to not let bad/unsafe foods into America)
2000 A 1970's steel observation tower that preservationists said had desecrated the battlefield of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania was demolished.

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Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

Algeria : Independence Day (1962)
Idaho : Admission Day (1890)
Iowa : Independence Sunday (Sunday)
Caribbean Common Market : Caribbean Day (1973)(Monday)
Lesotho : Family Day (Monday)
Zambia : Heroes Day (Monday)
Carpenter Ant Awareness Week (Day 6)
US : Compliment-Your-Mirror Day
US : Disobedience Day.
US : Honor America Days (thru 7-4)
Let Freedom Ring Day!
National Purposeful Parenting Month

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Religious Observances
RC : Feast of St Thomas, apostle
RC : Commemoration of St Leo II, 80th pope (681-83)

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Religious History
1756 English founder of Methodism John Wesley wrote in a letter: 'One who lives anddies in error, or in dissent from our Church, may yet be saved; but one who lives and diesin sin must perish.'
1894 Birth of Don R. Falkenberg, founder in 1923 of the Mid-West Businessmen's Councilof the Pocket Testament League. In 1967 the name of this evangelical agency was changed toBible Literature International.
1907 Pope St. Pius X, in his encyclical 'Lamentabili,' formally condemned the'modernist' intellectual movement, as it exhibited itself in the Catholic Church.
1959 Pope John XXIII, in his encyclical 'Ad Petri Cathedram,' expressed the hope thatnon-Catholic Christians would see in the upcoming Vatical II Ecumenical Council 'a warminvitation to seek and find unity.'
1979 Thirty-four years after the end of World War II, the West German government votedto continue prosecution of Nazi war criminals by removing the statute of limitations onmurder.

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

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Thought for the day :
"The best government teaches us to govern ourselves."

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Things To Do If You Ever Became An Evil Overlord...
Dress in bright and cheery colors, and so throw your enemies into confusion.

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The World's Shortest Books...
Dr. Kevorkian's Collection Of Motivational Speeches.

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Dumb Laws...
Norfolk Virginia:
Women must wear a corsette after sundown and be in the company of male chaperone.

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Top Ten Things That sound Dirty In Golf..But Aren't...
10. Nuts...my shaft is bent.

[w_over_w]

Morning Glory Snip & Sam~

Very inspiring read.

American cavalry that could shadow and report on British movements, in the long distance forage raids to feed and clothe the troops at Valley Forge, and the bitter hit and run rearguard actions that covered retreating American armies that slowed British pursuit, that gave Pulaski the title of "Father of the American cavalry".

No kidding. The tactics of Stuart and Sheridan are made evident.

BTW, it's good to be back with the 1-50 Foxhole FReepers. ;^)

[SAMWolf]

Although my dad speaks Polish, I know only a few words and phrases. My parents figured since we were in America that the kids would learn only English.

[SAMWolf]

Morning Iris7.

Poland has contributed much to the history of Europe and Western civilization. A lot more than she gets credit for.

[SAMWolf]

Morning Aeronaut.

[Aeronaut]

Hi Sam.

[SAMWolf]

Morning E.G.C.

Picked up a "Critcal Update" from Microsoft last night.

[SAMWolf]

Nice pic of the SS Casimir Pulaski going down the ways.

[SAMWolf]

Hi Feather. Enjoying the weekend so far?

[E.G.C.]

Me too. I think this is the one which took care of the banking issue regarding web sites.

[SAMWolf]

Morning Mayor.

Don’t be afraid to enjoy a good laugh—it’s good medicine.

A good sense of humor makes life a lot easier.

[SAMWolf]

Nice presentation exnavy. Thanks for the link.

[SAMWolf]

Morning aomagrat.

In July 1974, Pulaski was awarded the Submarine Squadron Fourteen Battle Efficiency "E," the first ever awarded to an SSBN.

In October 1985, Pulaski Gold was awarded the Arleigh Burke Fleet Trophy

In October 1986, Pulaski (both crews) was awarded the Commander Submarine Squadron Sixteen Battle Efficiency "E," and the U.S. Atlantic Fleet Outstanding Fleet Ballistic Missile Submarine Performance Award for fiscal year 1986.

Looks like Pulaski's crews were very, very good.

[SAMWolf]

Morning stand watie.

Free Dixie!

[SAMWolf]

1775 Washington takes command of Continental Army at Cambridge, Mass

George Washington takes command of the continental army, c. 1775. From a drawing by Paul Hawthorne, 1941.

[w_over_w]

Top Ten Things That sound Dirty In Golf..But Aren't...
10. Nuts...my shaft is bent.

LOL!

"The golf swing is like sex: You can't be thinking of the mehanics of the act while you're doing it."
~Dave Hill

"They call it golf because all of the other four-letter words were taken."
~Raymond Floyd

"It took me seventeen years to get three thousand hits in baseball. I did it in one afternoon on the golf course."
~Hank Aaron

"Golf is the cruelest of sports. Like life, it's unfair. It's a harlot. A trollop. It leads you on. It never lives up to its promises . . . It's a boulevard of broken dreams. It plays with men. And runs off with the butcher."
~Jim Murray

[SAMWolf]

BTW, it's good to be back with the 1-50 Foxhole FReepers

Morning w_over_w, this gonna be a permanent re-assignment? ;-)

[SAMWolf]

That's the one.

[SAMWolf]

"Golf is a game whose aim is to hit a very small ball into a even smaller hole, with weapons singularly ill-designed for the purpose."
-- Winston Churchill

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning alfa6.