Casimir Pulaski Statue

Casimir Pulaski (full name in Polish: Kazimierz Michał Władysław Wiktor Pułaski) was born into a noble family on March 6, 1745 in the city of Warsaw, which at the time was the capital of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. His father was one of the founders of the Confederation of the Bar, a group of Polish nobles and gentry formed in 1768 to oppose Russian domination of the country and the pro-Russian forces within it. During the war that ensued between the Confederation of the Bar and Russian and pro-Russian forces, Pulaski gained recognition as a cavalry commander after winning a series of small battles. However, his failed attempt to kidnap the pro-Russian Polish king in 1771 cost the confederation foreign support and brought upon him accusation of attempted regicide. When the last contingent of confederation forces was defeated in the summer of 1772, Pulaski fled his native land, traveling first to Prussia, then to the Ottoman Empire, and finally to France.

While in Paris in 1776, Pulaski met two American envoys to France, Silas Deane and Benjamin Franklin. After their meeting with the Polish patriot, Deane and Franklin wrote General George Washington, commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, recommending Pulaski for a commission. In June 1777, Pulaski set sail for the American colonies, arriving the following month in Boston. The Continental Congress, however, possessed the power to grant commissions and initially refused to bestow one upon Pulaski. Undeterred, he joined Washington’s Continental Army in time for the Battle of Brandywine, where he heroically led a cavalry charge to helped cover the army’s retreat. For his actions during the engagement, the Continental Congress finally gave him a commission as a brigadier general and command of American light dragoons. 

Pulaski’s first American command, however, was short-lived. Frustrated by the language barrier and philosophical differences over the military importance of cavalry, he soon resigned. Shortly after, however, Washington and the Continental Congress gave him permission to raise a regiment of cavalry and a few regiments of infantry. Collectively known as Pulaski’s Legion, the unit quickly became one of the first effective cavalry units in American military history.  

In the spring of 1779, Washington ordered Pulaski and his legion to the southern theatre, where the British had recently refocused their attention. The Polish-born cavalry commander and his men participated in the defense of Charleston and later the Siege of Savannah. During the latter engagement, while leading a charge against British lines, Pulaski was mortally wounded by artillery fire. His men retrieved him from the battlefield and transferred him to an American ship, where he died days later. Pulaski’s remains were buried at a nearby plantation. In 1852, the owner of the plantation exhumed the cavalry commander’s remains and reinterred them the following year beneath a monument dedicated to Pulaski in Savannah. 

In February 1903, Congress approved plans to erect a monument in Pulaski’s honor in Washington, D.C. Designed by Polish sculptor Kazimierz Chodziński and dedicated on May 11, 1910, the larger-than-life-sized bronze equestrian statue depicts Pulaski in a Polish military uniform sitting confidently on his horse. The statue rests on an oblong granite pedestal, into which are etched the names of the engagements that the Polish-born cavalry commander took part in during the American Revolution. 

"Casimir Pulaski." American Battlefield Trust. Web. 26 January 2021 <https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/casimir-pulaski>.

"Casimir Pulaski." George Washington's Mount Vernon. Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. Web. 26 January 2021 <https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/casimir-pulaski/>.

"Casimir Pulaski Statue." DC Historic Sites. DC Preservation League. Web. 26 January 2021 <https://historicsites.dcpreservation.org/items/show/490>.

"Kazimierz Pułaski." Encyclopædia Britannica. Web. 26 January 2021 <https://www.britannica.com/biography/Kazimierz-Pulaski>.