Tadeusz Kościuszko

Tadeusz Kościuszko is one of the most widely known figures born on Belarusian land.

Throughout his life he carried a belief in a freer and more dignified future for his people. His service has been recognized by later generations, and today, as the land of Kościuszko has regained its own historical voice, the memory of this remarkable son of Belarus is returning home to remain there as an example of devotion to one’s country.

Origin

Kościuszko came from an old Belarusian noble family known since the time of Grand Duke Vytautas. For nine generations his ancestors lived in Belarus, owning lands between Kobrin and Brest. From 1509 the center of the family estate was Siechnowicze, now in the Zhabinka district of Brest Region.

Name

He is usually known by the shorter form of his name, Tadeusz Kościuszko. The full baptismal form was Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko-Siechnowicki. He belonged to a younger branch of a family well known both in Belarus and beyond its borders.

Place of birth

His birthplace is unquestionably connected with Belarus. Researchers have named two likely places: the village of Malyya Siechnovichy in the Zhabinka district, or the Mereczowszczyzna estate in the Ivatsevichy district. Both places are in the Brest region.

Date of birth

The year is usually given as 1745 or 1746. Three versions are known: February 4, 1746, proposed by Tadeusz Korzon; November 30, 1745, named by Y. Yukhno; and October 28, 1745, suggested by A. Benzeruk. No document confirming any one of these versions is known today. The Korzon version, February 4, 1746, is traditionally used most often.

Baptism

Kościuszko was baptized on February 12, 1746, by Father Rajmund Korsak in the Catholic church of Kossovo. The godparents named in the record were Kazimierz Narkuski, Adam Protasewicz, Anna Suchodolska and another lady from the Suchodolski family whose first name was not recorded.

Religion

The documented baptism took place in a Catholic church. Versions suggesting an earlier Orthodox or Uniate rite have not yet been confirmed by reliable documents.

Nationality and identity

The authoritative Polish historian Tadeusz Korzon wrote in 1907 that Kościuszko’s ancestors were “Ruthenians of the Belarusian tribe.” Kościuszko himself repeatedly referred to himself as a Litvin, a native of historical Lithuania, the name then used for the western part of present-day Belarus. Claims that he was exclusively Polish by origin simplify and distort a more complex historical truth.

Education

His first education was received in Belarus, at home. He continued his studies at the college in Lubieszów, now in Ukraine, and later received military engineering training in Poland and France. He knew five languages, drew, played the piano, composed music, practiced woodcarving, and studied artillery, architecture and fortification.

Military career

Kościuszko became famous for his military talent in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which had two armies: the Crown army and the Lithuanian army of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In 1790, against his own wishes, he was enlisted into the Polish army, and two years later he received the rank of lieutenant general. His American career was also successful: in 1783 the Continental Congress granted him the rank of brigadier general of the United States. During the 1794 uprising of the peoples of Poland, Lithuania and Belarus, he was proclaimed in Kraków the Supreme Commander of all armed forces of the Commonwealth.

Honors and recognition

Kościuszko’s merits were recognized already during his lifetime. He received honorary American and French citizenship, was awarded the Order of the Cincinnati in the United States and the Virtuti Militari in the Commonwealth, and also received generous monetary and land grants. Later he came to be honored as a national hero of Belarus, Poland and the United States.

The year 1794

The year 1794 was the culmination of Kościuszko’s public life. He stood at the head of the army of the Commonwealth, fighting for the independence and integrity of his state. On March 24 he proclaimed the Act of Insurrection, and on April 4 defeated Russian forces at the Battle of Racławice. The victory helped spread the uprising to the lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. On May 7 Kościuszko issued the Połaniec Manifesto, proclaiming personal freedom for peasants who supported the uprising. Many joined the ranks of the insurgents armed with scythes and became known as kosynierzy.

From the summer onward the situation worsened as Russian and Prussian forces joined against the insurgents. At that critical moment Kościuszko appealed to supporters in Belarus: “My countrymen and compatriots! I was born on your land, and in my righteous striving for the Fatherland there lives in me a special respect for those among whom I put down the roots of my life.” The forces were unequal, and by autumn the resistance in Lithuania and Belarus had ceased. A decisive battle near Kościuszko’s homeland took place on September 17 near the Krupchitsy monastery, today the village of Chyzhawshchyna in the Zhabinka district. Kościuszko’s final battle was at Maciejowice near Warsaw on October 10. The insurgent army was defeated, and its wounded commander was taken prisoner by Russian troops.

Women in his life

Kościuszko never founded a family, although several women occupied an important place in his life. The first was Ludwika Sosnowska, daughter of Voivode Józef Sosnowski. Her father refused to accept a marriage to a nobleman of modest standing, and Kościuszko’s plan to abduct the woman he loved failed. In 1790-1792 he had a romantic relationship with Tekla Żurowska, which also ended because of parental opposition. In 1792 he met Anna Zamoyska, who retained a moving attachment to him for the rest of her life, although she married another man.

Names and epithets

As an extraordinary historical figure, Kościuszko received many nicknames and epithets. Fellow cadets in Warsaw called him “the Swede,” recalling King Charles XII of Sweden, whose discipline and endurance the young cadet tried to emulate. He was later called the Hero of Two Continents for his role in revolutionary events in America and Europe. During the uprising he became known simply as the Supreme Commander. In later memory he was also called a Soldier of Freedom, a Friend of Humanity and a Martyr of Liberty.

Death

Kościuszko died at ten o’clock in the evening on October 15, 1817, in Solothurn, Switzerland.

Legacy

In history Tadeusz Kościuszko remains a leader of the Commonwealth, the commander of an uprising against the partitions of his state, a fighter for American independence, and a national hero of Belarus, Poland and the United States.

Memory in Belarus

More than two hundred monuments around the world are dedicated to Kościuszko. His name is borne by the highest mountain in Australia and by a town in the United States. Belarus has also preserved the memory of its great son: streets in Brest, Grodno, Zhabinka and Kossovo bear his name. In 2003 a Kościuszko museum opened in the school at Siechnowicze. In September 2004, marking the 210th anniversary of the Kościuszko Uprising, the reconstructed Kościuszko house in Mereczowszczyzna and the memorial chapel at the site of the Krupchitsy battle, in today’s village of Chyzhawshchyna, were solemnly opened.