Column on Pulaski

I’m Polish on my mother’s side. My grandparents were immigrants in the from the Krakow region of then divided Poland, from the Austro-Hungarian controlled area. I was delighted to be reminded when I returned to Illinois, that we celebrate Pulaski Day since the late seventies. I am particularly delighted as Poles were subjected to all sort of prejudice over the years. I think that Pope John Paul II did much to lessen the quick disdain heaped on them.

Casimir (Kazimierz) Pulaski, son of Count Joseph Pulaski, was born in Warsaw in 1745. At the tender age of fifteen, he joined his father and other members of the Polish nobility in armed struggle against both Russian and Prussian armed interference in Polish political life. He fought from 1768-1773, including capture for a time. He went into exile in Germany and then on to France, where he was in desperate financial straits.  In absentia he was sentenced to death for attempted regicide; (actually attempted kidnapping of the king) then he traveled to Paris where he met Benjamin Franklin. Franklin’s vaunted persuasive ability induced him to support the colonies. Pulaski, impressed with the ideals of a new nation, volunteered his services. Franklin wrote to George Washington describing the young Pole as "an officer renowned throughout Europe for the courage and bravery he displayed in defense of his country's freedom." Let’s be clear. This is a member of the nobility going to fight against the forces of the British Empire, not to support the nobility against an upstart revolution.

In 1777, Pulaski arrived in Philadelphia where he met General Washington. Later, at Brandywine, he came to the aid of Washington's forces. His superior skill as a tactician was obvious to the fledgling American army, as he discovered the British flanking maneuver, found an escape route, and covered the retreat. In recognition of his skills, Congress appointed him Brigadier-General in charge of Four Horse Brigades.

Later in 1778, through Washington's intervention, Congress approved the establishment of the Cavalry and put Pulaski at its head. Pulaski, who became known as the "Father of the American Cavalry," demanded much of his men and trained them  cavalry tactics, many of which he used in his fight for freedom in Poland. Due to the awful finances of the infant American government, Pulaski often used his own personal finances, when allocations from Congress were scarce, in order to assure his forces of the finest equipment and personal safety.

Pulaski and his Legion were sent to New Jersey; they then went to the thick of fighting toward the end of the war south to Charleston, South Carolina.  There he harassed the British and his defensive acumen took the British by surprise and at the cost of many casualties. During the Battle of Savannah, 1779 General Pulaski, charged into battle on horseback, and was mortally wounded. Pulaski's enemies were so impressed with his courage, that they spared him the musket and permitted him to be carried from the battlefield. Pulaski died several days later on October 15, 1779, at age 34. The Pulaski Monument, erected in his honor, is located in Monterey Square, Savannah, Georgia, a nice change from the Confederate monuments.

I wish that we did not have to see people rise to their best in warfare. I wish the martial virtues could be demonstrated more regularly in the cause of peace. I wish that even a portion of strategic and tactical intelligence could be used in ways to promote human health and well-being.

"I came here, where freedom is being defended, to serve it, and to live or die for it." -Casimir Pulaski