KOSCIUSKO. 



327 



struggle for freedom, in which he engaged under 

 Washington, who made him his aid. He distin- 

 guished himself particularly at the siege of Ninety- 

 Six, and was very highly esteemed by the army and 

 the commander-iii-chief. He and Lafayette were the 

 only foreigners admitted into the Cincinnati. Kos- 

 ciusko received the rank of general, and, in 1786, re- 

 turned to Poland. When the Polish army was formed 

 (1789), the diet appointed him a major-general. He 

 declared himself for the constitution of May 3, 1791, 

 and served under prince Joseph Poniatowski. In 

 the campaign of 1792, he distinguished himself 

 against the Russians at Zieleneck and Dubienka. At 

 the latter place, under cover of some works which 

 he had thrown up in the course of twenty-four hours, 

 he repulsed, with 4000 men, three successive attacks 

 of 18,000 Russians, who prevailed only after the loss 

 of 4000 men. Kosciusko retired without having 

 suffered severely. When king Stanislaus submitted 

 to Catharine, he, with sixteen other officers, left the 

 army, and was, therefore, obliged to retire from 

 Poland. He went to Leipsic ; and the legislative 

 assembly of France, at this time, gave him the rights 

 of a French citizen. The Poles becoming impatient 

 under the oppression of Russia, some of Kosciusko's 

 friends in Warsaw determined to make an effort for 

 tiie liberation of their country. They chose Kosci- 

 usko their general, and made him acquainted with 

 their plans. He imparted them to the counts Igna- 

 tius Potocki and Kolontai in Dresden, who thought 

 the enterprise injudicious. Kosciusko , however, went 

 to the frontier, and sent general Zajonczeck and 

 general Dzialynski into the Russian provinces of 

 Poland, to prepare every thing in silence. But 

 when the Polish army was merged, in part, in the 

 Russian, and the remainder reduced to 15,000 men, 

 the insurrection broke out before the time fixed on. 

 In Posen, Madalinski forcibly opposed the disso- 

 lution of his regiment. All now flew to arms ; the 

 Russian garrison was immediately expelled from Cra- 

 cow. Just at this moment, Kosciusko entered the 

 city. The citizens now formed the act of confederation 

 of Cracow (March 24, 1794), and Kosciusko, at their 

 head, called upon the Poles to restore the constitution 

 of May 3. Kosciusko then advanced to meet the 

 Russian forces. Without artillery, at the head of 

 only 4000 men, part of whom were only armed with 

 scythes and pikes, he defeated 12,000 Russians at 

 Raclawice (April 4, 1794). His army was now 

 increased to 9000 men, and he formed a junction 

 with general Grochowski. In the mean time, the 

 Russian garrisons of Warsaw and Wilna had been put 

 to death, or made prisoners. Kosciusko checked the 

 outbreak of popular fury, sent troops against Vol- 

 hynia, and organized the government at W r arsaw. 

 He marched out of the city, with 13,000 men, to 

 oppose 17,000 Russians and Prussians, attacked 

 them at Szezekocini, June 6, but was defeated after 

 an obstinate conflict. He retreated to his entrenched 

 camp before Warsaw. The Prussians took Cracow. 

 Disturbances broke out, in consequence, in Warsaw, 

 June 28. The people murdered^ a part of the 

 prisoners, and hung some Poles who were connected 

 with the Russians. But Kosciusko punished the 

 guilty, and restored order. The king of Prussia 

 now formed a junction with the Russians, and 

 l>esieged AVarsaw with 60,000 men. Kosciusko, 

 however, kept up the courage of his countrymen. 

 After two montlis of bloody fighting, he repelled, 

 with 10,000 men, a general assault. All Great 

 Poland now rose, under Dombrowski, against the 

 Prussians. This circumstance, together with the loss 

 of a body of artillery, compelled the king of Prussia 

 to raise the siege of Warsaw. Thus this bold gen- 

 eral, with an army of 20,000 regular troops and 



40,000 armed peasants, maintained himself against 

 four hostile armies, amounting in all to 150,000 men. 

 His great power consisted in the confidence which 

 his fellow citizens reposed in him. The nephew of 

 the king, once his general, served under him. Kos- 

 ciusko had unlimited power in the republic, but he 

 displayed the integrity of Washington and the acti- 

 vity of Caesar. He attended to procuring supplies, 

 superintended the raising and payment of money, 

 and prevented plundering and fraud, and was equally 

 active in the council and the field. His days and 

 nights, all his powers were devoted to his country. 

 He secured the administraton of justice, abolished 

 bondage, and finally restored to the nation, May 29, 

 in the supreme national council which he established, 

 the great power which had been delegated to him. 

 Catharine at length decided the contest by an over- 

 whelming superiority of numbers. Suwaroff defeated 

 the Poles under Sierakowski at Brzec, in Volhynia, 

 September 18 and 19. Repnin penetrated through 

 Lithuania, and formed a union with Suwaroff ; gen- 

 eral Fersen was to support them with 12,000 men. 

 To prevent this, Kosciusko marched from Wai-saw 

 with 21,000 men. Poninski was to have supported 

 him with his division ; but the Russians intercepted 

 tiie messenger. The united Russian armies under 

 Fersen attacked the Poles, who were not more than 

 one third as strong as the Russians, October 10, at 

 Macziewice (about fifty miles from Warsaw) ; they 

 were three times repulsed, but, on the fourth attack, 

 they broke through the Polish lines. Kosciusko fell 

 from his horse covered with wounds, exclaiming, 

 " Finis Poloniee,'' and was made prisoner by the 

 enemy. In losing him, his country lost all. Suwaroff 

 stormed Prague, November 4 ; Warsaw capitulated 

 on the 9th ; Madalinski left Great Poland; an Aus- 

 trian army appeared before Lublin. But the noble 

 efforts of the conquered had awakened the regard of 

 Europe towards the unhappy country, and the dearest 

 hopes of the nation the restoration of their mon- 

 archy, with a free constitution found a powerful 

 support in public opinion. Catharine caused the 

 hero and his noble colleagues, who were prisoners of 

 war, to be thrown into a state prison. Paul I. gave 

 them their liberty, and distinguished Kosciusko by 

 marks of his esteem. He presented his own sword 

 to the general, who declined it with these words 

 " I no longer need a sword, since I have no longer a 

 country." To the day of his death, he never again 

 wore a sword. Paul then presented him with 1500 

 peasants, and his friend Niemcewicz, the poet, with 

 1000. When on the Russian frontier, Kosciusko 

 declined this present by a letter. He and his friend 

 now went by the way of France and London, where 

 Kosciusko was treated with distinction, to America 

 (1797). His fortune was very small. On his return 

 to his native country after the war of the revolution, 

 he had received a pension from America, and he now 

 found there such a reception as he deserved. In 

 1798, he went to France. His countrymen in the 

 Italian army presented to him the sabre of John 

 Sobieski, which had been found (1799) at Loretto. 

 Napoleon afterwards formed the plan of restoring 

 Poland to its place among the nations, and thus, at 

 the same time, injuring Russia and extending his 

 own power over the east of Europe. But Kosciusko 

 would take no part in this struggle, which was con- 

 ducted by Dombrowski, in 1807 and 1808, being 

 prevented less by ill health than by having given his 

 word to Paul I. never to serve against the Russians. 

 To Napoleon's proposals he answered, that " he 

 would exert himself in the cause of Poland, when he 

 saw the country possessed of its ancient territories, 

 and having a free constitution." Fouche tried every 

 means to carry him to Poland. An appeal to the 



