THADDEUS KOSCIUSZKO
TRUE ADOPTED SON OF LIBERTY
Andrew
Thaddeus Bonaventure Kosciuszko was a Polish military engineer, statesman, and
military leader who became a national hero in Poland, the United States,
Lithuania, and Belarus.[4][5][6][7][8] He fought in the Polish–Lithuanian
Commonwealth's struggles against Russia and Prussia, and on the U.S. side in
the American Revolutionary War. As Supreme Commander of the Polish National
Armed Forces, he led the 1794 Kościuszko Uprising.
Kościuszko
was born in February 1746, in a manor house
and at age 20, he graduated from
the Corps of Cadets in Warsaw, Poland. After the start of the War of the Bar
Confederation in 1768, Kościuszko moved to France in 1769 to study. He returned
to the Commonwealth in 1774, two years after the First Partition, and was a
tutor in Józef Sylwester Sosnowski's household. In 1776, Kościuszko moved to
North America, where he took part in the American Revolutionary War as a
colonel in the Continental Army. An accomplished military architect, he
designed and oversaw the construction of state-of-the-art fortifications, including
those at West Point, New York. In 1783, in recognition of his services, the
Continental Congress promoted him to brigadier general.
On
learning of the American Revolution, Kościuszko, a man of revolutionary
aspirations, sympathetic to the American cause and an advocate of human rights,
sailed for the Americas in June 1776 along with other foreign officers, likely
with the help of a French supporter of the American revolutionaries, Pierre
Beaumarchais. After finally arriving in
Philadelphia (after a Caribbean shipwreck) he sought out Benjamin Franklin at
his print shop; offering to take engineering subject exams (in lieu of any
letters of recommendation), he received a high mark on a geometry exam and
Franklin's recommendation. On 30 August 1776, Kościuszko submitted an
application to the Second Continental Congress at the Pennsylvania State House,
and was assigned to the Continental Army the next day.
Kościuszko's
first task was building fortifications at Fort Billingsport in Paulsboro, New
Jersey, to protect the banks of the Delaware River and prevent a possible
British advance up the river to Philadelphia.[39] He initially served as a
volunteer in the private employ of Benjamin Franklin, but on 18 October 1776,
Congress commissioned him a colonel of engineers in the Continental Army.
In spring
1777, Kościuszko was attached to the Northern Army under Major General Horatio
Gates, arriving at the Canada–U.S. border in May 1777. Subsequently, posted to
Fort Ticonderoga, he reviewed the defenses of what had ben one of the most
formidable fortresses in North America. His surveys prompted him to strongly
recommend the construction of a battery on Sugar Loaf, a high point overlooking
the fort. His prudent recommendation, with which his fellow engineers concurred,
was turned down by the garrison commander, Brigadier General Arthur St. Clair.
This
proved a tactical blunder: when a British army under Major General John
Burgoyne arrived in July 1777, Burgoyne did exactly what Kościuszko had warned
of, and had his engineers place artillery on the hill. With the British in complete control of the
high ground, the Americans realized their situation was hopeless and abandoned
the fortress with hardly a shot fired in the siege of Ticonderoga. The British
advance force nipped hard at the heels of the outnumbered and exhausted
Continentals as they fled south. Major General Philip Schuyler, desperate to
put distance between his men and their pursuers, ordered Kościuszko to delay
the enemy. Kościuszko designed an
engineer's solution: his men felled trees, dammed streams, and destroyed
bridges and causeways.Encumbered by their huge supply train, the British began
to bog down, giving the Americans the time needed to safely withdraw across the
Hudson River.
Gates
tapped Kościuszko to survey the country between the opposing armies, choose the
most defensible position, and fortify it. Finding just such a spot near
Saratoga, overlooking the Hudson at Bemis Heights, Kościuszko laid out a robust
array of defenses, nearly impregnable. His judgment and meticulous attention to
detail frustrated the British attacks during the Battle of Saratoga, and Gates accepted the surrender of Burgoyne's
force there on 16 October 1777. The dwindling British army had been dealt a
sound defeat, turning the tide to American advantage.[Kościuszko's work at
Saratoga received great praise from Gates, who later told his friend, Dr.
Benjamin Rush: "The great tacticians of the campaign were hills and
forests, which a young Polish engineer was skillful enough to select for my
encampment."
At some
point in 1777, Kościuszko composed a polonaise and scored it for the
harpsichord. Named for him, and with lyrics by Rajnold Suchodolski, it later
became popular with Polish patriots during the November 30.th uprising. In March
1778, Kościuszko arrived at West Point, New York, and spent more than two years
strengthening the fortifications and improving the stronghold's defenses. It
was these defenses that the American General Benedict Arnold subsequently
attempted to surrender to the British when he defected. Soon after Kościuszko
finished fortifying West Point, in August 1780, General George Washington
granted Kościuszko's request to transfer to combat duty with the Southern Army.
