Two hundred and fifty years ago, as delegates gathered in Philadelphia to debate independence from England, a young man clung to the . oating remnants of a shattered mast off the coast of Martinique. storm had overwhelmed the ship he had hoped would carry him to Philadelphia to join merica's "Glorious Cause." Now his only hope was to make shore before drowning. Luckily, he reached dry land and soon gained passage on a . shing boat sailing north. Hugging the coast to avoid enemy warships, the trawler arrived in Marblehead, M in ugust 1776. From there, he made his way to Philadelphia and sought the help of Benjamin Franklin. merica's new arrival was Tadeusz Kociuszko, a 30-year-old Polish of. cer who would become one of our great revolutionary heroes. Yet today very few know his name. Perhaps it is the dif. culty of its spelling (Washington wrote no fewer than eleven variations), or perhaps it is the dif. culty of its pronunciation (Ta-day-oosh Kosh-choosh- ko). Franklin, however, quickly recognized that the man before him was a gifted engineer, well trained in the design of forti. cations and the management of military logistics - the very skillset most needed by the . edgling Continental rmy. Kociuszko served with distinction until the Treaty of Paris ended the war in 1783. Initially he designed forti. cations along the Delaware River below Philadelphia. He next served as Chief Engineer for General Horatio Gates' Northern Continental rmy.
In the summer of 1777, a British army under General John Burgoyne launched a campaign from Canada marching south down the Hudson River Valley hoping to gain control of the entire Hudson River corridor. If successful, all of New England would be isolated, placing the merican cause in great peril. By October, Burgoyne's forces were within 30 miles of lbany. Gates' army was its only obstacle. There, Col Kociuszko designed the merican forti. cation from which Gates' forces defeated General Burgoyne's army of more than 5,000 seasoned troops. Gates' victory gave France the con. dence it needed to enter the war against Great Britain. fter Burgoyne's surrender, Washington asked Kociuszko to fortify West Point. For more than two years, Kociuszko designed and supervised the construction of a complex network of sixteen enclosed positions overlooking and protecting a great chain stretched across the Hudson River blocking British warships. It was a brilliant forti. cation of what Washington believed to be "the most important post in merica". Today at West Point, a statue of Kociuszko overlooks the river commemorating his extraordinary contribution.
In the fall of 1780, Kociuszko joined General Nathaniel Greene in North Carolina. Throughout a successful campaign against British and Loyalist forces, Greene relied heavily on Kociuszko to site encampments, lay out defensive positions and perform the myriad of engineering functions required of an army in constant motion. Greene praised Kociuszko as an of. cer "whose zeal and activity have been equaled by few and exceeded by none." He further marveled at Kociuszko's modesty, "never making a claim or pretension for himself and never omitting to distinguish and commend the merits of others." In 1783, a grateful Congress awarded Kociuszko the rank of Brigadier General. What sustained Kociuszko during the seven-years he fought for the Glorious Cause was his abiding belief in Jefferson's words "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain Unalienable rights, that among these are life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." These ideals drove Kociuszko's actions over the next two decades during which he returned to Poland and led two heroic campaigns against Russian occupation. In spite of initial victories, his valiant efforts became a quixotic struggle against overwhelming Russian forces. Kociuszko spent two years in a Russian prison refusing to accept the Czar's offer of freedom until the Czar also released more than 10,000 of his fellow Polish prisoners of war. In 1797 Kociuszko returned to merica where his close friendship with Thomas Jefferson produced a remarkable legacy. With Jefferson's assistance, Kociuszko made his last will and testament directing that all funds owed him for his revolutionary service (more than $800,000 in today's dollars) should be used by Jefferson, as Executor, to purchase the freedom of slaves, provide them with the education, land, and tools needed to become good citizens. The funds were made available for Jefferson to free his own slaves. fter Kociuszko's death in 1817, Jefferson at age 76 withdrew as Executor. fter decades of contentious litigation, Kociuszk o's will was ruled void and no slaves were ever freed. Though his wishes were never ful. lled, Kociuszko's noble intentions would nonetheless endure as an inspiration for those struggling to end slavery. s Jefferson described him, the Brigadier General remains "as pure a son of liberty as I have ever known, and of that liberty, which is to go to all, and not to the few or rich alone."
