The program includes the traditional wreath-laying ceremony at Stanislaw Batowski’s painting of Pulaski at Savannah. Admission is free and the program begins promptly at 10 a.m. in the PMA Sabina P. Logisz Great Hall, 984 North Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago.
General Kazimierz (Casimir) Pulaski (b. Warsaw, Poland, March 6, 1745 – d. near Savannah, Georgia, October 9-10, 1779) is recognized as the “Father of the American Cavalry.” He offered his services as an experienced military leader to the American Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. “I came to hazard all for the freedom of America,” stated Pulaski in a letter to the Congress. Even before he was officially commissioned by Congress, Pulaski joined the American Army as a volunteer. At Brandywine, in 1777, he greatly distinguished himself by leading a daring attack against the British, thereby saving the retreating American Army.
At the insistence of General George Washington, Pulaski was made a Brigadier General and the first Commander of the American Cavalry. He established the Pulaski Legion, a corps of Frenchmen, German Hessians, and Poles, who were instrumental in saving the City of Charleston, South Carolina, from British occupation in 1779. In October of 1779, at the age of 34, General Pulaski paid the ultimate price for freedom: he died from mortal wounds received while leading a cavalry charge in Savannah, Georgia. The General’s mortal remains were ceremoniously reinterred at the Pulaski Monument at Monterrey Square in Savannah, GA in October of 2005. Posthumous honorary US citizenship was granted to General Pulaski in 2009.
In 1977, Illinois made Casimir Pulaski Day an official state holiday, the only state in the union that has done so. Join friends and supporters of the PMA as your representatives in government celebrate the commitment of Polish Americans to liberty and justice for all in the United States of America. Refreshments will be served following the official program in the Polish Roman Catholic Union of America Social Hall on the first floor. Free parking.
Additional information may be found on the PMA website: www.PolishMuseumOfAmerica.org