Kościuszko's West Point fortifications were widely praised as innovative for
the time. Kościuszko subsequently helped fortify the American bases in North
Carolina, before taking part in several smaller operations in the final year of
hostilities, harassing British foraging parties near Charleston, South
Carolina. After the death of his friend, Colonel John Laurens, Kościuszko
became engaged in these operations, taking over Laurens's intelligence network
in the area. He commanded two cavalry squadrons and an infantry unit, and his
last known battlefield command of the war occurred at James Island, South
Carolina, on 14 November 1782. In what has been described as the Continental
Army's final armed action of the war, he
was nearly killed as his small force was routed. A month later, he was among
the Continental troops that reoccupied Charleston. Having not been paid in his seven years of
service, in late May 1783, Kościuszko decided to collect the salary owed to
him.[62] That year, he was asked by Congress to supervise the fireworks during
the 4 July celebrations at Princeton, New Jersey. On 13 October 1783, Congress
promoted him to brigadier general, but he still had not received his back pay.
Many other officers and soldiers were in the same situation. While waiting for
his pay, unable to finance a voyage back to Europe, Kościuszko, like several
others, lived on money borrowed from the Polish–Jewish banker Haym Solomon.
Eventually, he received a certificate for 12,280 dollars, at 6%, to be paid on
1 January 1784 (equivalent to ~$323,000, paid as installments ~$19,400 a month
in 2022), and the right to 500 acres (202.34 ha; 0.78 sq mi) of land, but only
if he chose to settle in the United States.
For the
winter of 1783–84, his former commanding officer, General Greene, invited
Kościuszko to stay at his mansion. Returning to Poland in 1784, Kościuszko
became a major general in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Army
. In
1794, he led the Kościuszko Uprising, a national revolt against Russian and
Prussian control, aiming to defend Polish independence and promote social
reforms
. The
uprising ended in defeat at the Battle of Maciejowice, and Kościuszko was
captured and imprisoned in St. Petersburg until released by Tsar Paul I
. He was
forced to pledge not to return to Poland and eventually traveled to the United
States. Kosciuszko and Jefferson
developed a deep mutual respect. Jefferson famously called him “as pure a son
of liberty as I have ever known”, praising his dedication to liberty for all,
not just the few or wealthy Monticello+1. Their correspondence spanned over two
decades, covering politics, European affairs, and personal matters. Jefferson
even sent Kosciuszko to France to help manage American interests, and the two
shared a commitment to republican values.
Thaddeus
(Tadeusz) Kosciuszko (1746–1817) was a Polish military engineer, revolutionary,
and national hero whose life embodied the ideals of liberty and
self-determination. Born in present-day Belarus, he studied at the Royal
Military Academy in Warsaw and trained in artillery and engineering in France
Monticello.
Kosciuszko
arrived in Philadelphia in 1776 to join the American cause, shortly after the
Declaration of Independence. The Continental Congress appointed him colonel of
engineers, where he designed and built critical fortifications, including those
that helped secure the American victory at Saratoga and later strengthened West
Point on the Hudson River Monticello+1. His expertise in military engineering
was vital to the Continental Army’s defensive capabilities
Kosciuszko
and Jefferson developed a deep mutual respect. Jefferson famously called him
“as pure a son of liberty as I have ever known”, praising his dedication to
liberty for all, not just the few or wealthy Monticello+1. Their correspondence
spanned over two decades, covering politics, European affairs, and personal
matters. Jefferson even sent Kosciuszko to France to help manage American
interests, and the two shared a commitment to republican values Abbeville
Institute.
After the
American Revolution, Kosciuszko returned to Poland, where he led resistance
against Russian and Prussian forces. In 1794, he was badly wounded at the
Battle of Maciejowice and imprisoned in St. Petersburg. In 1796, Czar Paul I
granted him amnesty in exchange for his promise not to return to Poland. He
arrived in Philadelphia in 1797, where he met Jefferson again Monticello.
Kosciuszko
is remembered as a national hero in Poland, the United States, and Belarus for
his military leadership, engineering genius, and unwavering defense of liberty.
His story is emblematic of the transatlantic struggle for independence and the
shared ideals of the American and Polish revolutions Monticello+1
. Kościuszko's first funeral was held
on 19 October 1817, at a formerly Jesuit church in Solothurn. As news of his death
spread, Masses and memorial services were held in partitioned Poland.[130] His
embalmed body was deposited in a crypt of the Solothurn church. In 1818,
Kościuszko's body was transferred to Kraków, arriving at St. Florian's Church
on 11 April 1818. On 22 June 1818, or 23 June 1819 accounts vary), to the
tolling of the Sigismund Bell and the firing of cannon, his body was placed in
a crypt at Wawel Cathedral, a pantheon of Polish kings and national heroes.
Kościuszko's
internal organs, which had been removed during embalming, were separately
interred in a graveyard at Zuchwil, near Solothurn. Kościuszko's organs remain
there to this day; a large memorial stone was erected in 1820, next to a Polish
memorial chapel.
However, his heart was not interred with the other organs but
instead kept in an urn at the Polish Museum in Rapperswil, Switzerland. The
heart, along with the rest of the Museum's holdings, were repatriated back to
Warsaw in 1927, where the heart now reposes in a chapel at the Royal Castle. (Wikipedia, Jefferson Foundation)
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