THADDEUS KOSCIUSZKO - A Polish Son of Liberty, Hero of the American Revolution

Of the many distinguished military men who came from abroad to fight for the independence of the American colonies, Kosciuszko was the very first. In August 1776, only a month after the Declaration of Independence had been signed, the 30-year-old military engineer arrived in Philadelphia from Poland. He offered his services to the Continental Congress, and served continuously until the British surrender seven years later. For over 200 years, the memory of his dedication and contribution has forged strong bonds between the peoples of Poland the United States. Kosciuszko was born to an aristocratic family of modest means in Poland on February 4, 1746. He received a solid classical education at the local church school; mathematics, geometry and drawing attracted his special attention, and at 19 he decided on a military career. He entered the newly-established Royal Military School in Warsaw. Four years later, he graduated with honors, receiving a captainís commission, and was sent on a scholarship from King Stanislaw August to Paris, for advanced study of engineering and artillery.

When he returned to Poland five years later, the country had been forced to yield much of its territory to Russia, Prussia, and Austria, and there was little use for his skills. Hearing of the events at Lexington and Concord, he decided to enlist in the American cause, and traveled to Philadelphia.

He was commissioned Colonel of Engineers by Congress, and assigned to General Horatio Gates and the Army of the North. His strategic engineering skills were a major factor in the American victory at Saratoga a year later; it was this triumph that turned the tide of the war and convinced many European powers to support America against Britain.

Kosciuszkoís next task, probably his most important in this country, was the fortification of the heights of West Point, which Washington had called "the key to America." This occupied him nearly two and a half years. He supervised the construction of interlocking batteries, and designed a massive 60-ton chain to block the Hudson River and keep the British from advancing South. (Later, this site became the home of the U.S. Military Academy; the first monument there, erected by the cadets themselves, was to Kosciuszko.)

He was then sent to the Army of the South, where he supervised troop movements crossing rivers and treacherous swamps. He had the honor of leading American troops into Charleston, the last point of British resistance in the South. At the warís end, Congress named him a Brigadier General.

In 1784, he returned to Poland, and five years later was called up to the Polish army. Polandís political fortunes were sinking, however, and the King ordered his troops to stop fighting. Resigning in protest, Kosciuszko resigned and went to Germany, where he maintained contact with Poles planning a general insurrection.

Finally, in March 1794, he returned to Poland to lead the long-planned revolt. He ordered the mobilization of all men fit to bear arms, even peasants. In America, Kosciuszko had learned how to work with such untrained volunteers. Seven thousand men rushed to join his army, and he soon won a stunning victory over the Russians at Raclawice. By October, however, combined Russian and Prussian troops overwhelmed his forces; Kosciuszko, seriously wounded, was captured. The next year, in a final partition, Russia, Prussia and Austria divided what was left of Poland between them, and the country vanished from the map of Europe.

Kosciuszko was held prisoner in Moscow under Catherine the Great, but her successor, Czar Paul I, freed him on the condition that that he not return to Poland.

Kosciuszko came back to America, his adopted homeland, and moved to Philadelphia. His earlier friendship with Jefferson bloomed, and the two met almost daily. When he left America for the last time, he named Jefferson the executor of his will, directing that all his American assets be sold and used to buy and free slaves.

His final years were sad and full of disappointments. He was invited to the Congress of Vienna in 1815, but the leaders there refused to restore Poland to post-Napoleonic Europe. He settled with friends in Switzerland friends,where he died in October 1817, at the age of 71. His body was returned to Poland, and lies in a royal crypt in Cracowís Wawel Cathedral.

After World War I, his courage inspired American volunteers to join the new Polish Air Force, forming the "Kosciuszko Squadron" to fight Russian forces a century after Kosciuszko himself had done so. And in 1925, the Kosciuszko Foundation was established in the United States, to promote educational and cultural exchanges between the United States and Poland. As it approaches its 75th anniversary, in the year 2000, the Foundation continues to enrich both Poland and America through a deeper understanding of each otherís cultures, values, and achievements.

Ironically, Kosciuszko could never secure for his homeland the freedom he helped America to win. But his life continues to encourage each new generation of Poles. Thomas Jefferson, who knew him as well as any American did, summed up his dear friend and colleague by declaring

HE WAS AS PURE A SON OF LIBERTY AS I HAVE EVER KNOWN, AND OF THAT LIBERTY WHICH IS TO GO TO ALL, NOT TO THE FEW AND RICH ALONE.

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.

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."

Kosciuszko came back to America, his adopted homeland, and moved to Philadelphia. His earlier friendship with Jefferson bloomed, and the two met almost daily. When he left America for the last time, he named Jefferson the executor of his will, directing that all his American assets be sold and used to buy and free slaves.
After World War I, his courage inspired American volunteers to join the new Polish Air Force, forming the "Kosciuszko Squadron" to fight Russian forces a century after Kosciuszko himself had done so. And in 1925, the Kosciuszko Foundation was established in the United States, to promote educational and cultural exchanges between the United States and Poland. As it approaches its 75th anniversary, in the year 2000, the Foundation continues to enrich both Poland and America through a deeper understanding of each otherís cultures, values, and achievements.

Thanks for posting this inspiring story, Sam.

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