He arrived at Philadelphia in August of 1776. These heady days of patriotic fervor shortly after the Declaration of Independence had transformed an uncertain rebellion into a revolution. Kosciusko, a romantic idealist from a country under Russian domination, was deeply influenced by the liberal principles of Thomas Jefferson on the inherent right of men to redress political injustice and, in freedom, to pursue personal fulfillment. His emotional summons in later years to his own countrymen when he rallied them against foreign aggressors bore the unmistakable imprint of the Declaration.
Kosciuszko's Arrival in Philadelphia
Kosciusko's arrival in the Colonies also coincided with a time of military reverses. New York had fallen to the British and Philadelphia was menaced. The young engineer was quickly assigned to strengthen the Delaware River approaches to the latter city. Drawing for the first time upon his professional training and exhibiting a skill in using to tactical advantage a particular terrain, he helped slow the British advance. Congress recognized these initial services by appointing Kosciusko Colonel of engineers in which position he made three key contributions to the eventual success of the American cause. The most notable was his role in the decisive battle of Saratoga where his fortifications led to the first major victory for the Americans and assured them of open French support.
The second was his assignment to erect a permanent barrier on the Hudson against British attempts to split the Colonies. This was successfully accomplished on the heights at West Point where the U.S. Military Academy was subsequently established, in part at Kosciusko's recommendation. The Academy's first manual on the use of mobile horse artillery was based on a treatise written by him some years later at the request of the American Minister to Paris.
His final contribution came while serving as chief engineer to the Army of the South under General Nathanael Greene. Kosciusko's exploration of the Carolina wilderness, location of defensible campsites and construction of a river fleet enabled General Greene to maneuver swiftly and effectively against Cornwallis, leading to the British commander's subsequent encirclement at Yorktown.
It was during Kosciusko's service in the South that we first hear of his reaction to the "peculiar" institution of slavery which, in its contradiction of the principles of the Revolution, must have puzzled the young idealist. Employing a simple eloquence in one of his letters, he called Green's attention to the plight of two "naked" (sic) slaves whose "skin can bear as well as ours" some "good things" to wear. From this time on, Kosciusko viewed forced servitude with even greater repugnance than before, condemning the relationship between master and subject as one which should not be tolerated in enlightened societies.
After the war, Congress conferred upon the "eminent" foreign volunteer the brevet rank of Brigadier General, a grant of land in the Ohio territory (where the city of Columbus now stands), and a special resolution of thanks. He was also invited to join the Society of the Cincinnati, the prestigious organization of officers of the American Revolution, and present among the select company in Fraunces Tavern on December 4, 1783, when Washington bade farewell to his former comrades-in-arms.
Despite his sober attention to duty, Kosciusko was also known during the Revolution as a man of high spirits and engaging personality, popular with members of both sexes. A hint of a somewhat puckish sense of humor appeared at this time in a letter to a fellow officer fruitlessly in love. "Go so far as to ruin the girl," he advised, "then marry her and apologize later to her parents." Interestingly, Kosciusko did not follow this advice in his own love affairs.
A humorous reference to the undoubted difficulties Americans must have had with his name was made by a fellow passenger aboard the same ship with Kosciusko, by then well-known and on the way back to his homeland in 1784:
"Our Polish friend whose name still sounds so hard To make it rhyme would puzzle any bard."
Two hundred and fifty one years have passed since in February 1746, in the Eastern territories of the Kingdom of Poland, the man to whom these words are addressed was born. The man who was to become the symbol of alliance between countries so distant in space yet so close in their love of freedom.
A cadet of the Military Academy in Warsaw, an outstanding, educated in France engineer - strategist, a hero of the U.S. War of Independence, the commander-in-chief of the only Polish uprising to be named after its leader - Kosciuszko Rising.
Tadeusz Kosciuszko. This - how difficult for them a name - the American people have imprinted in gold onto the pages recording the dramatic history of the struggle for independence. History spanning the time from the moment when on October 18th 1776 the Leader of the Congress signed - with the words "... with great faith and trust in tour patriotism, virtues and loyalty ..." - Kosciuszko's nomination for the colonel of the American Army, till the day of November 25th, 1783 when General Kosciuszko accompanied the Commander-in-Chief George Washington on his triumphant return to New York.
On the great map of the United States of America there still shine with the glare of victory and faithful memory the battlefields where Kosciuszko fought. Saratoga - regarded as the "turning point" in the history of the War of Independence, fortified by "the young Polish engineer" that won the words of highest esteem from Horatio Gates, his commander.
West Point - the stronghold called by Washington "the most important post in America" where Tadeusz Kosciuszko, in the words of that supreme commander, had "chief direction and superintendence". The Yadkin and Dan rivers in North Carolina and Virginia where the crossing directed by Kosciuszko twice rescued the army from the enemy, compelling its commander, General Nathaneal Greene to call his chief engineer "one of the most helpful and congenial companions", stressing his "perseverance, determination, indefatigable efforts" as well as his "incomparable modesty".
"From one man we can have but one life" - wrote about Kosciuszko President Thomas Jefferson ' "and you gave us the most valuable and active part of yours, and we are now enjoying and improving its effects. Every sound American, sincere votary of freedom loves and honors you...".
The New York bridge that bears the name of Tadeusz Kosciuszko is crowned at the top with the emblems of both our states. They differ in shape but the symbol is the same. An eagle. American and Polish.
Tadeusz Kosciuszko came from a family of small landed gentry. He attended the Cadet School and in 1770 left for Paris to continue his studies. There, he became acquainted with the progressive ideology of the French Enlightenment. Poland was undergoing the first partition of 1772 when Kosciuszko was in France. In 1776 Kosciuszko left for America and took part in the fight for the freedom of the North American colonies.
Kosciuszko Statue, Humboldt Park, Chicago
Back in Poland in 1784, Kosciuszko helped organize the Polish Army which was enlarged by provisions contained in the statutes of the Four-Year Seym and participated in the 1792 war against Russia.
An armed insurrection broke out in Poland in 1794. Kosciuszko returned to the country and was appointed commander-in-chief of the armed forces with powers of a dictator.
On March 24th Kosciuszko took his oath in Cracow: "I swear to the whole Polish nation that I shall not use the power vested in me for private oppression but that I shall exercise this power only in the defense of the whole of the frontiers and to regain the independence of the Nation and to establish universal freedom". Wishing to draw the peasant masses into the fight for liberty, Kosciuszko proclaimed what is called the Po³aniec Universal in which he abolished serfdom, reduced the corvee - or unpaid labour for the lord - and freed peasants who served in the army from this duty.
Gold coin, 500 zl
After several victorious battles in October, 1794, the Polish forces suffered a defeat at Maciejowice. The commander, heavily wounded in the field, was taken prisoner. Kosciuszko remained in Russia as a prisoner until 1796. After his release Kosciuszko lived in the West.
Kosciuszko died in Switzerland in 1817. his body was brought to Poland and laid to rest in the royal crypt at Wawel Castle.
Additional Sources: freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~wcarr1
www.ci.chi.il.us/WarMemorials
www.liglobal.com
www.pinakoteka.zascianek.pl
www.rbebout.com
www.pna-znp.org
agata.odn.zgora.pl
www.polskiinternet.com www.angelfire.com/poetry/ winddrinker
www.polishworld.com
cpwk.w.interia.pl
www.wawel.net
www.wojciechowski.freeserve.co.uk/ miw
www.poles.org