it possible for all of us to stand here today. Born and raised in Georgia, I share a

Transcription

1 I am honored to join you in remembering one of America s and Poland s great Patriots, an extraordinary engineer, Thaddeus Kosciuszko, who helped make it possible for all of us to stand here today. Born and raised in Georgia, I share a problem with a Virginian, George Washington. We both have difficulty with Kosciuszko s name. General Dave R. Palmer in his book about Fortress West Point, The River and the Rock, found that Washington spelled the Polish engineer s name at least 9 different ways; he used 2 different variations in a single letter. Should I stumble in my pronunciation, I am in good company. When I was a speechwriter for the CSA General John A. Wickham, Jr., I learned that one of my key roles was to place my principal s speech and thus him into the location of that speech. You should just look around and see why this is the right place for this great monument. This location and this monument represent three significant strands of Kosciuszko s legacy Fortress West Point, the United States of America, and West Point cadets. As I point out three key artifacts to sustain my argument, be guided by the inscription that the designer excadet John Latrobe originally proposed: while your river flows and your country exists, no one will be at loss to understand the Monument, its purpose, and its location.

2 First, the monument before you stands at the site of Fort Clinton/Arnold, the citadel of Fortress West Point, Kosciuszko s crowning achievement of military engineering. It overlooks the S-shaped bend in the Hudson that made the west point of the Hudson such an extraordinary location of what General George Washington called the key of America. From , Kosciuszko would add nine additional redoubts and four forts to French Colonel Louis de la Radière s original plan to complete the sophisticated defenses. With the help of Captain Thomas Machin, Kosciuszko would oversee the stretching of the Great Chain across the 500 yards from West Point to Constitution Island on 30 April Weighing some thirty-five tons and floating on rafts of fifty-foot white pine logs, the chain would be the linchpin in West Point s defenses. While Fort Clinton/Arnold would be the citadel on the Plain, Fort Putnam would play a crucial role over-watching it from Crown Hill to the west. Built by soldiers of Colonel Rufus Putnam s 5 th Massachusetts Regiment, Fort Putnam would depend upon Redoubt 4 on Rocky Hill, some 300 feet higher and 750 meters to the west, to block the likely British avenue of attack. From his experience at Fort Ticonderoga, Kosciuszko knew that what was to become Redoubt 4 on Rocky Hill would be the keystone in any British plan. British General Sir Henry Clinton would deem Fortress West Point so formidable that he would try to buy it from Hudson Highland s commander Major General Benedict

3 Arnold in 1780 rather than attack it. The conspiracy would collapse, Arnold would flee to New York City, and Clinton s Adjutant General Major John André would hang as a spy after his capture as he tried to reach his own lines. One of America s greatest generals Nathanael Greene summed up West Point s significance as it guarded the Hudson: The North River I consider as the first object upon the Continent and the communication between the Eastern and Western States essential to the Independence of America. If you look to the northwest you will spy General George Washington astride his horse in front of the Mess Hall that bears his name, symbol of the United States of America as Commander in Chief during the American Revolution and the Republic s first President. In 1778 General Washington had Kosciuszko s back as his does today. In his letter to Major General Alexander McDougall, the commander of the Hudson Highlands Department on 22 April, he offered his rationale for selecting Kosciuszko over Colonel la Radière as West Point s engineer: As Colo. LaRadiere and Colo. Kosiusko will never agree, I think it will be best to order La Radiere to return, especially as you say Kosiusko is better adapted to the genius and temper of the People. 1 Washington recognized Kosciuszko s value despite his association with his rival Major General Horatio Gates. In 1783, he presented Kosciuszko with two pistols and a sword as gifts for 1 Washington to McDougall, 22 Apr. 1778, Fitzpatrick, Writings, 11: 298; Kite, Duportail,

4 his outstanding service to America. Washington summed up his admiration: "I have experienced great satisfaction from his general conduct... (his) attention and zeal with which he has prosecuted the work committed to his charge...." The third iconic legacy lives and walks upon these very grounds cadets, particularly African-American cadets. Based on his own personal experience, Kosciuszko thought that officers needed to be educated. Since he had discussed this idea with Thomas Jefferson, he must have been gratified to learn that President Jefferson had made such an idea a reality. In May 1801, Secretary of War Henry Dearborn announced that the president had "decided in favor of the immediate establishment of a military school at West Point and also on the appointment of Major Jonathan Williams" to direct "the necessary arrangements, at that place for the commencement of the school." On 16 March 1802 Jefferson signed the Military Peace Establishment Act, directing that a corps of engineers be established and "stationed at West Point in the state of New York, and shall constitute a military academy." On July 4, 1802, the United States Military Academy formally opened for instruction. "Our guiding star," Superintendent Williams said, "is not a little mathematical School, but a great national establishment.... We must always have it in view that our Officers are to be men of Science, and as such will by their acquirements be entitled to the

