[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 148 (Wednesday, October 14, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2518-E2519]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  PROCLAIMING CASIMIR PULASKI TO BE AN HONORARY CITIZEN OF THE UNITED 
                          STATES POST-HUMOUSLY

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. JACK KINGSTON

                              of georgia-

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, October 7, 2009

  Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.J. Res. 26 to 
honor General Casimir Pulaski, a Polish born National hero, as an 
honorary American citizen.
  Casimir Pulaski received designations ranging from ``Soldier of 
Liberty'' to ``The Father of the American Cavalry'' for his honorable 
service of fighting for freedom on two continents. In the United 
States, streets, counties, squares, and even an American submarine bare 
his name. Both the beginning and end of his noble life are cloaked with 
mystery--competing stories exist about his birth and death; however, 
his actions of defending freedom in his homeland of Poland as well as 
America are renowned.
  Casimir Pulaski was born to a family of Polish nobility either on 
March 4 or 6, 1745, 1746 or 1747 in Winiary, Warsaw, or Waka on the 
Pilica, Poland. Pulaski's distant relatives give his birth date as 
March 4, 1747 in Winiary, Poland; however, scrupulous biographical 
notes of the Pulaski family history state that Casimir was born on 
March 4, 1746, but gives no mention of the place. On the other hand, 
baptismal records show March 4, 1745 as the date of birth, connecting 
his given name to his birth on the feastday of St. Casimir. The date of 
Casimir's actual baptism was recorded as March 6, 1745 in Warsaw on 
Nowy Swiat Street. Then again, the National Park Service records his 
birth date as March 4, 1747 in Waka on the Pilica, Poland.
  Regardless of his curious beginning, historians agree that Casimir 
began his military career at the age of fifteen when young Pulaski 
joined his father and other members of the Polish nobility in opposing 
the Russian and Prussian interference in Polish affairs.
  After being banished to Paris, Pulaski met Benjamin Franklin who 
urged him to support the colonies in the American Revolution. Pulaski 
was impressed with the ideals of a new nation struggling to be free and 
volunteered his services. Franklin wrote to George Washington 
describing Pulaski as ``an officer renowned throughout Europe for the 
courage and bravery he displayed in defense of his country's freedom.''
  In 1777, Pulaski arrived in Philadelphia where he met General 
Washington, the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army. After 
coming to the aid of Washington's forces and distinguishing himself as 
a talented military tactician, Pulaski was sent south to assist 
American colonial forces. Georgia became the only American colony to be 
re-conquered by the British on December 29, 1778, and Pulaski was sent 
to assist Comte Jean Baptiste Hector d'Estaing and Benjamin Lincoln 
regain control of Savannah from the British who had amassed about 3,000 
defenders.
  The areas surrounding Savannah created a difficult environment for 
the French and American forces. The left and right sides of Savannah 
are marshlands which created tough obstacles through which to advance. 
In the front of the city, a cleared plain of small rolling hills made 
it impossible for a group of soldiers to advance without being seen 
from the redoubts that encircled the city. The Siege of Savannah became 
one of the bloodiest battles of the Revolutionary War, and a military 
failure of colonists with more than 1,000 of the attacking forces 
killed. In 2005, archaeologists with Coastal Heritage Society 
discovered the long-lost Spring Hill Redoubt. This unearthed the site 
of the bloodiest fighting of the siege and scene of the mortal wounding 
of Brigadier General Casimir Pulaski.
  While historians can agree that Pulaski commanded the French and 
American cavalry during the Siege of Savannah and sustained mortal 
wounds during fighting from grapeshot on October 9, 1779, consensus 
ends there.
  Two divergent tales of his death continue today--one from a Georgia 
family, another

[[Page E2519]]

from two of Pulaski's officers. The first has injured Pulaski being 
sent to Charleston aboard the Wasp, but passing on October 15 and taken 
to Greenwich Plantation, Georgia for burial. In 1854, bones were 
discovered in an unmarked grave at the former family plantation of 
William P. Bowen. Bowen said his grandmother and aunt told him the 
grave was Pulaski's. The bones were then entombed inside the marble 
cornerstone of the Pulaski Monument in Savannah. Restoration of the 
monument in 1996 led to another exhumation by Chatham County Coroner 
James C. Metts Jr. After eight years of attempts, investigators failed 
to extract a complete DNA sequence to compare with a living Pulaski 
descendant in Poland. A draft report by Metts' team concluded ``the 
mystery remains unsolved.'' It also states that ``strong circumstantial 
evidence does suggest that the remains are Casimir Pulaski.''
  However, historical accounts from two officers who served under 
Pulaski tell a different story. They report that General Pulaski was 
wounded on October 9, 1776, but that he died two days later on October 
11 aboard the Wasp on route to Charleston. The two officers report that 
Pulaski was then buried at sea near the mouth of the Savannah River 
where it flows into the Atlantic Ocean.
  Even with conflicting details of his birth and death, General 
Pulaski's military history is commemorated in Savannah by multiple 
tributes including Fort Pulaski, Pulaski Elementary, Pulaski Square, 
and Pulaski National Monument. I am privileged to commend General 
Pulaski and his admirable service to our Nation and support his 
honorary citizenship.

                          ____________________