Savannah pays tribute to Polish Revolutionary War heroes

　

Attending the unveiling were officials from the Polish Embassy, Polish diaspora representatives, diplomats from France and Haiti, and local authorities.

The ceremony began at dawn, at the exact time when on December 29, 1778, volunteers from 13 American colonies aided by French troops and a 500-strong unit from the French colony Saint Dominique (today's Haiti), attacked British-occupied Savannah in what was to be one of the largest and bloodiest clashes of the 1775–1783 American Revolutionary War.

In his address, Polish Ambassador to the US Piotr Wilczek observed that Kosciuszko was less known in the US than Pulaski, and suggested this could be owing to trouble with pronouncing his name. Wilczek expressed hope that the Savannah ceremony would help raise Kosciuszko's name in American awareness.

He also pointed out that Pulaski, called "the father of the American cavalry", who was fatally wounded during the Battle of Savannah and died on board a ship two days later, was one of only eight foreigners to be granted US citizenship by the US Congress.

The plaques commemorating Kosciuszko (see: NOTE 1), Pulaski (see: NOTE 2) and Zielinski (see: NOTE 3) are an initiative by Raymond Okonski, a retired US serviceman associated with the Art Association in Detroit, Michigan, and the Savannah General Pulaski Committee.(PAP)

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NOTE 1: Tadeusz Kosciuszko (February 4 or 12, 1746 – October 15, 1817) was a Polish–Lithuanian military leader proclaimed a national hero in Poland, Lithuania, Belarus and the United States. Kosciuszko fought in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth's (see: NOTE 4) struggles against Russia and Prussia, and on the American side in the American Revolutionary War. As Supreme Commander of the Polish National Armed Forces, he led the 1794 Kosciuszko Uprising after which Poland was ultimately partitioned by Russia, Prussia and Austria (see: NOTE 5).

Numerous places worldwide are named after Kosciuszko, including the highest mountain in Australia and an island in Alaska, not to mention a New York bridge and several cities in the US.

NOTE 2: Kazimierz Pulaski (born March 6, 1745 in Warsaw, Poland — died October 11/15 1779 on board a ship between Savannah, Georgia, and Charleston, South Carolina, US), emblemed 'Slepowron', became known as the "Father of the American Cavalry". He was a Polish patriot and US colonial army officer, and hero both of the Polish anti-Russian insurrection of 1768 (the Confederation of Bar or the Bar Confederation) and the American Revolution.

Kazimierz was the son of Jozef Pulaski (1704–69), one of the initiators of the Bar Confederation (1768–1772), which was an association of Polish nobles formed at the fortress of Bar in Podolia in order to defend the internal and external independence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. As a young man Pulaski distinguished himself in the defense of Berdichev (1768) and Czestochowa (1770–71) against Russian forces. In October 1771 he unsuccessfully attempted to kidnap Poland's King Stanislaw II to the confederates’ camp and was falsely accused of an attempt on the king. After Prussia and Austria invaded Poland in the spring of 1772, Pulaski left for Saxony, later moving to France where he lived in financial straits.

In December 1776 in Paris Pulaski met the American statesman Benjamin Franklin, who recommended him to General George Washington. Pulaski landed in America in June 1777. He served in Washington’s army at Brandywine, at Germantown and in the winter campaign of 1777–78, and was made general and chief of cavalry by Congress. The Pulaski Legion, a mixed unit he formed in 1778, made use of his experience in guerrilla warfare. In May 1779 Pulaski defended Charleston. Wounded at Savannah on October 9 1779, he died aboard the warship Wasp.

NOTE 3: Jan Zielinski was a Polish officer and captain in Pulaski's forces during the American Independence War. Zielinski came to America relatively early, in 1777. Failing to obtain an officer's nomination, he joined Pulaski's forces as an unranked voluntary. Zielinski is remembered for his personal conflict with Colonel Stefan Moylan, who opposed Pulaski's appointment to commander of the American cavalry. Moylan insulted Zielinski in public, for which Pulaski had him court-martialled. However, the court acquitted Moylan on October 24, 1777, and George Washington, whose former aide Moylan was, confirmed the verdict.

Pulaski was very disappointed over the decision, which he saw as a personal affront. Zielinski subsequently challenged Moylan to a duel, which the latter declined, stating he would not fight with someone who was "neither a gentleman nor an officer". In retaliation, Zielinski beat Moylan up with a stick and toppled him from his horse with a lance, an incident of which Pulaski gave a detailed account in a letter to Washington.

Pulaski appointed Zielinski a lieutenant in his legion, later promoting him to captain. He died in the Battle of Savannah, in which Pulaski also received fatal wounds.

NOTE 4: The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was a 16th-18th century Polish-Lithuanian state composed of the Crown - Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and considered a precursor to modern democratic systems such as federation or constitutional monarchy. The Commonwealth was a dual state ruled by one monarch, who was simultaneously King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania.

The Commonwealth was one of the biggest countries in 16th/17th-century Europe, at its peak spanning about 1.2 million km2 and with a multi-ethnic population of about 11 million. It was formally established by the Union of Lublin in July 1569.

NOTE 5: The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth towards the end of the 18th century which ended the existence of sovereign Poland for 123 years. The partitioning powers were the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia and Habsburg Austria, which divided the country among themselves progressively.

The 1772 first partition of Poland led to further two partitions, in 1793 and 1795, ending the existence of sovereign Poland for 123 years. Nevertheless, the nation itself did not cease to exist, for over a century connecting the East with the West culturally, technologically and tradewise. Partitioned Poland also remained a robust base to anti-invader conspiracy movements and freedom fight bouts with four insurrections, including the 1794 Kosciuszko Uprising, the November Uprising (1830), the Krakow Uprising (1946) and the January Uprising (1863). (PAP)