March 5, 2007
Happy Pulaski Day!
In a city of monuments to great Americans, it's easy to think that the more recent monumistas began the trend of honoring foreign heroes. But for nearly a century, a statue of Polish freedom fighter Casimir Pulaski has made its home at 13th St. and Pennsylvania Ave., in what is now known as D.C.'s Freedom Plaza. The plaza, designed in 1980, is mainly a tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights movement, but the Polish military commander who fought and died for his adopted country is also honored by an equestrian statue on the square's eastern edge.
Most Washingtonians might only associate Pulaski with Sufjan Steven's tale of a dying childhood friend, "Casimir Pulaski Day", but their knowledge ends there. Casimir Pulaski got his start in the 1760s, fighting off Russian forces in his homeland. When that ended in failure, the general fled to Turkey and later France. His greatest glory came in 1777 when he joined American revolutionary forces in their struggle against British rule. Pulaski became known as "Father of the American Cavalry", and died at the tender age of 31 fighting the Battle of Savannah.
For the last three decades Pulaski Day, celebrated on the first Monday in March, has been marked with parades in Milwaukee and Chicago, and school holidays for children in both Wisconsin and Illinois in a nod to both states' large Polish-American communities. In 2001, President Bush proclaimed October 11, the day of his death, as General Pulaski Memorial Day, though the day escapes most Americans' notice.
The statue of Pulaski, designed by fellow countryman Kazimierz Chodzinski, was erected in 1910 and portrays him in full military regalia, including a jaunty wool hat and a distinctly European mustache.
Pulaski was no soldier of fortune. He whole-heartedly supported the cause of liberty in the America, seeing his dreams of emancipation from colonial rule as a real possibility in a fledgling nation. So raise a glass of wodka tonight for the Polish general whose memory still inspires Presidential honors and mournful tunes in America.
Photo by dbking under Creative Commons usage.
|
"Most Washingtonians might only associate Pulaski with Sufjan Steven's tale of a dying childhood friend, "Casimir Pulaski Day", but their knowledge ends there."
Most Washingtonians, or most DCist readers?
As an Illinoisian, I associate Pulaski with "Pulaski Day" which was started in the 1980s. It was a March break from school to honor Casimir Pulaski, brokered as part of a deal to increase school funding (and taxes) by playing to the sizable Polish community in Chicagoland by lawmakers downstate.
When I think of Winter, I think of Lincoln's Birthday (never ever celebrating the other presidents), then Martin Luther King Jr. Day and then Casimir Pulaski Day. One dead guy for each month!
Maybe this is evidence that I have too close of a relationship with the pause button on my remote, but there's also a statue of Casimir Pulaski in Stars Hollow, the fictional setting of Gilmore Girls. Why there's a statue of Pulaski on the Warner backlot is beyond me.
I hear ya DC1974. I went to private school in Chicago and was always jealous of my public school friends' extra day off. To have that association in my head alongside the Sufjan Stevens song has led to a bit of cognitive dissonance.
As a proud gradute of Casmir Pulaski elementary school in Meriden, Connecticut - I'm happy to celebrate!
Did you know that when an equestian statue's horse has one hoof off the ground it means that the rider died in battle? If all four are on the ground, the person on the horse didn't die of anything battle related. This horse has one foot up.
gradute = graduate (my spelling skills are no reflection of the school!)
There is also Ft. Pulaski, which is a Civil War era fort between Savannah and Tybee Island. An excellent way to spend an extra hour or two.
As a Chicagoan of Polish (on my mother's side) decent, I also miss the day off school and was inspired to note the holiday by my Illinoisan family enjoying their holiday.
Also of note is the span of US 40 between Delaware and Baltimore designated as Pulaski Highway.
RE: The comment about DC's equestrian statues and the common belief that it indicates how the rider died is an myth. It holds true at the Gettysburg battlefield but not for our equestrian statues.
And the Pulaski Skyway (the odd-looking 'tubular' iron bridge seen in the opening credits of the Sopranos) that brings US-1 over the Passaic and Hackensack Rivers in Northern New Jersey.
But are the Pulaski Highway and the Pulaski Skyway both actually named in honor of General Pulaski? It's a pretty common surname.
While the "rules" about equestrian statues don't hold true in DC (or most other places for that matter), the original poster is incorrect. One hoof raised supposedly means that one was wounded in battle (and possibly died from those wounds after the battle), and two hoofs raised is supposed to indicate dying in battle.
Actually, since Pulaski died two days after being wounded and removed from the battlefield, the statue is inadvertantly correct according to those mythical guidelines.
Both stretches of road are, in fact, named for the general, though after dealing with the funky NJ bridge and all the stop lights along US 1, I'm not sure that's a real compliment.
