Statue of Tadeusz Kosciuszko in Washington, DC
Posted by: 
hykesj
N 38° 54.005 W 077° 02.127
18S E 323491 N 4307658
This monument dedicated to Brigadier General Thaddeus Kosciuszko stands in Washington DC’s Lafayette Park just in front of the White House.
Waymark Code: WMT2GN
Location: District of Columbia, United States
Date Posted: 09/14/2016
Views: 4
Kosciuszko is a tough name for Americans to pronounce correctly. I’m pretty sure that New York City news reporters get it wrong when relaying information about the perennial traffic jams on the Kosciuszko Bridge. It’s also a tough name for Americans to spell. George Washington supposedly spelled it eleven different ways in various correspondences. Nevertheless, in the United States, Kosciuszko has been honored with more statues, monuments and other memorials than any other Revolutionary War figure except, of course, George Washington himself.
Recruited by Benjamin Franklin and Silas Deane when they met in Paris, Kosciuszko arrived in America in 1776 and was immediately put to work designing fortifications for various defensive positions. His engineering ability and skill as a military tactician were instrumental in securing an American victory at Saratoga which is universally acknowledged as a major turning point in the Revolutionary War. The statue actually shows Kosciuszko holding his plans for fortifications at Bemis Heights (Saratoga) in his right hand. He went on to design fortifications at West Point, NY (where the US Military academy now resides) and throughout the southern theater. After the war, Kosciuszko returned to his native Poland where he became a brilliant commander in Poland’s “War in Defense of the Constitution” and the 1794 Polish Uprising albeit both in a losing cause.
The statue was created by Polish sculptor Antoni Popiel and dedicated by President William Howard Taft on May 11, 1910. It is a large work with several smaller sculptures surrounding the base. Specifically noted on the sculpture are the two battles for which Kosciuszko is most remembered: Saratoga and Raclawice which occurred during the 1794 uprising.
Tadeusz Kosciuszko is considered a national hero in the United States but he is also a national hero in Poland (as well as Lithuania and Belarus) appearing on numerous Polish postage stamps. This US stamps honors Kosciuszko’s contributions to the American War for Independence and shows a view of the Popiel statue in Lafayette Park.
Stamp Issuing Country: United States
Date of Issue: 13-Oct-1933
Denomination: 5 cents
Color: blue
Stamp Type: Single Stamp
Relevant Web Site: [Web Link]
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