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Famous
Poles
General
Casimir
Pulaski (Kazimierz
Pulaski) ....
Polish and
American's Hero.
1745 - Born in Poland
1777 - Went to Paris
1777 - Arrived in
Philadelphia where he
met General Washington
1779 - Died in USA
General
Casmir
Pulaski
in
a
letter
to
General
George
Washington: "I
came
here,
where
freedom
is
being
defended,
to
serve
it,
and
to
live
or
die
for
it..."
[
Casimier
Pulsaki - video in Polish ]
During
month
of
March
Poles
in
Chicagoland
celebrated
a
patriotic
day
of
the
hero
of
two
continents:
N.
America
and
Europe.
Who was
Casimir
Pulaski?
Casimir
Pulaski
is
known
as
a
Polish
native
who
became
a
war
hero
in
two
countries
Poland
and
USA!
Casimir
(Kazimierz)
Pulaski
was
born
on
March
4,
1745
in
Warka
Winiary,
Poland.
Pulaski
came
from
a
family
of
eight,
one
of
three
sons
and
five
daughters
of
his
lawyer-father,
Count
Jozef
Pulaski
and
and
Marianna
Zielinska.
His
family
belonged
to
the
minor
Polish
nobility.
His
father
Joseph
Pulaski
taught
his
children
to
be
good
patriots
and
to
love
Poland.
When
he
was
eight
years
old,
his
father
bought
him
a
pony.
Casimir
loved
horses.
He
practiced
riding
horseback
and
shooting
guns
for
many
years.
When
he
was
fifteen,
his
father
decided
to
send
Casimir
for
formal
training
school.
He
became
an
officer
of
the
army
at
the
age
of
fifteen.
Pulaski
became
a
National
hero
in
1771
when
he
and
his
army
defeated
Russian
forces
in
Poland.
Pulaski
gained
fame
as
a
cavalry
commander
in
the
patriotic
anti-Russian
Confederation
of
Bar,
coming
its
commander
in
chief.
In
October
1771,
Pulaski
undertook
one
last
major
expedition
as
part
of
a
plot
to
abduct
the
King
Stanislaus
August
Poniatowski.
The
plot
misfired,
but
it
led
to
the
young
Casimir
being
unjustly
accused
of
attempted
regicide
and
later, to
a
death
sentence. In
the
bitter
fighting,
his
father
and
brothers
were
killed,
Casimir
was
arrested
and
condemned
to
death
for
his
part
in
the
revolt,
and
escaped.
When
in
1772,
Russia,
Prussia,
and
Austria
began
negotiations
to
partition
the
Commonwealth,
he
and
the
other
confederates
saw
the
futility
of
continuing
the
struggle.
In
the
face
of
the
charges
against
him,
he
was
forced
to
flee
his
homeland
(Poland),
and
never
to
see
it
again.
In
1772
he
fled
to
Turkey,
and
later
to
France.
Young
Pulaski
was
sorely
disappointed
in
his
inability
to
secure
freedom
for
the
Baltic
people.
In
1776
he
appeals
to
the
Sejm
(Polish
Parliament)
in
Warsaw
to
be
allowed
to
return
to
Poland
but
there
was
no
reply.
.
In
1777
Casimir
Pulaski
arrived
in
Paris
and
met
Benjamin
Franklin,
who
tried
to
get
military
leaders,
who
could
help
the
Americans
in
their
fight
for
freedom
from
England.
Benjamin
Franklin
recommended
Pulaski
to
George
Washington
and
described
Casimir
Pulaski:
"...the
young
Pole
as
an
officer,
renowned
throughout
Europe
for
the
courage
and
bravery
he
displayed
in
defense
of
his
country's
freedom".
Casimir
Pulaski
understood
why
people
wanted
freedom,
so
he
decided
to
help
and
on
July
23,
1777
he
came
to
America.
On
September
11,
he
took
part
in
his
first
battle
on
American
soil
on
the
Brandywine
Creek
between
Chester
and
Philadelphia.
On
Washington's
recommendation,
the
Continental
Congress
appointed
Pulaski
general
of
the
cavalry
on
September
15,
1777.
Pulaski
received
the
consent
of
Congress
on
March
28,
1778,
to
form
a
special
infantry
an
and
cavalry
unit
capable
of
more
independent
military
action.
It
took
him
about
five
months
to
form
and
independent
corps
of
cavalry,
later
known
as
Pulaski
Legion,
at
his
headquarters
in
Baltimore.
The
new
recruit
organized
a
cavalry
unit
composed
of
American,
Polish,
Irish,
German,
and
French
troops.
In
February
of
1779,
he
received
orders
to
proceed
to
South
Carolina
to
reinforce
the
southern
American
forces
under
British
attack.
