The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1933-10-13

tS..U..S) be forever perpetuated in the
hearts of the American people"
For this stamp commentaries the 150th anniver-
sary of the admission to American citizenship
of Gen. Thaddeus Kosciuszko the Polish soldier
who is known as "the great champion of liberty"
and this stamp is another tribute to his memory
by the nation whose liberty he helped to estab-
Hsh. Monuments have been erected to him in
Chicago, Boston and Washington, and at the
United States Military academy at West Point
N. T.; county in Indiana and streets in sew
eral Of our cities bear his name; but the every
day use of the commemorative stamp during Oc-
tober by thousands Of Americans will recall his
name and fame to more of our citizens than
any of these other memorials have ever DONE
October is month which is peculiarly asso-
ciated with the history of Koscuszko. 1t was on
October 18, 1776, that he came to Washington's
camp near New York, bearing a letter of intro
duction from Benjamin Franklin to the COM
mander-in-chief; it during October of that
year that he was made colonel of engineers
In the Continental army, became member of
Washington's military family and began the as
ISOLATION with the great American which enabled
KosciuszkO in later years to call himself proudly
"a friend of Washington; and it was on October
Is, 1917, that the Polish champion met his death
by fall from his horse, an event which the
Poet Campbell has made historic with his
slope for season babe the world farewell
And Freedom shriek'd as Kosciuszko lv
Also significant in the relationship of Washing
ton and Kosciuszko is the fact that they were
born in the same month, Washington on Feb
ruary II (od style), 1872, and Kosciuszko on
February II, 1746 He grew up his fathers
estate, a remote spot in Lithuania Though of
noble birth, the elder Kosciuszko a man Of
property, and his children lived like other chill
dren of their class. Thaddeus seems to have been
dlgent, conscientious boy, with keen sense
of responsibility. He attended the Jesuit college
In his home town, and In 1854 entered the corps
of cadets in the Royal School of Warsaw.
Later he went to France, where he studied
military engineering, especially French fortif-
cations. Sketches made by Kosciuszko while he
was studying architecture in Brest and Paris
are to be seen in Polands national museums. At
| the age of twenty-eight he returned home, to
find the family fortunes sadly depleted. An
elder brother who had inherited the estate on
the death of the father was dissipated spend
thrift. There was little or no money for the
younger children. Poland in the meantime mad
been divided up among her neighbors, Russia,
Austria and Prussia. Polish estates were being
confscated Russian officials overran the country.
Just why at this time Kosciuszko made up his
mind to go to America is not entirely clear.
Some attribute it to an unhappy love affair;
others assert he was stirred by the story of
young country fighting for its Independence At
all events, ne sailed for the New world ana
landed at Philadelphia in the summer of 1776,
having mortgaged his patrimony and borrowed
$50 ducats to get there.
He seems to have made the acquaintance of
Franklin either in France in Philadelphia. for
we next hear of him presenting the letter of In
PRODUCTION from Franklin, previously referred to.
to Washington In October, 1776. "What can
you do?" asked Washington according to the
familiar story. "Try me and we shall see 70 was
the Poles modest reply So Washington made
him colonel of engineers and he soon proved
what he could do
From October. 1776. to April, 1777, he
busy fortifying Philadelphia, continuing the
work which he had undertaken upon his arrival
there before his services had been accepted by
Washington. Then he joined Gates army in the
North and it was Kosciuszko who selected and
planned the fertilization of Bemis Heights near
Saratoga, and his contribution was a material
one to the success of the operations which led
to the surrender of Burgoyne at Saratoga.
Shortly afterwards Kosciuszko planned the
Notifications on the Hudson at West Point, gen.
orally rated as his greatest achievement In the
War for American Independence. Koscuszko ar
rived at West Point in March. IT'S and laid out
additional forts to protect West Point, which
then controlled the principal line of communica-
ton from New England to the central and the
southern colonies in case the British should
send an expecitionary force from New York. He
also strengthened the existing defenses So much
general satisfaction was there with Kosciuszkos