Polish nobleman Casimir Pulaski made a historic impact on the American Revolution. He became a brigadier general in the U.S. Continental Army’s first cavalry. Pulaski brought with him experience, organization and proper training, becoming “Father of the American Cavalry” and a “Soldier of Liberty.” While fighting for the patriots in the Battle of Savannah in 1779, he received a mortal wound and died two days later.
Casimir Pulaski believed fervently in the cause of liberty and knew the risks involved. “I came to hazard all for the freedom of America,” he wrote in a letter to the Continental Congress. How did an exiled Polish nobleman come to be the Father of American Cavalry and one of only eight honorary U.S. citizens?
Kazimierz Władysław Pulaski was born in Warsaw, Poland in 1745, the son of a prominent szlachta family. These nobles formed a “warrior caste,” so elite that it rivaled the elected monarch in power and influence. In the Polish Commonwealth, the king was elected to the throne rather than inheriting it. His powers were controlled by the Sejm, or Parliament, made up of the nobility, but the system was nearly democratic.
The Russian Empress had coerced Polish King Stanisław II to weaken the nobility’s independence, and make Poland a Russian puppet state. Casimir’s father was one of the founders of the Bar Confederation, a pro-Poland, pro-noble militia dedicated to ridding Poland of Russian influence. In 1768, the Bar Confederation rebelled against the Polish government seeking independence from Russia.
The 23-year-old Pulaski willingly joined the fight.
Casimir honed his skills with cavalry and command in the fights to come. He fought side-by-side with his father against the Russians, establishing a reputation as a defender of Polish liberty. As a cavalryman, he was both a skilled rider and swordsman.
In 1771, Pulaski was part of a failed plot to kidnap the Polish king, and was falsely accused of trying to assassinate him. Pulaski had to flee Poland or face execution. He would never return to his homeland again. The Bar Confederation lost its support and crumbled. In 1772, Poland was partitioned between Russia, Austria, and Prussia.
The young nobleman spent the next four years unsuccessfully trying to rally forces to help him free Poland from foreign control. In doing so, he accrued significant personal debt. It became so severe, he was thrown briefly in debtors’ prison in France, but friends were able to free him. Then a chance meeting occurred that would change the rest of his life.
In 1777, a 31-year-old Pulaski met the American envoy to France, Benjamin Franklin, in Paris. The diplomat was already aware of the count’s exploits. Recognizing the value of Pulaski’s military experience, Franklin offered the man an opportunity to fight for liberty across the Atlantic with the Americans. He promised the Polish exile a new start, and a new revolution, in the New World. Casimir could see the similarities between the new U.S and Poland’s fight for freedom.
Pulaski agreed to help the new United States.
Franklin provided a letter to George Washington on Pulaski’s behalf. In it, he described Pulaski “an Officer famous throughout all of Europe for his Bravery and Conduct in Defense of the Liberties of his Country.” Franklin added, “He would be highly useful in our service.”
Pulaski set sail for the new United States and arrived 44 days later in Massachusetts in July, 1777. He managed to learn a smattering of English while on board. In his own letter to Washington, Pulaski spoke (in French) of his “Zeal” to first prove himself in combat.
Eager to get right into fighting, he traveled to meet General Washington, in Philadelphia. Based on Pulaski’s recommendations and reputation, Washington wanted Pulaski to take command of an American cavalry. However, the general told the nobleman Washington needed the approval of the Continental Congress first. He volunteered his services regardless, not concerned over rank or payment. Pulaski chose to follow the Continental Army while he waited.
Pulaski sought an opportunity to prove himself to the American Army.
That opportunity came at the Battle of Brandywine in September 1777. As the British forced the Americans off the battlefield, Washington realized his army’s right flank was near collapse from a Redcoat assault. This might destroy his army and lead to the capture of himself and his generals.
Pulaski saw a bold solution. He stepped forward and volunteered to lead a cavalry countercharge, giving the Continental Army time to withdraw. With no time to argue, Washington entrusted Pulaski with his own mounted guard of about thirty men and horses.
Pulaski skillfully led a diversionary counterattack directly into the fray, helping delay the British flank long enough for the Continental Army to retreat. The Army escaped, proving both American resilience and Pulaski’s potential. The Continental Congress approved his commission to the rank of Brigadier General and “Commander of the Horse” in charge of American light cavalry.
