Thaddeus Kosciuszko: Military Engineer of the American Revolution
by Francis Casimir Kajencki

This military biography of Tadeusz Kosciuszko (Thaddeus or Thad in English) concentrates on his remarkable engineering achievements in the American Revolution during the years 1776-1783. At Fort Ticonderoga, Kosciuszko sought to fortify the nearby and dominating height of Mount Defiance, but General Philip Schuyler failed to heed his advice and lost the bastion to the British. At Saratoga, Kosciuszko's strong position on Bemis Heights blocked the British march on Albany. Thus he destroyed their Grand Strategy for the conquest of the colonies.

At West Point, Kosciuszko carried out General George Washington's strategy of controlling the Hudson River. The brilliant engineer built a fortress the British dared not attack. In the South, Kosciuszko gave General Nathaniel Greene's army an amphibious capability to cross rivers and march rapidly around the British and gain victory.

Returning to Poland, Kosciuszko defended his country against rapacious neighbors. He returned to his adopted country in 1797, but Vice President Thomas Jefferson sent him on a secret diplomatic mission to France, where Kosciuszko persuaded the French government to drop its war-threatening behavior toward America.

FRANCIS CASIMIR KAJENCKI was graduated from the U.S. Military Academy & commissioned second lieutenant in January 1943. He served in the Pacific Theater in World War II, followed by staff & command assignments over a span of thirty years. He retired as Colonel & Assistant Chief of Information, Department of the Army, in 1973. Kajencki earned three Masters degrees: from the University of Southern California in Mechanical Engineering, 1949; University of Wisconsin-Madison in Journalism, 1967; George Mason University in History, 1976. Upon retiring from the army, he took up historical research & writing that led to six published books on American history. The author was born in Erie, Pennsylvania, in 1918. A widower with four adult children, he resides in El Paso Texas.

Publishing House: Southwest Polonia Press, El Paso 1998
Hardcover book measuring 9.5" x 6.25"
334 pages, illustrations
English Language Version

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