(1746-1817)
Among the remarkable men of modern times there is perhaps none whose
fame is purer from reproach than that of Thaddeus Kosciusko. His
name is enshrined in the ruins of his unhappy country, which, with
heroic bravery and devotion, he sought to defend against foreign
oppression and foreign domination. Kosciusko was born at Warsaw
about the year 1746. He was educated at the School of Cadets, in
that city, where he distinguished himself so much in scientific
studies as well as in drawing, that he was selected as one of four
students of that institution who were sent to travel at the
expense of the state, with a view of perfecting their talents. In
this capacity he visited France, where he remained for several
years, devoting himself to studies of various kinds. On his return
to his own country he entered the army, and obtained the command of
a company. But he was soon obliged to expatriate himself again, in
order to fly from a violent but unrequited passion for the daughter
of the Marshal of Lithuania, one of the first officers of state of
the Polish court.
[Illustration: Thaddeus Kosciusko.]
He bent his steps to that part of North America which was then
waging its war of independence against England. Here he entered the
army, and served with distinction as one of the adjutants of General
Washington. While thus employed, he became acquainted with
Lafayette, Lameth, and other distinguished Frenchmen serving in the
same cause, and was honored by receiving the most flattering praises
from Franklin, as well as the public thanks of the Congress of the
United Provinces. He was also decorated with the new American order
of Cincinnatus, being the only European, except Lafayette, to whom
it was given.
At the termination of the war he returned to his own country, where
he lived in retirement till the year 1789, at which period he was
promoted by the Diet to the rank of major-general. That body was at
this time endeavoring to place its military force upon a respectable
footing, in the vain hope of restraining and diminishing the
domineering influence of foreign powers in what still remained of
Poland. It also occupied itself in changing the vicious constitution
of that unfortunate and ill-governed country--in rendering the
monarchy hereditary, in declaring universal toleration, and in
preserving the privileges of the nobility, while at the same time it
ameliorated the condition of the lower orders. In all these
improvements Stanislas Poniatowski, the reigning king, readily
concurred; though the avowed intention of the Diet was to render the
crown hereditary in the Saxon family. The King of Prussia (Frederick
William II.), who, from the time of the treaty of Cherson, in 1787,
between Russia and Austria, had become hostile to the former power,
also encouraged the Poles in their proceedings; and even gave them
the most positive assurances of assisting them, in case the changes
they were effecting occasioned any attacks from other sovereigns.
Russia at length, having made peace with the Turks, prepared to
throw her sword into the scale. A formidable opposition to the
measures of the Diet had arisen, even among the Poles themselves,
and occasioned what was called the confederation of Targowicz, to
which the Empress of Russia promised her assistance. The feeble
Stanislas, who had proclaimed the new constitution in 1791, bound
himself in 1792 to sanction the Diet of Grodno, which restored the
ancient constitution, with all its vices and all its abuses. In the
meanwhile Frederick William, King of Prussia, who had so mainly
contributed to excite the Poles to their enterprises, basely
deserted them, and refused to give them any assistance. On the
contrary, he stood aloof from the contest, waiting for that share of
the spoil which the haughty empress of the north might think proper
to allot to him, as a reward of his non-interference.
But though thus betrayed on all sides, the Poles were not disposed
to submit without a struggle. They flew to arms, and found in the
nephew of their king, the Prince Joseph Poniatowski, a general
worthy to conduct so glorious a cause. Under his command Kosciusko
first became known in European warfare. He distinguished himself in
the battle of Zielenec, and still more in that of Dubienska, which
took place on June 18, 1792. Upon this latter occasion he defended
for six hours, with only 4,000 men, against 15,000 Russians, a post
which had been slightly fortified in twenty-four hours, and at last
retired with inconsiderable loss.
But the contest was too unequal to last; the patriots were
overwhelmed by enemies from without, and betrayed by traitors
within, at the head of whom was their own sovereign. The Russians
took possession of the country, and proceeded to appropriate those
portions of Lithuania and Volhynia which suited their convenience;
while Prussia, the friendly Prussia, invaded another part of the
kingdom.