Pulaski wanted to reform the ragtag American horsemen into a sleek and efficient assault cavalry. He believed in the powerful symbolism of the cavalry charge, and rebelled against systems he thought as stagnant or backward. Washington however decided his men on horseback would conduct more subtle maneuvers like reconnaissance and raids.
At Valley Forge, through the brutal winter of 1777/1778, Pulaski trained the small cavalry. He was a talented general and horseman, but struggled with his first American command. The general had to rely on translators due to his poor English and rebuked those American generals who did not see the cavalry’s importance. He was, as Washington wrote in a letter, “led by his thirst of glory and zeal for the cause of liberty.” He wanted command, and he wanted free reign.
Pulaski spent time leading small bands of horsemen on raiding parties.
To him, this was unacceptable. In the spring of 1778, he offered to raise an independent cavalry for the army. Both Washington and Congress relented. He raised a new regiment of cavalry, known as Pulaski’s Legion. Taking 330 recruits from around Baltimore, Pulaski prepared his cavalry, armed as lancers and dragoons in the European style. Washington allowed him to choose his own officers and train them as he saw fit.
Under a crimson banner, they rapidly became a dangerous force. Continental Army officers spoke highly of the unit’s fighting ability and of the general’s insufferable arrogance.
In 1779, Washington sent Pulaski south to Charleston, South Carolina to support the struggling Southern forces of General Benjamin Lincoln. Upon arriving in Charleston in May 1779, the legion banded together with locals to resist a British incursion. Pulaski talked the terrified city leaders away from thoughts of surrender to the British.
In Charleston, Pulaski’s recklessness finally got the better of him. He and his men charged a British raiding party led by British General Augustine Prevost that cost his men’s lives. Casualties were devastating as Pulaski’s Legion suffered heavy losses. But the defense of the city prompted General Lincoln to return his army to Charleston, warding off further British attacks. Over the course of the war, Pulaski’s Legion remained essential to the military in the South.
After Charleston, Pulaski was “the Man of the Hour.
That summer, Lincoln’s army and his legion gradually beat back the British Army’s territorial gains. By the fall, they had met up with French forces under the command of the Count of Estaing. Together, they made preparations to attack Britain’s final stronghold in Savannah, Georgia.
Pulaski’s last engagement was during the Battle of Savannah on October 1779. Notified by a spy, the British attacked first. While surveying British defenses, Pulaski rushed to the aid of the wounded Count of Estaing. As the tide turned against the Americans, Pulaski rallied a group of American and French cavalry and led a charge on the British. He was wounded by British grapeshot during the attack and fell from his horse. His men managed to rescue him during their retreat.
Around 1,000 soldiers were wounded, captured or killed. Despite loosing the battle, the Siege of Savannah contained one of the war’s most heroic and tragic moments, Pulaski’s courageous charge and death. The wound was mortal. The general died two days later aboard the brig Wasp. Casimir Pulaski never married and had no heirs.
He was buried with full honors. Charleston held a public funeral in honor of Pulaski. Savannah constructed a 55-foot obelisk in his honor. In 1854, his remains were exhumed from a Georgia plantation and placed under the monument in Savannah. After the war, Pulaski became an important symbol of both American and Polish independence for his battlefield valor as well as his ultimate sacrifice.
In the painting Pulaski at Savannah, Casimir Pulaski is caught in the moment of his demise. He leads a heroic charge into battle against the Redcoats, American soldiers following their Polish general. The hero’s black steed rears into the air. His grim face points heavenward, knowing his fate.
In the 1830s, Polish revolutionaries fighting against Russia saw themselves in Casimir Pulaski, using him as a role model. During World War I, Polish boosters put Pulaski on posters next to George Washington and Woodrow Wilson, to encourage Americans to support Poland and join the war against Germany. There are numerous U.S. highways, bridges, schools, towns and counties named after the famous Pole.
As communism faded in the 1990s, Polish President Lech Wałęsa asked for the support of General Motors and General Electric, in exchange for the general that Poland had sent to the American Revolution. (Ironically, it was Polish King that had forced Pulaski into exile.) Then, of course, there’s the holiday. Since 1929, the U.S. marks General Pulaski Memorial Day on October 11th, the date of Pulaski’s death.
In U.S. Revolutionary War history, 250 year later, he is still known as a patriot and “The Father of the American Cavalry.” In 2009, the U.S. Senate granted him the posthumous reward of “Honorary United States Citizenship,” one of only eight individuals, including the Marquise de Lafayette, to ever be granted such an honor.