The Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial

Written By Jim Murphy

Coming in at just .02 acres in size, the Kosciuszko House, 301 Pine Street in Philadelphia’s Society Hill area, is the smallest unit in the entire U.S. National Park system. It’s usually open Saturday and Sunday, noon to 4 p.m. Photo by Jim Murphy, author of “Real Philly History, Real Fast,” published by Temple University Press.

A Polish Shrine

I love taking Polish tourists to this site. It was the home of Thaddeus Kosciuszko, Polish general and military engineer who helped the U.S. win the Battle of Saratoga. A turning point in the war, that victory impressed the French enough to sign a formal Treaty of Alliance with the Americans. The rest is history.

Kosciuszko (pronounced cuz-CHOOSE-co) convinced Congress to pay him for time served in the Revolutionary War. He then got Thomas Jefferson to agree to use this money to free his slaves after Kosciuszko’s death. Kosciuszko confirmed the agreement with the former president one month before he died. But Jefferson went to court later and said he couldn’t do it.

There were some complications to the will. But I believe Jefferson’s real hesitation was that he simply couldn’t take a decisive public action against slavery.

That’s just one of many reasons I consider Thomas Jefferson “the Pete Rose of the Revolution.” He was a great talent with very little integrity.

 

Some Sources:

  • https://culture.pl/en/article/tadeusz-kosciuszkos-last-will-testament-an-unwritten-chapter-in-american-history

  • https://culture.pl/en/article/tadeusz-kosciuszko-thaddeus-stevens-and-the-abolition-of-slavery-in-america-and-poland

  • https://hiddencityphila.org/2020/08/revolutionary-war-hero-thaddeus-kosciuszko-ages-well-in-new-era-of-social-justice/

  • http://npshistory.com/publications/thko/hsr.pdf

  • https://www.battlefields.org/learn/revolutionary-war/battles/saratoga

  • https://www.inquirer.com/philly/opinion/commentary/jefferson-kosciuszko-revolution-slaves-will-poland-20170915.html

  • https://www.nps.gov/places/kosciuszko-house.htm

  • https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/12/some-clarification-on-thomas-jefferson/266143/#

  • https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/12/thomas-jefferson-tadeusz-kosciusko-and-slavery-annette-gordon-reed-responds/266382/#

Jim Murphy
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