Soldier and Patriot. Born Tadeusz Andrzej Bonawentura Kościuszko to Ludwik and Tekla Kościuszko. He was educated at the Piarist college in Lubieszów and the military academy in Warsaw, followed by studies in Paris. Returning home in 1774, he worked as a tutor of drawing and mathematics, and tried, at one point ,to elope with one of his students. After his unsuccessful bid for a bride, he fled to France, and from there, in 1776 he traveled to America to offer his services to the colonies in their war for independence. On October 18, 1776 he was commissioned as Colonel of Engineers by the Continental Congress. He aided in the fortification of the Philadelphia waterfront at Fort Mercer. He was then transferred to New York, where he helped with fortifications along the Hudson and planned the defense for Saratoga. In 1778, he was made chief engineer of West Point, and spent the next two years fortifying the site. In August 1781, he participated in the Second Battle of Camden, and in May was at Ninety Six where he besieged the enemy for nearly a month, it was there he suffered the only wound taken in seven years of service. At war's end in 1783, he was appointed Brigadier General, and was awarded the Society of Cincinnati Medal by General Washington. He returned to Poland the following year, but due to the political situation there, could not secure an appointment in the Polish army. He lived without an income for almost five years when in 1789, he returned to military service, granted the rank of major general. In 1792 the Russian army invaded Poland, Kościuszko gained fame as a division commander during the Battle of Dubienka in July; earning the rank of lieutenant general. He sided strongly with the Polish reform movement, which had been blamed as the excuse for Russian aggression. On July 24, 1792, the Polish king ordered his forces to cease hostilities against the Russians, On August 30 a disappointed Kościuszko, against the king’s wishes, gave up his commission and went into exile. He agreed to command an army of rebellion being planned by the liberal Poles in exile, the underground started the uprising on March 12, 1794. Kościuszko arrived in Cracow on March 24 and introduced conscription. He had no supplies, however, and armed his peasant recruits with pikes and traditional war scythes. With his reduced force, he achieved a decisive victory at Racławice in April. In hopes of encouraging volunteers, he issued the Manifesto of Połaniec, on May 7, suspending serfdom. New battle tactics were developed for his army, but such change was resisted by the nobility. Defeats followed, and he was forced to retreat to Warsaw. Besieged by Prussian and Russian armies, he used civilians to build earthworks and to defend the city beside the regular army. Russian reinforcements, however, led to his defeat at Maciejowice, where he was wounded and taken prisoner. Without its leader, the uprising collapsed. He was imprisoned in the Fortress of Peter-Paul in St Petersburg until the death of Catherine II. When her son, Paul I, ascended the throne in 1796, he released all political prisoners. Kościuszko then returned to the United States, arriving in Philadelphia August 18, 1797, to enthusiastic greetings. Almost a year later, he learned Polish soldiers were fighting in France under Napoleon. He returned to Europe in hopes of another uprising in his homeland, but did not trust Napoleon and refused a command of Polish legions in a French army. He retired to Solothurn, Switzerland, from where he freed all his serfs in Poland from service. He died at the age of 72, and was buried in Krakow, amidst the tombs of the Polish Kings. In 1828, a monument to Kościuszko was erected at West Point. His residence, at Third and Pine Streets in Philadelphia, is now part of the National Park system.