5 notice of learned societies." In 1811 Kosciuszko once again made the argument to Thomas Jefferson for a military school: only increased to the number of 3,000, composed of young people... selected on the basis of an examination, individuals suited to be officers of the militia and the artillery corps. He would be astonished to know that the Corps of Cadets today numbers 4,417 and that the U.S. Military Academy has produced almost 70,000 graduates of whom almost 50,000 are alive today. There are four Polish graduates in the classes of Kosciuszko would be gratified to know that a cadet committee chose him of all of the luminaries from the War for American Independence to honor with a monument. Cadet Henry S. Linden, Class of 1825, suggested that a monument be erected at West Point to honor Kosciuszko. Up until that point, Kosciuszko s Garden had served as the place for cadets to visit to honor him. The Corps of Cadets (160 members at the time) took on the project by donating 25 cents per month from their meager pay. The Cadet Committee ran an advertisement in The National Gazette, Literary Register, Principles and Men on October 25, 1824: A GOLD MEDAL, of fifty dollars value, will be given by the Corps of Cadets of the United States Military Academy, for the best Design of a Monument to the Memory of Gen. Thad s Kosciusko.

6 The Monument is to be erected at West Point, on the spot known by the name of Kosciusko s Garden. This place is formed by a table rock, situated on the bank of the Hudson 41 feet the level of the Plain, and measuring 34 ½ feet width. It is a rude romantic spot, and bears the name of Kosciusko s Garden, because it had once been his favourite retreat in his leisure moments. Design to be exhibited by the 1st of January, On February 28, 1825, Cadet J.L. Thompson, Chairman of the Committee, which included Robert E. Lee, informed former cadet, John H.B. Latrobe, USMA 22, that his design had been accepted as the model for the monument. In an oration that was to have been given at the laying of the cornerstone, Cadet Charles Petigru, USMA 29, explained why cadets had chosen Kosciuszko: rarely does history present to us a character so worthy of being studied as a model; a character in which all must find so much to admire, and even the most illiberal can find so little to condemn. Fortune placed him in a variety of situations, as if that his character having been viewed in every light, might be seen in all respects excellent. Kosciuszko believed that all men and women should be free: there should be no slaves or serfs. In his will, he made good on that belief writing that he authorizes my friend Thomas Jefferson to employ the whole thereof [of my property] in purchasing negroes from among his own as any others and giving

7 them liberty in my name in giving them an education in trades and otherwise, and in having them instructed for their new condition in the duties of morality which may make them good neighbors, good fathers or mothers, husbands or wives and in their duties as citizens, teaching them to be defenders of their liberty and country and of the good order of society and in whatsoever may make them happy and useful. It is both fitting and ironic that five Southern cadets, Thompson, Mackay, Basinger, Petigru, and Lee, from slave-holding states proposed Kosciuszko at what for the time a singular honor. Thaddeus Kosciuszko was an enlightened man for his and all times. He is most worthy of our presence today. I will conclude with the words of a man who knew Kosciuszko well, Major General Nathanael Greene: Among the most useful and agreeable of my companions in arms was Colonel Kosciuszko. Nothing could exceed his zeal for the public service, nor in the prosecution of various exceed his zeal for the public service, nor in the prosecution of various objects that presented themselves in our small but active warfare, could any thing be more useful than his attention, vigilance and industry. In promoting my views whatever department of the service directed, he was at all times, a ready and able assistant. One, in a word, whom no pleasure could seduce, no labor fatigue and no danger deter. What besides greatly distinguished him was an unparalleled modesty and entire unconsciousness of having done anything

8 extraordinary. Never making a claim or pretension for himself and never omitting to distinguish and commend the merits of others. This able and gallant soldier has now left us for the North; intending to return directly to his own country, where he cannot fail to be soon and greatly distinguished. Greene was right on all counts. Today we once again salute a man whom Cadet Petigru and his fellow cadets saw as a soldier, a patriot, and a statesman. Hiphiphuzzah To learn more about the garden and the efforts to restore it, please visit the Kosciuszkos Garden Blog. If you are interested in the history of the garden, check out Kosciuszko Building His Garden in West Point.