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Marquis de Lafayette

SIDEBAR

Prominent PSCs of the American Revolution

• Marquis de Lafayette. At age 21, the wealthy French aristocrat volunteered his services to the United States and was commissioned as a major general. He brought a dozen other French officers to serve as PSCs for the American cause. While serving as an aide to Washington he was wounded at Brandywine. Lafayette was an extraordinary leader of men, defeating a superior Hessian force, outwitting British pursuers, and fighting at Yorktown. He clothed and equipped American soldiers at his own expense.
• Tadeusz Kosciuszko. A skilled military engineer from Poland, Kosciuszko was recruited in France by Benjamin Franklin, arrived in Philadelphia in 1776, and became colonel of engineers for the U.S. Army. He helped fortify Philadelphia and New York and planned the defense of Saratoga—the turning point in the war—where British Gen. John Burgoyne would surrender. In 1778, the 32-year-old Kosciuszko became chief engineer at West Point. He is known as the “father of American artillery.”
• Kazimierz Pulaski. From a distinguished Polish military family, young Pulaski had more than three years’ experience fighting the Russians when Franklin recruited him in France in 1777. Pulaski was made an American brigadier general and served as aide de camp to Gen. George Washington. Just after arriving on American shores, Pulaski saved Washington from total defeat at the Battle of Brandywine Creek. He became “father of the American cavalry.” His work in defense of Charleston, S.C., in 1779 saved the city from British attack and broke the Redcoats’ momentum northward. He was gravely wounded assaulting the British stronghold of Savannah, Ga., and died at age 32.
• Friedrich von Steuben. This German-Prussian general traveled to France in 1778 to offer his services to the United States via Benjamin Franklin. Von Steuben is considered a founding spirit of the U.S. Army. Arriving just in time to meet Washington at Valley Forge, von Steuben remodeled the Continental Army’s organization, staff, and training. He led troops at Yorktown and was the U.S. military’s first inspector general.
  

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From the September/October 2007 issue of Serviam.