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Show Two Polish Champions iff of American Liberty SpA $ :l , V-! 1U - , v V. ,v v,:.!v,,'i . . k ' . - - 4 Mr ; - Poli5h Americans atth Kosciuszko Monument in Humboldt Park, Chicaqo By ELMO SCOTT WATSON & whose duuiImts far exceeded their own proved "S disastrous. Kosciuszko, seriously wounded, was " LIE Issuance by the post office de- JKl . , , 7 . i , , , - . t-C tiiken prisoner on the battlefleld. If partuient of a special five-cent ' . , , .. . I I , . . . ,,, . ' , , Vs tor two years tie was confined In the famous stamp which will be placed on sale I"""! . . ,, , ,,,,,, i , . . . ., . I? 1 Russian fortress of SL l'eter and l aul. Ho was X J In Clucaco, Detroit and Boston on 0 i... , , , , . ., , . . ,. S n , , ,0 .... . t'T " re eased upon his request that he be allowed October IS and at other post of- l J f r ,K. 10 1 . '7 cce more to visit America, (" TT - ri Oces on October 19 serves to re- ii. , P ;. caI1 the name of a distinguished ' Aftlr hl3 second visit to America he settled . S3g53b foreigner who. In the words of V' 3wn In a house near Paris. There he received i ff Postmaster General Farley, -will y many distinguished Ruests and worked for a Sr U -0 be forever perietuated In the " : ' fatherland he was never to see again. The last hearts of the American people." f ! ft'w years of his life were spent with friends For this stamp commemorates the lrx.'th annlver- I . ' In Solothurn, Switzerland, where he died In 1817. eary of the admission to American citizenship Closely connected with the month of October of Gen. Thaddeus Kosciuszko. the Polish soldier ls lhe story of another Polish champion of How-hols known as "the great champion of liberty," .-" V'l irt. erty' 8 comrade In arms of Kosciuszko, and a and this stamp Is another tribute to his memory ?s $A ." l.'s -"C'.-' man whoni Americans delleht to honor along by the nation whose liberty he helped to estab- -vA " - ' : with him Count Casimlr Pulaski, lish. Monuments have been erected to him In - jA . '"; Pulaski was born In Podolia, Poland, March Chicago, Boston and Washington, and at the i ' .ft '. .;'' 4. 174S. As a mere boy he threw himself Into the United States Military academy at West Point, )r"5 - V ; i struggle for Polish liberty. At twenty-one he N. T. ; a county In Indiana and streets In sev- -T-' J, . - :-v- f, stirred up a revolt In Lithuania against the ty- eral of our cities bear his name; but the every- f- - ! - - .': "J rannlcal Russians, who were gradually crushing day nse of the commemorative stamp during Oc- ' ' ' 3 out Poland's national life. tober by thousands of Americans will recall his i N-v", V- J Though elected commnnder-In-chlef of the Po- name and fame to more of our citizens than -.,; i v -:,' '4 lish army of Independence In 1770. when but any of these other memorials have ever done. K; ? i. 2 twentv-two years old. he was defeated In battle October is a month which Is peculiarly asso- " ? t : anJ scored f.llure aftpr ,Mnre Ue ls sald t0 ciated with the history of Kosciuszko. It was on S.'. -i have made an unsuccessful attempt the next year October IS, 1,70, that he came to Washington's IJ Lw "3 to kidnap King Stanislas of Poland from the camp near New York, bearing a letter of Intro- v J latter's Warsaw palace. As a result of various ductlon from Benjamin Franklin to the com- r. . - - mishaps Pulaski was outlawed, his estates con- mander-in-chief; It was during October of that . t ' -...--.. ' flscated and a price set on his head. year that he was made a colonel of engineers . . - - "" - wx' , , , . . - ., to the Continental artnv, became a member of V..V , . ; . ' Puli!Skl fled '?r bls llfe to ,Turkp-!- finJIo8 hls Washington's military family and began the as- 'M :'MXU- - ' . . ,4 hennce t0 Jrnnce; Pa,trl w"hon,t a coun; sociation with the great American which enabled ' T- Iar's, he,mct Benjamin Franklin, and Kosciuszko In later vears to call himself proudly 1 heard from Mm the story of America s struggle "a friend of Washington"; and it was on October KOSClUSZkO Statue for 1 berty. Here at last was a chance for the 13. 1S17. that the Polish champion met his death at We St. Point f"SlUJe H ftnke a"'her , MT fr freedom" i. . v ... .. Armed with letters of Introduction from Frank- 4 By ELMO SCOTT WATSON ' Issuance by the post office de- ii " partment of a special five-cent I J stamp w hich will be placed on sale i J In Chicago, Detroit and Boston on " October IS and at other post of-O of-O fices on October 19 serves to re-v re-v ;. ca" tlle name of a distinguished - foreigner who. In the words of i Postmaster General Farley, "will Iji Ut-i-J be forever perpetuated In the hearts of the American people." For this stamp commemorates the loOth anniversary anniver-sary of the admission to American citizenship of Gen. Thaddeus Kosciuszko. the Polish soldier who Is known as "the great champion of liberty," and this stamp Is another tribute to his memory by the nation whose liberty he helped to establish. estab-lish. Monuments have been erected to him In Chicago, Boston and Washington, and at the United States Military academy at West Point, N. T. ; a county In Indiana and streets In several sev-eral of onr cities bear his