The Legend and the Legion

Polish Bad Ass

In a war that saw many "bad asses" serve on both sides, Kasimierz (Casimir) Pulaski has to be ranked near the top. And if not for a stray round of grape, he may have fought his way to the top of the list. He fought for freedom on two continents and remained undaunted throughout a career of professional set backs. Although he never saw his homeland freed, he managed to help nudge a nascent republic to a hard fought freedom. Something tells me he was glad to sacrifice himself in a cause that changed the world.

Bad Ass on two continents

Lineage

Kasimierz (Casimir) Pulaski was born in Podolia, Poland on 4 March 1747, son of Count Josef Pulaski, a member of the minor Polish gentry. He came from a family of knightly traditions - mostly warfare. Pulaski’s family fought under Poland’s King John III Sobieski against the Turks in the 17th century – a campaign that saved Europe. At the siege of Vienna in September 1683, the decisive battle of the campaign, the famed Polish winged hussars, heavily armored lancers, charged home against a mighty Turkish host and sent it in a retreat that would eventually begin the long decline of the Ottoman Empire. It was from the line of these bold horsemen that Pulaski sprang.

Charge of Winged Hussars at Vienna

Fighting For Poland

And Poland needed men of fighting blood. For by the time of Kasimierz’s birth, the once mighty Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth was under intense political pressure from its increasingly powerful neighbors. Austria, Prussia and Russia had managed to manipulate the weak King Stanislaw II. Pulaski was well educated, and in 1768 he joined the Confederation of the Bars, established by his father to fight the Russians. He fought in several successful actions, including the famous defense of the monastery fortress of Czestochowa in 1771, but eventually suffered defeat and was exiled to Turkey. As a result, Poland went through its first partition (of three). Pulaski spent his years in Turkey trying to stir them against their common threat, the Russians. When this failed he sailed for France, now penniless and broken. But then he heard of the American Revolution!

Pulaski leading forces of the Bar Confederation
at Czestochowa in 1771

Fighting for Freedom

If he could not free Poland, he would offer his sword for a new cause for freedom. Pulaski approached the American agents in France, Silas Deane and Benjamin Franklin, seeking a commission in the Continental Army. Franklin provided him a letter of introduction and the excited nobleman sailed for Boston in July 1777. After conferring with members of the Continental Congress, the young Pole volunteered his services to General George Washington as an aide. He served beside Washington at the Battle of Brandywine on 11 September 1777. Although this proved a defeat for the Americans, quick and decisive actions by Pulaski may have saved the Continental Army from complete destruction. He fought at Germantown covering Washington's retreat, patrolled the area around Valley Forge during the winter, moved to Trenton and then, under Gen. Anthony Wayne, he fought the British at Haddersfield, New Jersey.

Pulaski was one of many foreign officers who
served the cause of freedom

Failure to Communicate

Nobody questioned Pulaski’s heroism under fire, nor his commitment to the Cause, but he was quarrelsome, headstrong and overly sensitive to matters of rank – as were many of the Americans. The difficulties arising from his hot temper were compounded by his lack of English – he used French often to communicate. His feuding and fussing came to a head when he had a falling out in the spring of 1778 with General Anthony Wayne, no slouch himself when came to anger. Pulaski threatened to resign over it. Washington convinced him to stay with the army and petitioned Congress for a separate command for him. This was granted and on 28 March 1778 Congress authorized Kazimierz Pulaski to raise a unit soon to be named the Pulaski Legion.

I am Legion

The Legion's Banner

A legion is an archaic term for a combined arms force. During the Revolutionary War this usually meant infantry and cavalry – but occasionally some light cannon were in the mix. The Pulaski Legion was recruited around Baltimore and was comprised of Americans, German, Frenchmen, Irishmen, and Poles. It flew a red  banner. Pulaski’s unit initially numbered 200 infantry and 68 cavalry armed, wait for it… lances. Polish cavalry were renowned for their lancer units, which usually charged home to victory over Cossacks, Russians, Turks and Germans. No wonder the gallant Pole created his own version.




