October 11 – General Pulaski Memorial Day

nPostednon October 11, 2014

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Thisnis a patriotic U.S. holiday that honors a hero of the AmericannRevolution. It is held on my birthday every year to commemorate thisnhero’s death on this date in 1779. And it is an occasion of pride fornPolish Americans.

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nAndnI am embarrassed to tell you that I’ve never heard about GeneralnPulaski, or his holiday, before!

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nGeneralnKazimierz (or Casimir) Pulaski was a Polish nobleman who became ansoldier and a military commander. He was involved in an uprisingnagainst Russia’s dominance of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth; butnwhen the uprising failed, Pulaski was driven into exile. He somehowncommunicated with Benjamin Franklin, who recommended that Pulaskinemigrate to North America to help with a little uprising known as thenAmerican Revolutionary War.

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nSonPulaski did.

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Pulaskinbecame a general in the Continental Army, and he created a cavalrynunit and reshaped the entire American cavalry. (Cavalry is a group ofnsoldier or warriors who fight while mounted on horseback.) For thisnreason, Pulaski is known as the “father of the American cavalry.”

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nHere’snanother little thing—a brave thing—that Pulaski did: he savednGeorge Washington’s life!

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nThisnis how that happened: When Pulaski first arrived at the 13 colonies,nhe was appointed commander of George Washington’s personal bodyguardnforce. The British broke through American lines and started straightnfor Washington. (Mind you, this is Pulaski’s very first engagementnwithin the American Revolutionary War, and he was still wearing thenmilitary dress uniform of the Polish hussars!) Pulaski bravely lednthe 30-man bodyguard unit straight into combat, and Pulaski was wounded,nbut Washington was saved!

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nAnothernthing that Pulaski did: he died in the course of the war….dying, Inguess you could say, for someone else’s country. The detailsnof his burial are uncertain, but there have been memorials andnmonuments to him in the U.S. and Poland – and counties, towns,nstreets, parks, and bridges named after him. I would like to thinknthat, if I lived back east, or if I were Polish American, I wouldnknow all about Pulaski!

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nBynthe way…

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Thenhonors just keep rolling in. Not only did an even more famousnRevolutionary War hero, Marquis de Lafayette, personally lay thencornerstone for a monument to Pulaski in Savannah, Georgia, and anbust of Pulaski was placed on display in the U.S. Capitol in 1867,nnot only did Congress pass a resolution making today a holiday innPulaski’s honor in 1929, and Pulaski’s supposed remains werenreinterred with full military honors in 2005 – but in 2009 Congressnpassed a joint resolution making Pulaski an honorary citizen of thenU.S., and President Barack Obama signed it into law. n

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nTherenhave been only seven people who have ever been made an honoraryncitizen!

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nAlsonon this date:

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