name; but the everyday every-day nse of the commemorative stamp during October Oc-tober by thousands of Americans will recall his name and fame to more of our citizens than any of these other memorials have ever done. October is a month which Is peculiarly associated asso-ciated with the history of Kosciuszko. It was on October IS, 1770, that he came to Washington's camp near New York, bearing a letter of Introduction Intro-duction from Benjamin Franklin to the commander-in-chief; It was during October of that year that he was made a colonel of engineers In the Continental army, became a member of Washington's military family and began the association as-sociation with the great American which enabled Kosciuszko In later years to call himself proudly "a friend of Washington"; and It was on October 13, 1S17, that the Polish champion met his death by a fall from his horse, an event which the Poet Campbell has made historic with his "Hope for a season bade the world farewell And Freedom shriek'd as Kosciuszko fell !" Also significant In the relationship of Washington Washing-ton and Kosciuszko Is the fact that they were born In the same month. Washington on February Feb-ruary 11 (old style), 1732, and Kosciuszko on February 12, 1740. He grew up on his father's estate, a remote spot In Lithuania. Though of noble birth, the elder Kosciuszko was a man of property, and his children lived like other children chil-dren of their class. Thaddeus seems to have been a diligent, conscientious boy, with a keen sense of responsibility. He attended the Jesuit college in his home town, and In 17G4 entered the corps of cadets In the Royal School of Warsaw. Later he . went to France, where he studied military engineering, especially French fortifications. fortifi-cations. Sketches made by Kosciuszko while he was studying architecture in Brest and Paris are to be seen in Poland's national museums. At the age of twenty-eight he returned home, to ftnd the family fortunes sadly depleted. Just why at this time Kosciuszko made up his mind to go to America Is not entirely clear. Some attribute it to an unhappy love affair; others assert he was stirred by the story of a young country fighting for Its independence. At all events, he sailed for the New world and landed at Philadelphia In the summer of 177G, having mortgaged his patrimony and borrowed 450 ducats to get there. He seems to have made the acquaintance of Franklin either In France or In Philadelphia, for we next hear of blm presenting the letter of introduction in-troduction from Franklin, previously referred to, to Washington In October, 1776. "What can you do?" asked Washington, according to the familiar story. "Try me and we shall see!" was the Pole's modest reply. So Washington made him a colonel of engineers and he soon proved what he could do. From October, 1776, to April, 1777, he was busy fortifying Philadelphia, continuing the work which he had undertaken upon his arrival there before his services had been accepted by Washington. Then he joined Gates' army in the North and It was Kosciuszko who selected and planned the fortification of Bemis Heights, near Saratoga, and his contribution was a material one to the success of the operations which led to the surrender of Burgoyne at Saratoga. Shortly afterwards, Kosciuszko planned the fortifications on the Hudson at West Point, generally gen-erally rated as his greatest achievement In the War for American Independence. Kosciuszko ar rived at West Point In March, 177S, and laid out additional forts to protect West Point, which then controlled the principal line of communication communica-tion from New England to the central and the southern colonies, in case the British should send an expeditionary force from New York. He also strengthened the existing defenses. So much general satisfaction was there with Koscluszko's work, that Washington In a dispatch says, "To his care and sedulous appreciation the American people are Indebted for the defenses of West Point." It was this Polish soldier who urged that West Point be chosen when it was later decided to found a training school for American youth. He spent two of the six years he was In this country at West Point, where a monument was erected In his memory in 1S2S. Kosciuszko's next service was in the Carolinas campaign with General Greene and It is said that Greene's escape from Cornwallis during his memorable retreat was due largely to the work of the Polish officer In constructing pontoon bridges which allowed Greene's army to cross rivers before the British could overtake It The close of the Revolution found Kosciuszko a brigadier-general and a member of the Society of the Cincinnati. By vote of congress American citizenship was conferred upon him In October, 17S3, and he was granted 500 acres of land on the Scioto river In Perry county, Ohio, which he later sold. American liberty having been won Kosciuszko decided to return to his own land and fight again for its freedom. To follow the activities of the Polish Po-lish patriot after his return to his native land ls to follow the stormy days of a Poland fighting fight-ing for freedom against heavy odds. In 1701 Poland, under a new constitution, became a limited lim-ited