The Legion would see immediate action along the New Jersey coast where it tasted first blood at Egg Harbor on 4 October 1778. Unfortunately, it did not cover itself in glory. The famed British Major Patrick Ferguson led his own legion and surprised Pulaski’s force in camp. They took heavy casualties. Turns out one of Pulaski’s men deserted and provided the British intelligence on the unit’s dispositions.

Major Patrick Ferguson

Washington sent Pulaski’s unit to a quiet area to recuperate. The Legion garrisoned the upper Delaware to protect against Indian raids. Pulaski’s honor was affronted and he fumed over the assignment.  His flinty ways led to another incident. Pulaski court martialed his subordinate, Major Stephen Moylan over an alleged slight. He also threatened once more to resign.  With the patience of Job, General Washington interceded once more. He reassigned the quarrelsome Pole and his Legion to the Southern theater.

Cavalry and Infantry of the Legion

Since the center of gravity had shifted south, this action both removed Pulaski from under Washington’s direct supervision.  But it was sure to give him real fighting to match his combative ways.

For the South

So in the spring of 1779, Pulaski and his Legion joined American forces defending Charleston, South Carolina. He arrived in time for a whirlwind!  The British strategy had shifted to the south, hoping an overwhelming show of force would break the will of the patriots in the region. In late 1778 they had taken Savannah, Georgia. Now they aimed to slide north to the Carolinas.

The British Strategy turned South to separate
the Carolinas and Georgia from the rebellion

The British under General Augustin Prevost threatened the southern capital and threatened a siege. In a bold move, Pulaski attacked the British on 11 May 1779. Greatly outnumbered, the Legion was thrashed and repulsed.  When he returned to the city, he learned that morale was low and patriot resolve ebbing. The unflinching Pulaski encouraged the inhabitants not to surrender so easily. They held out long enough for the American southern commander, General Benjamin Lincoln, to arrive with reinforcements. Pulaski frequently suffered from bouts of malaria acquired in the south’s hot swampy coastal lowlands. But the stubborn and proud officer refused to leave active service.




At the beginning of September, General Lincoln prepared to launch an attempt to retake Savannah with long awaited French assistance. Cavalry would play a role and Pulaski was sent to Augusta, Georgia to join General Lachlan McIntosh. Lachlan and Pulaski’s force covered the advance of Lincoln’s offensive. Pulaski captured a British outpost near Ogeechee River. His Legion then acted as an advance guard for the allied French units under Admiral Charles Hector, Comte d'Estaing.




But d’Estaing was on a short timeline. Reliant on his naval support, and with hurricane season fast approaching, he decided to stake everything on a surprise attack on 9 October 1779. Pulaski was given command of the entire combined Franco-American cavalry force. Pulaski, ever impetuous, launched a full scale cavalry charge against heavily defended British fortification. But Pulaski took a ball of grape shot and the assault was soundly defeated.

Pulaski mortally wounded by grape shot

Mortally wounded, Pulaski was moved to a transport ship Wasp in the hope of getting him to Charleston. But the gallant Pulaski died two days later – 11 February 1779. They buried him at sea. And his Legion? His men were transferred under Colonel Charles Armand’s legion for the remainder of the war.

Pulaski monument in his native Poland

Legacy

Despite his haughty and quarrelsome character, Casimir Pulaski is remembered in many ways. Of course, in Poland, as a man who fought for freedom on two continents and bears the title "Soldier of Liberty." In America, his service and sacrifices are commemorated by the many streets, bridges, counties, and towns that bear his name.

Monument to Pulaski in Washington, DC

Pulaski gave the last full measure outside Savannah, Georgia, and there a large monument commemorates his sacrifice fighting for the city during the American Revolution. In 1833, the new fort being constructed on Cockspur Island outside of Savannah was christened Fort Pulaski in honor of Casimir Pulaski.

Fort Pulaski

Above all, he is the man who provided the American colonists with their first true legion on horseback. The US cavalry later adopted its guidons in red and white, the national colors of Poland, to honor the boldest cavalryman of the War for Independence, and forever cementing his place as "The Father of the American Cavalry."