Under these circumstances the most distinguished officers in the
Polish army retired from the service, and of this number was
Kosciusko. Miserable at the fate of his unhappy country, and at the
same time an object of suspicion to the ruling powers, he left his
native land and retired to Leipsic, where he received intelligence
of the honor which had been conferred upon him by the Legislative
Assembly of France, who had invested him with the quality of a
French citizen.
But his fellow-countrymen were still anxious to make another
struggle for independence, and they unanimously selected Kosciusko
as their chief and generalissimo. He obeyed the call, and found the
patriots eager to combat under his orders. Even the noble Joseph
Poniatowski, who had previously commanded in chief, returned from
France, whither he had retired, and received from the hands of
Kosciusko the charge of a portion of his army.
The patriots had risen in the north of Poland, to which part
Kosciusko first directed his steps. Anxious to begin his campaign
with an action of vigor, he marched rapidly toward Cracow, which
town he entered triumphantly on March 24, 1794. He forthwith
published a manifesto against the Russians; and then, at the head of
only 5,000 men, he marched to meet their army. He encountered, on
April 4th, 10,000 Russians at a place called Wraclawic, and entirely
defeated them after a combat of four hours. He returned in triumph
to Cracow, and shortly afterward marched along the left bank of the
Vistula to Polaniec, where he established his head-quarters.
Meanwhile the inhabitants of Warsaw, animated by the recital of the
heroic deeds of their countrymen, had also raised the standard of
independence, and were successful in driving the Russians from the
city, after a murderous conflict of three days. In Lithuania and
Samogitia an equally successful revolution was effected before the
end of April, while the Polish troops stationed in Volhynia and
Podolia marched to the reinforcement of Kosciusko.
Thus far fortune seemed to smile upon the cause of Polish
freedom--the scene was, however, about to change. The undaunted
Kosciusko, having first organized a national council to conduct the
affairs of government, once more advanced against the Russians. On
his march he met a new enemy in the person of the faithless
Frederick William, of Prussia, who, without having even gone through
the preliminary of declaring war, had advanced into Poland at the
head of 40,000 men.
Kosciusko, with but 13,000 men, attacked the Prussian army on June
8th, at Szcekociny. The battle was long and bloody; at length,
overwhelmed by numbers, he was obliged to retreat toward Warsaw.
This he effected in so able a manner that his enemies did not dare
to harass him in his march; and he effectually covered the capital
and maintained his position for two months against vigorous and
continued attacks. Immediately after this reverse the Polish
general, Zaionczeck, lost the battle of Chelm, and the Governor of
Cracow had the baseness to deliver the town to the Prussians without
attempting a defence.
These disasters occasioned disturbances among the disaffected at
Warsaw, which, however, were put down by the vigor and firmness of
Kosciusko. On July 13th the forces of the Prussians and Russians,
amounting to 50,000 men, assembled under the walls of Warsaw, and
commenced the siege of that city. After six weeks spent before the
place, and a succession of bloody conflicts, the confederates were
obliged to raise the siege; but this respite to the Poles was but of
short duration.
Their enemies increased fearfully in number, while their own
resources diminished. Austria now determined to assist in the
annihilation of Poland, and caused a body of her troops to enter
that kingdom. Nearly at the same moment the Russians ravaged
Lithuania; and the two corps of the Russian army commanded by
Suwarof and Fersen, effected their junction in spite of the battle
of Krupezyce, which the Poles had ventured upon, with doubtful
issue, against the first of these commanders, on September 16th.
Upon receiving intelligence of these events Kosciusko left Warsaw,
and placed himself at the head of the Polish army. He was attacked
by the very superior forces of the confederates on October 10, 1794,
at a place called Macieiowice, and for many hours supported the
combat against overwhelming odds. At length he was severely wounded,
and as he fell, he uttered the prophetic words "_Finis Poloniæ_." It
is asserted that he had exacted from his followers an oath, not to
suffer him to fall alive into the hands of the Russians, and that in
consequence the Polish cavalry, being unable to carry him off,
inflicted some severe sabre wounds on him and left him for dead on
the field; a savage fidelity, which we half admire even in
condemning it. Be this as it may, he was recognized and delivered
from the plunderers by some Cossack chiefs; and thus was saved from
death to meet a scarcely less harsh fate--imprisonment in a Russian
dungeon.
