[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 123, 111th Congress, 1st Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

123 STAT. 2999

Public Law 111-94
111th Congress

Joint Resolution


 
Proclaiming Casimir Pulaski to be an honorary citizen of the United
States posthumously.

Whereas Casimir Pulaski was a Polish military officer who fought on the
side of the American colonists against the British in the American
Revolutionary War;

Whereas Benjamin Franklin recommended that General George Washington
accept Casimir Pulaski as a volunteer in the American Cavalry and
said that Pulaski was ``renowned throughout Europe for the courage
and bravery he displayed in defense of his country's freedom'';

Whereas, after arriving in America, Casimir Pulaski wrote to General
Washington, ``I came here, where freedom is being defended, to serve
it, and to live or die for it.'';

Whereas the first military engagement of Casimir Pulaski with the
British was on September 11, 1777, at the Battle of Brandywine, and
his courageous charge in this engagement averted a disastrous defeat
of the American Cavalry and saved the life of George Washington;

Whereas, on September 15, 1777, George Washington elevated Casimir
Pulaski to the rank of Brigadier General of the American Cavalry;

Whereas Casimir Pulaski formed the Pulaski Cavalry Legion, and in
February 1779, this legion ejected the British occupiers from
Charleston, South Carolina;

Whereas, in October 1779, Casimir Pulaski mounted an assault against
British forces in Savannah, Georgia;

Whereas, on the morning of October 9, 1779, Casimir Pulaski was mortally
wounded and was taken aboard the American ship USS Wasp, where he
died at sea on October 11, 1779;

Whereas, before the end of 1779, the Continental Congress resolved that
a monument should be erected in honor of Casimir Pulaski;

Whereas, in 1825, General Lafayette laid the cornerstone for the Casimir
Pulaski monument in Savannah, Georgia; and

Whereas, in 1929, Congress passed a resolution recognizing October 11 of
each year as Pulaski Day in the United States: Now, therefore, be it


[[Page 3000]]
123 STAT. 3000



Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled, That Casimir Pulaski is
proclaimed to be an honorary citizen of the United States posthumously.

Approved November 6, 2009.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--H.J. Res. 26 (S.J. Res. 12):
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CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 155 (2009):
Oct. 7, 8, considered and passed House.
Oct. 22, considered and passed Senate.