In no other country in Europe, except perhaps France, is there a better understanding of the American Revolution and the question of nationhood. The fight for freedom in Poland went hand in hand with America's. This becomes vivid when one grasps the role of Polish national hero Tadeusz Kosciuszko.
Kosciuszko and another Pole, Casimir Pulaski, were among the best known of the European officers who fought in the American War of Independence. Kosciuszko arrived in America before any other European officer. He was already at sea when the Continental Congress passed the Declaration of Independence, and he arrived in America in August of 1776.
Educated at the first Polish military academy, the Szola Rycerska (Knights School), where he studied military engineering, fortifications and tactics, philosophy, mathematics, and Polish history, Kosciuszko had his first appointment as an engineer with the rank of colonel.
In America, Kosciuszko became acclaimed for his role in the Battle of Saratoga, where his construction and fortification of the camp enabled Gen. Horatio Gates and his army to withstand two violent British attacks. The first American victory against the British, this was a strategic turning point in the war, since Kosciuszko helped prevent the British from cutting off New England-and with it the majority of the Continental Army-from the rest of the colonies.
Kosciuszko is probably best known for building the fortifications at West Point, where he was appointed Chief of Works not long after Saratoga.
He stayed there for two years, overseeing the fortifications, after which he spent three years in the southern campaigns of the Continental Army, under Nathaniel Green. In all, Kosciuszko was with the American forces for almost seven years, longer than any other European officer; his qualifications and accomplishments secured him the rank of general in the American army.
Thus Kosciuszko was an important member of the international conspiracy that planned and carried out the American revolution. He was a founding member of the Society of Cincinnatus, established in 1783 and consisting of officers who had fought in the American War of Independence. General Lafayette, as a leader of the organization, was determined to use the victory in America to fight for humanist republics also in Europe. (more...)
Heritage of Tadeusz Kosciuszko: a basis for Polish-American ties
Related:
The anti-Malthusian current in Poland
No comments:
Post a Comment