Thaddeus Kościuszko
| Tadeusz Kościuszko | |
|---|---|
Portrait by Karl Gottlieb Schweikart. Kościuszko is shown wearing the Eagle of the Society of the Cincinnati, awarded to him by Gen. Washington.
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| Birth name | Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko |
| Born |
4 February 1746 Mereczowszczyzna, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (now in Belarus) |
| Died | 15 October 1817 (aged 71) Solothurn, Switzerland |
| Allegiance |
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1765–1776, 1784–1794) United States of America (1776–1784) |
| Service/branch |
Continental Army Army of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth |
| Years of service | 1765–1794 |
| Rank |
Brevet U.S. Brigadier General, October 1783 Polish Lieutenant General, 1792 |
| Unit | Engineer, (Continental Army) Naczelnik (commander-in-chief), (Polish Army) |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards | |
| Signature |  |
American Revolutionary War
Polish–Russian War of 1792
Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko (Andrew Thaddeus Bonaventure Kosciuszko; February 4 or 12, 1746 – October 15, 1817) was a Polish–Lithuanian military engineer and a military leader who became a national hero in Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, and the United States. He fought in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth's 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 Kościuszko Uprising.
Kościuszko was born in February 1746 in a manor house on the Mereczowszczyzna estate in Nowogródek Voivodeship, Grand Duchy of Lithuania, a part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth; his exact birthdate is unknown. At age 20, he graduated from the Corps of Cadets in Warsaw, Poland, but after the outbreak of a civil war involving the Bar Confederation in 1768, Kościuszko moved to France in 1769 to pursue further studies. He returned to Poland in 1774, two years after its First Partition, and took a position as tutor in Józef Sylwester Sosnowski's household. After Kościuszko attempted to elope with his employer's daughter and was severely beaten by the father's retainers, he returned to France. In 1776, Kościuszko moved to North America, where he took part in the American Revolutionary War as a colonel in the Continental Army. An accomplished military architect, he designed and oversaw the construction of state-of-the-art fortifications, including those at West Point, New York. In 1783, in recognition of his services, the Continental Congress promoted him to brigadier general.
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