Charles River Editors - Casimir Pulaski: The Life and Legacy of the Polish Commander Who Became the Father of the American Cavalry during the Revolutionary War

An 1883 painting commemorating Pulaski

Casimir Pulaski

"I came here, where freedom is being defended, to serve it, and to live or die for it." - Pulaski

Many Americans labor under the misconception that the nations colonial and national heritage was almost wholly accomplished by an English migration, and the notion of early American diversity ends at an acknowledgment of the slave trade conducted between Southern buyers, Northern shippers, the African continent and the Caribbean region. However, early America witnessed the development of New York by the Dutch, the southernmost regions by Spain, and what would become eastern Canada by the French after lengthy battles with Britain. In fact, the Seven Years War during the 1750s was fought on a nearly global scale between several European belligerents.

As a result, when the Revolution began, the Continental Army sported numerous volunteers from Ireland, Scotland, virtually every European nation between France and Russia, and men from the northern and southern borders of the European continent. There are good reasons America doesnt possess a constitutionally-confirmed national language, despite an English-speaking majority; among the early proposals for such a common language, German and French served as contenders, with the latter going on to become Western Europes official diplomatic language. Likewise, those who accomplished the legislative, diplomatic, and military miracles that helped 13 separate colonies hold off the greatest power in the world represented a multi-national heritage.

By the time the Revolutionary War started, military confrontations between the world powers had become so common that combat was raised to the status of a fine art, consuming a large portion of time for adolescent males in training and comprising a sizeable component of the economy. Weaponry was developed to a degree of quality not accessible to most North Americans, and European aristocrats were reared in the mastery of swordsmanship with an emphasis on the saber for military use. Likewise, the cavalry, buoyed by a tradition of expert horsemanship and saddle-based combat, was a fighting force largely beyond reach for colonists, which meant that fighting on horses was an undeveloped practice in the fledgling Continental Army, and the American military did not yet fully comprehend the value of cavalry units. Few sword masters were to find their way to North America in time for the war, and the typical American musket was a fair hunting weapon rather than a military one. Even the foot soldier knew little of European military discipline.

However, with European nations unceasingly at war, soldiers from one side or the other often found themselves in disfavor, were marked men in exile, or were fleeing from a superior force. To General George Washingtons good fortune, a few found their way to the colonies to join in the cause. Some were adventurers recently cut off from their own borders, while others embraced the American urge for freedom that so closely mirrored the same movements in their home countries. Nations such as France undoubtedly had an elevating effect on Americas capacity to make formal war, and Lafayette is the most famous foreigner to serve in the Continental Army, but one of the most important individuals who arrived at Washingtons door was Polish aristocrat Kazimierz Michal Wladyslaw Wiktor Pulaski, known to future generations as the Father of the American Cavalry. Few foreign participants in early American events are as widely decorated in non-military society as this Polish cavalry officer driven into exile from his own nations fight for independence. Pulaski considered the American urge for resistance against Britain to be an inseparable principle from Polands lengthy struggle against Russian domination.

Today, streets, bridges, monuments, and even neighborhoods bear Pulaskis name across the country, and in Polish communities, he is often hailed as a hero equal to General Washington himself. Historians speculate that without Pulaski having taken specific actions in one or more crucial battles, the war against Britain might well have taken a far different and darker turn. At the very least, it was Pulaski who made Americas Congress and military leadership aware of the importance of cavalry units and a need for establishing the first true legion of warriors on horseback to act in support of the foot soldiers. A man of ferocious resolve despite a diminutive stature, Pulaski was the first to lead the unit bearing his name as a Brigadier General under Washington.

Casimir Pulaski: The Life and Legacy of the Polish Commander Who Became the Father of the American Cavalry during the Revolutionary War profiles one of the Revolutionary Wars most important figures. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Pulaski like never before.