Pulaski, Casimir

(1745–1779), also known as ‘the father of American cavalry’, fought as a member of the Polish nobility against Russian domination of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. When this uprising failed in 1777, he went to North America as a soldier of fortune. He wrote to Washington: ‘I came here, where freedom is being defended, to serve it, and to live or die for it’. Even before he was given a formal appointment, he averted a disastrous defeat of the American cavalry and in so doing, saved the life of George Washington. He became a general in the Continental Army and died in the Battle of Savannah in 1779. Pulaski is one of the very few people to have been awarded honorary US citizenship. The equestrian statue in Washington DC of a proud Pulaski is one of the finest in the US.