Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1881-11-02
Uncommemorated Heroes.

ilustrious foreigners who crowned long
period Of devotion to the cause Of the rebel
lious colonists by their fortunate participa-
ton in the last great military triumph OF
the revolution. Lafayette, Rochambeau
and Steuben have been none too generously
remembered. The boy of nineteen, who fled
from the gilded saloons of the French court,
who denied himself the soft delights of new
domestic pleasures, to lay his services at the
feet of the continental congress, only stipu-
lating that he might be permitted to serve
in its armies without pay and as vclun-
teer, who became the loved friend of Wash
ington, who suffered wounds, spent his for
tune, secured for the colonies the recogni
ton and the powerful aid and alliance of
France without which the revolution might
have ingloriously failed; the brave officers
and gallant admirals who with chivalrous
fidelity made effectual the alliance of their
sovereign; the generous-hearted German
soldier who had learned the art of war
under the great Frederick, who abandoned
places Of ease and emolument at the court
of his sovereign to make long voyage
across dangerous seas to give without pay
the benefit of his rich military experience
to the poor, undisciplined, half-clad and
half-starved army shivering around their
camp fires at bleak aud dismal Valley
Forge,-all these are worthy of our highest
generation, and no expression of gratitude
can adequately measure our just debt of
obligation to them. They were animated
by generous impulses, by pure, uncalcu-
lating devotion to the cause of brave peo-
pie fighting for their rights against fearful
odds. But there were other foreigners
who drew their swords in the cause
of American independence, who served
that cause in chivalrous spirit, and who
sealed with their blood their devotion to
the cause of liberty. DeKalb, Pulaski,
Kosciusko did not fight in the trenches be-
fore Yorktown, and their names are not as
ISOLATED with that historical siege, but they
are bright names in the story of the revolu-
ton, fought its battles side by side with the
Lafayettes, Rochambeaus and Steubens, and
are peers of full rank in that illustrious
company. Baron DeKalb, an experienced
officer in the service of France, came to
America in the early days of the war and
was given high command in the patriot
army. He rendered important service in
camp and field. In the disastrous battle of
Camden, when Gates had fled panic-stricken
before the fierce onset of the British, De-
Kalb, at the head of brigade of regulars,
heroically held his ground against over
whelming odds till he fell pierced with
eleven wounds. Pulaski, a gallant Polish Of
fcer whose sword had "made way for liberty"
in Poland, was attracted to these shores by the
sore needs of the struggling revolutionists.
Discerning the need in the American army
of cavalry, and having won the confidence
of Washington and congress by the skill
and bravery he had displayed in battle, he
was commissioned to raise mounted corps
which became known as Pulaskis Legion.
The Moravian sisters presented him with a
banner, which with his dashing troop he
made historic in many sharp encounter
till in fatal charge at the siege of Savan-
nah, banner and gallant trooper went down
to rise no more. In the early dawn of the
struggle among those who followed the
promptings Of generous nature and crossed
the ocean to Washington's camp was an
other Pole who had won high distinction
in Polish wars. "Why do you come here?"
asked Washington. ITO fight for Ameri-
can independence" said Kosciusko. "What
can you do ?" suggested the commander-in-
chief "Try me and see," was the curt
response. Washington was so much pleased
with the young Pole that he made him a
member of his military family. As an
officer in the engineers he planned the forti-
fcation at Bemis Heights, near Saratoga,
which stayed the onward march of Bur
goyne. He rendered invaluable service in
battle and especially in certifying the Hud-
son at West Point. His was a gallant
soul, animated by a genuine love of
liberty. He returned to Poland and the
part he played in the war to avert the
ACKNOWLEDGMENT of his country is famed in
song and story. Next to Lafayette, Kos
ciusko is the name among the foreign
heroes of the revolution most noted for his
chivalrous love of freedom, for the highest
conception of its true import, and for a
conscientious practice of its precepts. A
monument to his memory stands on the
banks of the Hudson at West Point and is
an object of interest to the thousands of
travellers on the classic stream of America.
His remains repose in the cathedral at era
COW by the side of Sobieski and Poniatowski,
royal champions of fated kingdom, against
which the most gigantic crime Of modern
times was committed. In these memo
rial days let not these heroes fail of due COM
memOration,