monarchy with ministerial responsibility. Invidious class distinctions were done away with. But the new constitution could not stand against the old confederation. Polish territory was a desirable corridor for surrounding powers. The little Polish army under Kosciuszko and Prince Joseph PoniatowskI did what It could. For three months It kept back all Invaders. But King Stanislaus n of Poland, doubtful of success, suc-cess, acceded to the demands of the confederation. confedera-tion. Poland was again parceled out to her neighbors neigh-bors and reduced to one-third her original dimensions. di-mensions. Undismayed, Kosciuszko and his followers withdrew to Leipslc. There they laid their plans for another battle. In this encounter they were partly victorious, recovering considerable lost territory. But the game of war against an enemy whose Dumbers far exceeded their own proved disastrous. Kosciuszko, seriously wounded, was taken prisoner on the battlefield. For two years he was confined In the famous Russian fortress of SL Peter and Paul. Ho was released upon his request that he be allowed once more to visit America, ' After his second visit to America he settled down In a house near Paris. There he received many distinguished guests and worked for a futherland he was never to see again. The last few years of his life were spent with friends In Solothurn, Switzerland, where he died in 1S17. Closely connected with the month of October Is the story of another Polish champion of liberty, lib-erty, a comrade In arms of Kosciuszko, and a man whonl Americans delight to honor along with him Count Casimlr Pulaski. Pulaski was born In Todolia, Poland, March 4. 1 74 S. As a mere boy he threw himself Into the struggle for Polish liberty. At twenty-one he stirred up a revolt in Lithuania against the tyrannical ty-rannical Russians, who were gradually crushing out Poland's national life. Though elected commander-in-chief of the Polish Po-lish army of Independence In 1770. when but twenty-two years old. he was defeated in battle and scored failure after failure. lie Is said to have made an unsuccessful attempt the next year to kidnap King Stanislas of Poland from the latter's Warsaw palace. As a result of various mishaps Pulaski was outlawed, his estates confiscated con-fiscated and a price set on his head. Pulaski fled for his life to Turkey, finding his way thence to France, a patriot without a country. coun-try. In Paris he met Benjamin Franklin, and heard from him the story of America's struggle for liberty. Here at last was a chance for the fugitive to strike another blow for freedom. Armed with letters of Introduction from Franklin, Frank-lin, he sailed for Philadelphia In March, 1777, and Joined Washington's army as a volunteer. Washington appointed the Pole to a place on the general staff. Pulaski's first American battle was at the Brandywlne. There he rallied companies of retreating Americans, and so deployed them as to protect the retreat of our main army. For this service congress made him a brigadier general. gen-eral. He persuaded Washington to raise a body of light infantry and cavalry and enlist for It all classes of men. Including prisoners and deserters. de-serters. The count was made leader of this corps of 3."0 troops, which was known as the Pulaski Legion. With his odd following he harried har-ried the British and won new fame. But he grew tired of holding so small a command. There was strife and discontent among the men. Pulaski Pul-aski gave up his office, and decided to go back to Europe. Washington persuaded him to stay in the army, and sent him South to find new scope for his energies. The southern summer's unbearable heat and the steaming, unwholesome marshes where he was often forced to camp told upon the Pole's health. He fell seriously ill with malaria ma-laria fever. But as fast as he recovered from one attack he continued his campaign against the British until another illness laid him low. His health wrecked, he fought on. The Americans were planning to march against the English forces that held Savannah, Ga. Pulaski, Pul-aski, acting as advance guard, fell upon the unprepared un-prepared enemy, captured some of their outer fortifications and opened the road for communication communi-cation between the patriots and the reinforcing French fleet The Americans then laid regular siege to Savannah. Sa-vannah. Pulaski was made leader of both the American and the French cavalry and led an assault on the British lines on October 9, 1779, during which he was mortally wounded. He died two days later on the United States brig, the Wasp, and was burled at sea. The sesquicentennial of Pulaski's death was the occasion for a nation-wide observance on October 11, 1929, when commemorative services were held In many places throughout the country coun-try and a tall shaft, honoring the Polish hero, was unveiled In Savannah. There was also a special spe-cial stamp issue in honor of the event. The next year a resolution was introduced into congress to make October 11 of each year "Pulaski Memorial Me-morial day" and in 1931 this resolution was passed and President Hoover Issued a proclamation proclama-tion calling for Its observance. ) l by Western Newspaper Union.) j |