Who Was Kosciuszko?
June 15, 2023 at 7:31 p.m.
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Kosciuszko? Who was he? Should we know him? YES!
I retired here in Warsaw, Indiana, about seven years ago, after working in Chicago some 30 years. It’s been bugging me that I didn’t know why my Indiana county was named after this individual, Thaddeus Kosciuszko. However, I did read that Lithuania, Poland, Belarus, France and the United States all consider him as their heroes. So I did a little research that sheds a bunch of light on this amazing individual and war hero.
First, Kosciuszko was born on Feb. 4, 1746 in Kosow, Poland-Lithuania (today in 2023, Kosava, Belarus). However, in 1746, Belarus was part of the Lithuanian-Polish Commonwealth. It seems that every few years, all these countries in Eastern Europe invaded each other for various reasons, so you may have been under different governments, depending on the year and who had the biggest army. Individual rights for slaves and serfs were just beginning to be an issue along with resulting government revolutions.
Usually, Russia was the most aggressive and biggest. (Sound familiar?) But, in 1746, Kosciuszko’s birthplace was clearly part of Poland, and he considered himself Polish, through and through.
Thaddeus Kosciuszko was born in a military family and went to military schools in Poland and later in Paris, France. He was well versed in military tactics, especially military engineering, being schooled in France. He decided not to return to Poland after schooling due to the civil wars, erupting there, and not knowing which side to take.
So, in June, 1776, after hearing about this Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress of the United States, Thaddeus sailed to this new country to join the fight. He especially thought highly of their new ideas that all men are created equal, not the way of slavery and serfdom. So, Kosciuszko set out for Philadelphia, then the U.S. colony headquarters, to meet up with Ben Franklin, who was a close friend of George Washington, the top general leading the fight against the British.
Although Washington did not meet Kosciuszko for several years, he approved Ben’s recommendation to accept his technical services. Washington agreed to let Kosciuszko join up as an officer. He would spend the next eight years, brilliantly designing fortifications at Saratoga and West Point on the Hudson River. All told, Kosciuszko was instrumental in overturning British rule and eventually was named as an honorary citizen of both the United States and France.
Thaddeus Kosciuszko died in 1817. He is a hero to many countries because of his military engineering expertise as well as a champion on individual rights. He believed that we are all equal and that slavery and serfdom should be outlawed. He was non-political and well respected even to his enemies. His honesty, integrity and love of country was unsurpassed. He advised his students to “always be frank and loyal and always tell the truth. Do not be vain nor an egotist.” We need more heroes like this today!
Arthur J. Chesna
Kosciuszko County
Warsaw, Indiana, U.S.A., via email
Kosciuszko? Who was he? Should we know him? YES!
I retired here in Warsaw, Indiana, about seven years ago, after working in Chicago some 30 years. It’s been bugging me that I didn’t know why my Indiana county was named after this individual, Thaddeus Kosciuszko. However, I did read that Lithuania, Poland, Belarus, France and the United States all consider him as their heroes. So I did a little research that sheds a bunch of light on this amazing individual and war hero.
First, Kosciuszko was born on Feb. 4, 1746 in Kosow, Poland-Lithuania (today in 2023, Kosava, Belarus). However, in 1746, Belarus was part of the Lithuanian-Polish Commonwealth. It seems that every few years, all these countries in Eastern Europe invaded each other for various reasons, so you may have been under different governments, depending on the year and who had the biggest army. Individual rights for slaves and serfs were just beginning to be an issue along with resulting government revolutions.
Usually, Russia was the most aggressive and biggest. (Sound familiar?) But, in 1746, Kosciuszko’s birthplace was clearly part of Poland, and he considered himself Polish, through and through.
Thaddeus Kosciuszko was born in a military family and went to military schools in Poland and later in Paris, France. He was well versed in military tactics, especially military engineering, being schooled in France. He decided not to return to Poland after schooling due to the civil wars, erupting there, and not knowing which side to take.
So, in June, 1776, after hearing about this Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress of the United States, Thaddeus sailed to this new country to join the fight. He especially thought highly of their new ideas that all men are created equal, not the way of slavery and serfdom. So, Kosciuszko set out for Philadelphia, then the U.S. colony headquarters, to meet up with Ben Franklin, who was a close friend of George Washington, the top general leading the fight against the British.
Although Washington did not meet Kosciuszko for several years, he approved Ben’s recommendation to accept his technical services. Washington agreed to let Kosciuszko join up as an officer. He would spend the next eight years, brilliantly designing fortifications at Saratoga and West Point on the Hudson River. All told, Kosciuszko was instrumental in overturning British rule and eventually was named as an honorary citizen of both the United States and France.
Thaddeus Kosciuszko died in 1817. He is a hero to many countries because of his military engineering expertise as well as a champion on individual rights. He believed that we are all equal and that slavery and serfdom should be outlawed. He was non-political and well respected even to his enemies. His honesty, integrity and love of country was unsurpassed. He advised his students to “always be frank and loyal and always tell the truth. Do not be vain nor an egotist.” We need more heroes like this today!
Arthur J. Chesna
Kosciuszko County
Warsaw, Indiana, U.S.A., via email
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