Historians are unsure how Pulaski died. The popular account holds that Pulaski rallied the troops in a cavalry charge upon hearing that a fellow officer was hit in the leg by a musket ball. During the charge, Pulaski was struck in the thigh by grapeshot and fell from his horse. Within days, gangrene claimed the war hero's life. Historians continue to debate what happened to Pulaski's body after his death. One traditional account is that Pulaski died aboard the American ship Wasp and is buried at sea. A second claim is that he was first buried at Greenwich Plantation in Georgia and later reburied under a monument in one of the downtown Savannah squares. September 27, 1996, bones were disinterred from under the Pulaski Monument in Monterey Square. To date, the bone analysis is inconclusive
Casimir Pulaski Commemorative Stamp
On Jan. 16, 1931, the U.S. Post Office Department issued this commemorative stamp honoring Polish patriot Casimir Pulaski, who fought with American forces during the American Revolution. The stamp was first released in Savannah, where he died, as well as in eleven American cities with large Polish populations.
The 2-cent stamp was released to mark the 150th anniversary of the death of Casimir Pulaski, who was mortally wounded in the siege of Savannah. However, as Pulaski died on Sept. 11, 1779, the stamp came over a year after the sesquicentennial of his death. However, on the bicentennial of Pulaski's death in 1979, the Postal Service released a postal card showing him on horseback