On
May
8,
the
Legion
arrived
in
Charleston
where
it
greatly
contributed
to
the
successful
defense
of
the
town
against
a
much
larger
British
force.
On
October,
1779,
the
newly
formed
unit
engaged
the
British
in
the
Siege
of
Savannah
where
on
October
9,
Pulaski
was
very
badly
wounded.
He
was
carried
away
by
his
soldiers
and
placed
on
a
ship
named
The
Wasp
to
get
medical
help.
But
he
died
two
days
later
on
October
11,
1779,
and
his
body
was
buried
at
sea.
However,
archeological
studies
of
Savannah
Pulaski
Monument
together
with
the
discovery
of
this
bones
on
September
27,
1996
in
a
vault
under
the
Monument
threw
new
light
on
the
circumstances
surrounding
his
death.
Thus,
October
15,
1779,
is
believed
to
be
the
correct
date
if
General
Pulaski's
death.
Historians
are
unsure
how
Pulaski
died.
The
popular
account
holds
that
Pulaski
rallied
the
troops
in
a
cavalry
charge
upon
hearing
that
a
fellow
officer
was
hit
in
the
leg
by
a
musket
ball.
During
the
charge,
Pulaski
was
struck
in
the
thigh
by
grapeshot
and
fell
from
his
horse.
Within
days,
gangrene
claimed
the
war
hero's
life.
Historians
continue
to
debate
what
happened
to
Pulaski's
body
after
his
death.
One
traditional
account
is
that
Pulaski
died
aboard
the
American
ship
Wasp
and
is
buried
at
sea.
Americans
have
always
recognized
Pulaski's
heroism
and
the
price
he
paid
for
their
freedom.
Shortly
after
his
death
a
solemn
memorial
service
was
held
in
Charleston,
and,
before
the
end
of
1779,
the
Continental
Congress
resolved
that
a
monument
should
be
erected
in
his
honor,
though
a
statue
was
not
put
into
place
in
Washington,
D.C.,
until
1910.
Over
the
years
Americans
have
kept
alive
his
memory
naming
many
countries,
towns,
cities,
streets,
parks,
schools,
stamps,
postal
cards,
FDCc's
and
squares
after
him.
Among
those
of
Polish
descent,
his
fame
rivals
that
of
Kosciuszko,
who,
after
his
service
in
the
American
Revolutionary
War,
returned
to
his
homeland,
where,
in
1794,
he
led
an
insurrection
against
the
same
Russian
domination
that
Pulaski
had
fought
before
coming
to
America.
Casimir
Pulaski
Commemorative
Stamp
On
Jan.
16,
1931,
the
U.S.
Post
Office
Department
issued
this
commemorative
stamp
honoring
Polish
patriot
Casimir
Pulaski,
who
fought
with
American
forces
during
the
American
Revolution.
The
stamp
was
first
released
in
Savannah,
where
he
died,
as
well
as
in
eleven
American
cities
with
large
Polish
populations.
The
2-cent
stamp
was
released
to
mark
the
150th
anniversary
of
the
death
of
Casimir
Pulaski,
who
was
mortally
wounded
in
the
siege
of
Savannah.
However,
as
Pulaski
died
on
Sept.
11,
1779,
the
stamp
came
over
a
year
after
the
sesquicentennial
of
his
death.
Postal
Card
The
Postal
Service
issued
this
postal
card
on
September
11,
1979
with
first-day-of-issue
ceremonies
in
Savannah.
The
design
shows
Count
Pulaski
on
horseback
at
the
siege
of
Savannah
in
1779.
General
Casimir
Pulaski (Kazimierz
Pulaski) ....
Casimir
(Kazimierz)
Pulaski
was
born
on
March
4,
1745
in
Warka
Winiary,
Poland.
Pulaski
came
from
a
family
of
eight,
one
of
three
sons
and
five
daughters
of
his
lawyer-father,
Count
Jozef
Pulaski
and
and
Marianna
Zielinska.
His
family
belonged
to
the
minor
Polish
nobility.
His
father
Joseph
Pulaski
taught
his
children
to
be
good
patriots
and
to
love
Poland. 
In
1777
Casimir
Pulaski
arrived
in
Paris
and
met
Benjamin
Franklin,
who
tried
to
get
military
leaders,
who
could
help
the
Americans
in
their
fight
for
freedom
from
England.
Benjamin
Franklin
recommended
Pulaski
to
George
Washington
and
described
Casimir
Pulaski:
"...the
young
Pole
as
an
officer,
renowned
throughout
Europe
for
the
courage
and
bravery
he
displayed
in
defense
of
his
country's
freedom". 
