General Thaddeus Kosciuszko
1746 – 1817
. On October 18, 1776 Kosciuszko was commissioned as Colonel of Engineers by the Continental Congress and began his outstanding service of fortifying battle sites, many of which became turning points in America’s fight for independence against the British.
In the early days of the war, Kosciuszko helped to fortify the Philadelphia waterfront at Fort Mercer. Shortly after, he was transferred to New York, where he helped with fortifications along the Hudson and planned the defense for Saratoga. The Battle of Saratoga became known as one of military history’s most famous struggles for independence and proved to be a turning point in the war.
In 1778, Kosciuszko was made chief engineer of West Point, New York. This fortification became known as the American Gibraltar because it was unable to be penetrated by the British Army. Eventually West Point became a military academy.
After the war, he lived in a boarding house on 3rd and Pine in Philadelphia, which is now the Kosciuszko House, a memorial to this American Revolutionary hero.
To learn more about Thaddeus Kosciuszko, go to http://www.polishamericancenter.org/Kosciuszko.htm
