Casimir Pulaski

Brigadier general in the American Revolution

• Born: March 6, 1747
• Birthplace: Warka, Poland
• Died: October 11, 1779
• Place of death: Savannah, Georgia

Also known as: Kasmierz Michal Wladyslaw Wiktor Pulaski

Significance: Exiled from his native Poland, Brigadier General Casimir Pulaski was recruited to put his considerable military skills to use in the cause of American independence and became known as the father of the American cavalry.

Background

Casimir Pulaski was born on March 6, 1747, in the Polish town of Warka, the middle child of three sons. His father, Josef Pulaski, was a minor nobleman, and the family was rather well-off. He received the typical education for the gentry of the time, including history and several languages. His family had a long military history, having participated in several wars against Turkish forces in the 1600s.

By the time Pulaski was a teenager, his country was under siege by Austria, Russia, and Prussia, all of which were larger and stronger than Poland. When he was about twenty-one, he joined his father in an insurrection against the Russian and Prussian oppressors. His father was the military leader of the resistance, which became known as the Confederation of the Bar. When his father fell in battle in 1769, Pulaski became the military leader of the independence fighters. Pulaski also became a troop commander in the fight for Polish independence and fought against the Russians for four years. He was renowned for his accomplishments, especially successful at defending the famed Jasna Góra Monastery at Czestochowa, a revered religious site in Poland.

After a failed attempt to kidnap the Polish king, Stanislaw August Poniatowski, in 1771, Pulaski was accused of attempted regicide, or attempting to kill the king. Although that was not his intent, he was forced to flee for his life to Turkey. Eventually, he made his way to France.

Life's Work

Once he reached France, Pulaski met American inventor and diplomat Benjamin Franklin. Franklin, a staunch supporter of the cause of American independence, was in Paris attempting to secure the assistance of the French on the side of the Americans. Pulaski was young, but his experience and battle-proven record interested Franklin, who asked Pulaski to consider enlisting in the war. Pulaski traveled to the American colonies, landing in Boston in July of 1777. He reported to the Continental Army commander, General George Washington, bearing a letter of introduction from Franklin.

Although Pulaski had not yet been commissioned into the Continental Army, Washington ordered him to lead a scouting party that was looking at the British forces before the Battle of Brandywine in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, on September 11, 1777. British generals William Howe and Charles Cornwallis had taken advantage of a cover of fog to surround the eleven thousand American soldiers with eighteen thousand British forces. Pulaski and his scouting group discovered the impending British attack and found a way for the Continental troops to escape. While the Continental Army was responding to Washington's order to retreat, Pulaski led a surprise cavalry charge that occupied the British and cleared the way for Washington's men to escape.

In recognition of his accomplishment, the Continental Congress made Pulaski a brigadier general on September 15, 1777, and put him in charge of the army's cavalry troops. Pulaski began training his troops, but he encountered difficulties when the men objected to taking orders from a foreigner who spoke minimal English. He overcame this challenge by recruiting a cavalry unit made up almost entirely of volunteers from outside the American colonies. Thirteen of his men were Polish; the rest of what was known as Pulaski's Legion was made up of French, German, Irish, and some American soldiers. The unit served in New Jersey and guarded the Pennsylvania border for a time before receiving new orders.

In 1779, Pulaski and his new unit were sent to the southern states. For a time, they fought against the British seeking to occupy Charleston, South Carolina. After fighting for several weeks in the woods of South Carolina, Pulaski's Legion made its way to Savannah, Georgia, which had been captured by the British in late December of 1778. In September of 1779, Pulaski and his men were part of a joint attempt between American and French forces to recover the city from the occupying forces of British lieutenant colonel Archibald Campbell.

The forces fighting there were largely French and some Americans. After the French commander ordered an attack against the strongest part of the British forces on October 9, Pulaski suggested another course. The attempt was unsuccessful, and when Pulaski rode forward on his horse to attempt to encourage the troops, he was struck by a British cannon shot and badly wounded. It was said that the British were so impressed with his bravery in riding out in the heat of battle that they did not end his life with a musket shot and instead allowed the Americans to remove him from the battlefield.

Pulaski was taken aboard the American ship Wasp to be transported to Charleston for treatment. There are several different accounts of what happened next. One account holds that he died aboard the ship and was buried at sea. Another account says that he died on the ship but was brought back to land and buried in Georgia. Yet another account says that he was buried in South Carolina. During the 1850s, when officials of Savannah wanted to honor Pulaski with a fifty-five-foot obelisk in Monterey Square, remains purported to be those of Pulaski were disinterred from Greenwich Plantation in Chatham County, Georgia. These matched the general size of Pulaski and bore marks similar to those that would be inflicted by the wounds Pulaski suffered. The remains were reburied at the monument in 1854.

Impact

Because of his prowess in battle, especially with horse-mounted troops, Pulaski is considered the father of the American cavalry. His legacy includes numerous monuments in both northern and southern states, a fort named in his honor near Savannah, a national commemoration of Pulaski Day, and several state holidays in his honor. In 2009, Pulaski was made an honorary US citizen in recognition of his contribution to American independence.

Personal

Pulaski never married and left no known descendants.

Bibliography

"The Battle of Brandywine Begins." History.com, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-battle-of-brandywine-begins. Accessed 16 Feb. 2017.

"British Capture Savannah, Georgia." History.com, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/british-capture-savannah-georgia. Accessed 16 Feb. 2017.

"Casimir Pulaski." National Park Service, www.nps.gov/fopu/learn/historyculture/casimir-pulaski.htm. Accessed 16 Feb. 2017.

"Casimir Pulaski." Polish Legion of American Veterans – USA, www.plav.org/pulaski.htm. Accessed 16 Feb. 2017.

"Casimir Pulaski Historical Marker." Explore PA History, explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php?markerId=1-A-D2. Accessed 16 Feb. 2017.

Ebel, Carol. "Casimir Pulaski in Georgia." New Georgia Encyclopedia, 18 Oct. 2016, www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/casimir-pulaski-georgia. Accessed 16 Feb. 2017.

General Casimir Pulaski (1745-1779). Polish American Center, www.polishamericancenter.org/Pulaski.htm. Accessed 16 Feb. 2017.