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Pennsauken, New Jersey Revolutionary War Sites
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REVOLUTIONARY WAR SITES IN PENNSAUKEN, NEW JERSEY

Revolutionary War New Jersey
POLISH AMERICAN CONGRESS MONUMENT
Bust Sculptures of Revolutionary War Officers Casimir Pulaski and Thaddeus Kościuszko
Polish American Congress Monument

Polish American Congress Monument
Cooper River Park
N Park Dr.
Map / Directions to the Polish American Congress Monument

The Polish American Congress Monument is located in Cooper River Park. It includes bust sculptures of two Polish officers who fought for the Americans in the Revolutionary War: General Casimir Pulaski , and Thaddeus Kosciuszko.



Polish American Congress Monument
General Casimir Pulaski

General Casimir Pulaski was born on March 6, 1745, in Warsaw, Poland. In 1777 he came to America to fight on the American side in the Revolutionary War. He commanded a group of cavalry which was formed in 1778 [1] known as Pulaski's Legion, and he is remembered as the "Father of American Cavalry." He died on October 11, 1779 from wounds suffered at the Battle of Savannah, Georgia.

This is one of several sites honoring General Pulaski in New Jersey. There are three other monuments honoring him in the state: one in Garfield, one in Paterson and one in Wallington. In addition to these, there is a sidewalk plaque in North Arlington honoring Pulaski, and the Pulaski Skyway is named for him.

In 2009 Pulaski was made an Honorary Citizen of the United States. [2] Honorary Citizenship has rarely been granted; only eight people in the entire history of the United States have received it. Two of the others who have received Honorary Citizenship were also European officers who fought for the American side in the Revolutionary War: Marquis Lafayette of France, and Bernardo de Gálvez of Spain. [3]



Polish American Congress Monument
Thaddeus Kościuszko

Born in Poland in 1746, Thaddeus Kościuszko was an officer and talented military engineer who came to America in 1776 to fight on the American side in the Revolutionary War.

Kościuszko's first assignment in America was in New Jersey: the fortifications at Fort Billingsport. He also worked on the fortifications at Fort Mercer on the Delaware River. [4]



Revolutionary War New Jersey

Source Notes:

1. ^  Continental Congress, Saturday, March 28, 1778:
Roscoe R. Hill, Editor, Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789, Volume X. January 1 - May 1, 1778 (Washington D.C. : Government Printing Office, 1908) page 290
Available to be read at the Internet Archive here

2. ^  Congressional Record: Senate: Vol. 155, Part 5 (Washington D.C. : Government Printing Office, 2009) pages 6153 - 6154
Available to be read at Google Books here

3. ^  The other five people granted Honorary United States Citizenship are: Winston Churchill, Raoul Wallenberg, William and Hannah Callowhill Penn, and Mother Theresa. Only Churchill and Mother Theresa received the Honorary Citizenship while they were alive. All other received it posthumously.
See the document:
U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual Volume 7 – Consular Affairs / HONORARY CITIZENSHIP, which is available to be read on the U.S. State Department website here
 ▸ Note that Pulaski and de Gálvez are not listed in this document, because it was published in 2008, before either had been granted the honor.
  • Pulaski was granted Honorary Citizenship in 2009 (See Source Note 2)
  • Bernardo de Gálvez was granted Honorary Citizenship in 2014 (See H.J.Res.105 - Conferring honorary citizenship of the United States on Bernardo de Gálvez at the Library of Congress website here)

4. ^ For more information about Fort Billingsport, see the Paulsboro page of this website.
For more information about Fort Mercer on the National Park page of this website.