Martinsburgh gazette. [volume] (Martinsburgh, Va. [W. Va.]) 1810-1825, 1825-07-21
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY
Ho,SCuJ sCc.

" =
nate Of Brescia, Lithua via Proper, re
ceived the rudimenis o, his educatioi
in the military academy founded b,
StanisIaus Augustus. We comnan
dant of that academy, prince Adam
Czartorski, soon remarked the un
common military genius of the youth,
together with his prediction Tor the
science of war, and in consequence,
sent him into France to complete has
studies. TO the latest moments Of his
life, Kosciusco. greatuIly remember
ed the obligations which he owed TO
The bounty of his benefactor. The alb
|ject, jmpo,ent, and submissive sltua
lion of Poland, at that period, engen-
dered detection and despair IN his
youthful breast. lie left his country
and repaired to foreign land, there
to fight the battles Of independence.
when he found that her standard
would not be raised in the land OF his
birth.
When very young, he was inform
ed by the voice offamc, that the stand
ard of liberty had been erected in A
merica; that an insulted and oppressed
people had determined to be free, or
perIs,, in the attempt His ardent and
generous mind caught, with enthusl
asm, the holy fame, and from the
moment he became the devoted sol
der of liberty.
His rank in the American army af
forded him no opportunity greatly TO
distinguish himself. But he was re
marked throughout his service, for all
the qualities which adorn the human
character. His heroic valour in the
walks Of private life. He was idol
zed by the soldiers for his bravery,
and beloved and respected by the off.
GERS for the goodness of his heart, and
the great qualities OF his mind.
AS the companion Of The immortal
Washington, he fought bravely from
the Hudson to the Potomac, from the
shores of the Atlantic to the lakes of
Canada. He patiently endured in
credible fatigue; he acquired renown;
and, what was infinitely more valua-
Die in bis estimation, he acquired the
love and gratitude OF disenthraled
nation The flag ofthe United States
waved in triumph over the American
forts, and the great work of liberia.
ton was finished before Kosciusco re.
turned to his native country
Contributing greatly, by his exer.
lions, to the establishment ofthe indie
pendence Of America, he might have
remained and shared the blessings it
dispensed, under the protection of "a
chief who loved and honored him,
and in the bosom of greatiol and af'
fectionate people.
kosciusco had, however, other
views. 1t is not known that, until
the period l am speaking of, he had
formed any distinct ideaofwhat could,
or indeed what ought, to be done for
his own. But in the revolutionary
war he drank deeply of the principles
which produced it. 10 his converse
tons with the intelligent men of our
country, he acquired new views of
science Of government and the rights
of man. He had seen that to be free
it was only necessary that nation
should be free. And was itnot pos.
sible to procure these blessings for Pc
land? For Poland, the country of his
birth, which had claim to all his ef-
forts, to allihis services? That unhap-
py nation groaned under complca-
zion of evils which has scarcely par
aIlel in history. The mass ofthe PEG.
pie were the abject slaves of the no
bles The mobiles, torn into factions.
were alternately the instruments and
the victims of their powerful and am
bilious neighbours. By intrigue, cor
ruption, and force, some of its fairest
provinces had been separated from
the republic, and she people, like
beasts, transferred to foreign despots,
who were Iagain watching for a ia
vourable moment for second dis
memberment. To regenerate peo
pie thus debased: to obtain for conn
try thus circumstanced, the blessings
of liberty and independence, was
work of much difficulty and danger.
But to a mind like kosciusco's the diff
Guilty and danger of an enterprise ser
we'd as stimulates to undertake it.
Immediately after his return TO his
native country, he was unanimously
appointed generallssimo of Poland. In
tive str1ooles of the Polish aruv .