Thaddeus Kosciusko

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Tadeusz Kociuszko, detail of a lithograph by C. Motte, 1826. (credit: Courtesy of the Polish Museum of America, Chicago)

(born Feb. 4, 1746, Mereczowszczyzna, Pol. — died Oct. 15, 1817, Solothurn, Switz.) Polish patriot who fought in the American Revolution. He studied military engineering in Paris and went to America in 1776, where he joined the colonial army. He helped build fortifications in Philadelphia, Pa., and at West Point, N.Y. As chief of engineers, he twice rescued the army of Gen. Nathanael Greene by directing river crossings. He also directed the blockade of Charleston, S.C. At the war's end he was awarded U.S. citizenship and made a brigadier general. He returned to Poland in 1784 and became a major general in the Polish army. In 1794 he led a rebellion against occupying Russian and Prussian forces, during which he defended Warsaw for two months, directing residents to build earthworks. He was jailed in Russia from 1794 to 1796, returned to the U.S. in 1797, and then left for France, where he continued efforts to secure Polish independence.

For more information on Tadeusz Kosciuszko, visit Britannica.com.

Ooskō; ܖkäsēˈǝskō (1746-1817) Polish patriot and Revolutionary War general, born near Kosów, Poland. As engineer to the northern army under Gen. Horatio Gates, Kosciuszko selected the battlefield and supervised fortifications that contributed to the American victory at Saratoga (1777) and was responsible for building the defenses at West Point (1778-80). Later, as chief of engineers for the Southern Department, Kosciuszko served with Gen. Nathanael Greene, supervising transportation of his army over the Dan River (1780-81). One of Kosciuszko's feats was the building of wagons, with detachable wheels, that could also serve as boats. After the war Kosciuszko returned to Poland where he led the failed cause of Polish independence. Maneuvers of Horse Artillery, a manual written (in French) by Kosciuszko in 1800 and published in English in 1808, was widely used by the American army. As a result, Kosciuszko is regarded as the father of American artillery tactics.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

Tadeusz Andrzej Bonawentura Kościuszko (1746-1817) was a Polish patriot and a hero in the American Revolution.

Tadeusz Kościuszko was born on Feb. 12, 1746, in the grand duchy of Lithuania, Poland. A member of the small-gentry class, Kościuszko attended Warsaw's Royal College, graduating in 1769 with the rank of captain. He completed his military studies in France, Germany, and England, specializing in engineering and artillery. He returned to Poland in 1774 to serve as an artillery officer. Two years later he volunteered to serve the rebels in the American Revolution.

In October 1776, following a short spell as military engineer for the state of Pennsylvania, Kościuszko received a commission as colonel of engineers in the Continental Army. He served in the northern forces and advised in the planning of the defense of Ticonderoga, N.Y. Then, in the spring of 1778, he went to West Point, N.Y., to take charge of the fortifications there. Two years later he left the northern command for service in the south, where he remained as a fighting officer and a strategist until the capture of Charleston in 1782. In recognition of his many services, the following year the Continental Congress promoted Kościuszko to brigadier general, made him a citizen of the United States, and awarded him a land grant.

After the war Kościuszko returned to Poland, but 5 years later he took up arms again, this time as a major general of the Polish army in defense of his native land against the Russians. Unsuccessful at first, Kościuszko was forced to flee the country. In 1794, however, he returned to lead a victorious, if brief, uprising of the Poles. He was captured in the autumn and sent to St. Petersburg, where he was imprisoned. In 1796 he was released and exiled; he traveled to several European countries before returning to a hero's welcome in America in 1797.

A year later Kościuszko went back to France, where he wrote his war memoirs, an important study of the horse artillery, and essays on various subjects, including the history of democratic thought. In addition, he was active as a propagandist on behalf of Polish freedom. Kościuszko spent his last years in Switzerland, where he died on Oct. 15, 1817, in Solothurn. He was buried in Cracow Cathedral. He is one of Poland's most honored patriots.

Further Reading

Valuable studies of Kościuszko are Miecislaus Haiman, Kościuszko in the American Army (1943) and Kościuszko, Leader and Exile (1946). See also Monica M. Gardner, Kościuszko: A Biography (1920; rev. ed. 1942).

Additional Sources

Haiman, Miecislaus, Kościuszko, leader and exile, New York: Kościuszko Foundation, 1977.