Thaddeus Kosciusko, born near Novogrodek, Lithuania, on the 12th of
February, 1746, was descended from a noble Polish family. Studying at
first in the military academy at Warsaw, he afterward completed his
education in France. Returning to his native country, he entered the
army and rose to the rank of captain. Soon after coming to America,
he offered his services to Washington as a volunteer in the cause
of American independence. Appreciating his lofty character and fine
military attainments, Washington made him one of his aids, showing the
high estimation in which he held the gallant Pole.
Taking part in several great battles in the North, Kosciusko there
proved his skill and courage, and was ordered to accompany Greene to
the South when that general superseded Gates in 1781. Holding the
position of chief engineer, he planned and directed all the besieging
operations against Ninety-Six. In recognition of these valuable
services, he received from Congress the rank of brigadier-general in
the Continental army on the 13th of October, 1783. Serving to the end
of the war, he shared with Lafayette the honor of being admitted into
the Society of the Cincinnati. Returning to Poland in 1786 he entered
the Polish army upon its reorganization in 1789, and fought valiantly
in behalf of his oppressed country. Resigning his commission, he once
more became an exile, when the Russians triumphed, and the second
partition of Poland was agreed upon.
Two years later, however, when the Poles determined to resume their
struggle for freedom, Kosciusko returned, and in March, 1794, was
proclaimed director and generalissimo. With courage, patience and
skill, that justified the high esteem in which he had been held in
America, he directed his followers while they waged the unequal strife.
Successful at first, he broke the yoke of tyranny from the necks of his
down-trodden countrymen, and for a few short weeks beheld his beloved
country free. But with vastly augmented numbers the enemy once more
invaded Poland; and in a desperate conflict Kosciusko, covered with
wounds, was taken prisoner, and the subjugation of the whole province
soon followed. He remained a prisoner for two years until the accession
of Paul I. of Russia. In token of his admiration, Paul wished to
present his own sword to Kosciusko; but the latter refused it, saying,
“I have no more need of a sword, as I have no longer a country,” and
would accept nothing but his release from captivity. He visited France
and England, and in 1797 returned to the United States, from which
country he received a pension, and was everywhere warmly welcomed. The
following year he returned to France, when his countrymen in the French
army presented him with the sword of John Sobieski. Purchasing a small
estate, he devoted himself to agriculture.
In 1806, when Napoleon planned the restoration of Poland, Kosciusko
refused to join in the undertaking, because he was on his parole
never to fight against Russia. He gave one more evidence before his
death of his love of freedom and sincere devotion to her cause, by
releasing from slavery all the serfs on his own estate in his native
land. In 1816, he removed to Switzerland, where he died on the 15th
of October, 1817, at Solothurn. The following year his remains were
removed to Cracow, and buried beside Sobieski, and the people, in
loving remembrance of his patriotic devotion, raised a mound above his
grave one hundred and fifty feet high, the earth being brought from
every great battle-field in Poland. This country paid its tribute of
gratitude by erecting a monument to his memory at West Point on the
Hudson.