Park is named after Tadeusz Kosciusko (born Feb. 4, 1746,
Mereczowszczyzna, Pol. — died Oct. 15, 1817, Solothurn,
Switz.) Polish patriot who fought in the American Revolution.
He studied military engineering in Paris and went to America
in
1776, where he joined the colonial army. He helped build
fortifications in Philadelphia, Pa., and at West Point, N.Y.
As
chief of engineers, he twice rescued the army of Gen.
Nathanael
Greene by directing river crossings.
He also directed the blockade of Charleston, S.C. At the
war's
end he was awarded U.S. citizenship and made a brigadier
general.
He returned to Poland in 1784 and became a major general in
the
Polish army. In 1794 he led a rebellion against occupying
Russian
and Prussian forces, during which he defended Warsaw for two
months, directing residents to build earthworks. He was jailed
in
Russia from 1794 to 1796, returned to the U.S. in 1797, and
then
left for France, where he continued efforts to secure Polish
independence.