There's also Pulaski County, Arkansas, whose seat is Little Rock. And, to bring it full circle back to Sufjan Stevens fans, Little Rock's bohemian hipster turn-of-the-20th-century-vintage neighborhood was originally called Pulaski Heights. Although it is now officially referred to as Hillcrest (to distinguish it from the neighboring old-money neighborhood simply known as "The Heights"), several businesses, churches and schools in the neighborhood still bear the Pulaski Heights name.
The ironical part is that there are probably about 10 people of Polish descent in the entire state of Arkansas. Guess ol' Casimir was a damn popular guy -- among American Poles, WASPs and rednecks alike.
First, hats off (!) to Ms. Gibson for this posting. One is hard pressed to find erudite commentary that mixes ‘news’ with real history. This is a very appropriate piece on a ‘neat’ urban venue. The story of Casimir Pulaski, like that of many key officers in the American Continental Army, has yet to be fully be appreciated by the current generation of students of American history. The reasons for this may be complex, but come down to a pattern of expunging certain subject matter (and personalities) from what is taught (and thereby learned). For the record, here’s another piece of this hero’s biography that that is drawn straight from original documents contemporary to the American Revolution: The nobleman from Poland was well known in the capitals of Europe before he traveled to America in 1777. Already at age 30, his career as a political leader and a superb cavalry officer skilled in insurgent warfare had earned him a letter of introduction from America’s ambassador in France, Benjamin Franklin.
On the day of his appointment to the Continental Army, James Lovell, delegate from Massachusetts to Continental Congress, characterized him as ‘one of the first members of the confederation of Poland, a most distinguished officer, and the most dangerous enemy of the tyrants of his country.’ Virginia delegate Richard Henry Lee observed that we might strengthen our army with the addition of an able foreign officer, for ‘Count Pulaski has commanded 18,000 men in his own country …. And is arrived here to fight the battles of liberty over again. ‘ He was granted a unique command, ‘Commander of the Horse.’
In that capacity, he developed regulations for drill and maneuver of cavalry based on the concept that it was to be the principal ‘shock force’ arm of the army. The Continental Army for a complex variety of reasons never adopted his view, which was share by others in Europe and was to become a cornerstone of war fighting a few decades later. General Pulaski’s unpublished manual of arms was, therefore, soon overshadowed by the now-famous infantry regulations for drill and discipline written by another foreign officer, Gen. von Steuben.
General George Washington carefully observed the young officer in his duties (including action at the battle of Brandywine) and noted his learned advice, especially in matters of horse cavalry. He would become Pulaski’s most steadfast supporter. This was remarkable given that foreigners generally were not popular in the army.
Apparently, teaching about such things has become equally unpopular.
First, hats off (!) to Ms. Gibson for this posting. One is hard pressed to find erudite commentary that mixes ‘news’ with real history. This is a very appropriate piece on a ‘neat’ urban venue. The story of Casimir Pulaski, like that of many key officers in the American Continental Army, has yet to be fully be appreciated by the current generation of students of American history. The reasons for this may be complex, but come down to a pattern of expunging certain subject matter (and personalities) from what is taught (and thereby learned). For the record, here’s another piece of this hero’s biography that that is drawn straight from original documents contemporary to the American Revolution: The nobleman from Poland was well known in the capitals of Europe before he traveled to America in 1777. Already at age 30, his career as a political leader and a superb cavalry officer skilled in insurgent warfare had earned him a letter of introduction from America’s ambassador in France, Benjamin Franklin.
On the day of his appointment to the Continental Army, James Lovell, delegate from Massachusetts to Continental Congress, characterized him as ‘one of the first members of the confederation of Poland, a most distinguished officer, and the most dangerous enemy of the tyrants of his country.’ Virginia delegate Richard Henry Lee observed that we might strengthen our army with the addition of an able foreign officer, for ‘Count Pulaski has commanded 18,000 men in his own country …. And is arrived here to fight the battles of liberty over again. ‘ He was granted a unique command, ‘Commander of the Horse.’
In that capacity, he developed regulations for drill and maneuver of cavalry based on the concept that it was to be the principal ‘shock force’ arm of the army. The Continental Army for a complex variety of reasons never adopted his view, which was share by others in Europe and was to become a cornerstone of war fighting a few decades later. General Pulaski’s unpublished manual of arms was, therefore, soon overshadowed by the now-famous infantry regulations for drill and discipline written by another foreign officer, Gen. von Steuben.
General George Washington carefully observed the young officer in his duties (including action at the battle of Brandywine) and noted his learned advice, especially in matters of horse cavalry. He would become Pulaski’s most steadfast supporter. This was remarkable given that foreigners generally were not popular in the army.
Apparently, teaching about such things has become equally unpopular.