Thomas Wawrzecki became the successor of Kosciusko in the command of
the army; but with the loss of their heroic leader all hope had
deserted the breasts of the Poles. They still, however, fought with
all the obstinacy of despair, and defended the suburb of Warsaw,
called Praga, with great gallantry. At length this post was wrested
from them. Warsaw itself capitulated on November 9, 1794; and this
calamity was followed by the entire dissolution of the Polish army
on the 18th of the same month.
During this time, Kosciusko remained in prison at St. Petersburg;
but, at the end of two years, the death of his persecutress, the
Empress Catharine, released him. One of the first acts of the
Emperor Paul was to restore him to liberty, and to load him with
various marks of his favor. Among other gifts of the autocrat was a
pension, by which, however, the high-spirited patriot would never
consent to profit. No sooner was he beyond the reach of Russian
influence than he returned to the donor the instrument by which this
humiliating favor was conferred. From this period the life of
Kosciusko was passed in retirement. He went first to England, and
then to the United States of America. He returned to the Old World
in 1798, and took up his abode in France, where he divided his time
between Paris and a country-house he had bought near Fontainebleau.
While here he received the appropriate present of the sword of John
Sobieski, which was sent to him by some of his countrymen serving in
the French armies in Italy, who had found it in the shrine at
Loretto.
Napoleon, when about to invade Poland in 1807, wished to use the
name of Kosciusko in order to rally the people of the country round
his standard. The patriot, aware that no real freedom was to be
hoped for under such auspices, at once refused to lend himself to
his wishes. Upon this the emperor forged Kosciusko's signature to an
address to the Poles, which was distributed throughout the country.
Nor would he permit the injured person to deny the authenticity of
this act in any public manner. The real state of the case was,
however, made known to many through the private representations of
Kosciusko; but he was never able to publish a formal denial of the
transaction till after the fall of Napoleon.
When the Russians, in 1814, had penetrated into Champagne, and were
advancing toward Paris, they were astonished to hear that their
former adversary was living in retirement in that part of the
country. The circumstances of this discovery were striking. The
commune in which Kosciusko lived was subjected to plunder, and among
the troops thus engaged he observed a Polish regiment. Transported
with anger, he rushed among them, and thus addressed the officers:
"When I commanded brave soldiers they never pillaged; and I should
have punished severely subalterns who allowed of disorders such as
those which we see around. Still more severely should I have
punished older officers, who authorized such conduct by their
culpable neglect." "And who are you," was the general cry, "that you
dare to speak with such boldness to us?" "I am Kosciusko." The
effect was electric: the soldiery cast down their arms, prostrated
themselves at his feet, and cast dust upon their heads according to
a national usage, supplicating his forgiveness for the fault which
they had committed. For twenty years the name of Kosciusko had not
been heard in Poland save as that of an exile; yet it still retained
its ancient power over Polish hearts; a power never used but for
some good and generous end.
The Emperor Alexander honored him with a long interview, and offered
him an asylum in his own country. But nothing could induce Kosciusko
again to see his unfortunate native land. In 1815 he retired to
Soleure, in Switzerland; where he died, October 16, 1817, in
consequence of an injury received by a fall from his horse. Not long
before he had abolished slavery upon his Polish estate, and declared
all his serfs entirely free, by a deed registered and executed with
every formality that could insure the full performance of his
intention. The mortal remains of Kosciusko were removed to Poland at
the expense of Alexander, and have found a fitting place of rest in
the cathedral of Cracow, between those of his companions in arms,
Joseph Poniatowski, and the greatest of Polish warriors, John
Sobieski.