Pulaski, Casimir, << pu LAS kee, KAZ uh mihr >> (1745-1779), a Polish nobleman and soldier, won fame for his role with the Continental Army in the American Revolution (1775-1783). In Polish, his name is spelled Kazimierz PuĊaski. In 1777, Pulaski sailed to America to offer his services to General George Washington. Pulaski was Washington’s aide-de-camp at the Battle of Brandywine in September 1777. At Washington’s urging, Congress made Pulaski a brigadier general. Pulaski, an expert cavalryman, organized a corps of cavalrymen that became known as Pulaski’s Legion. The group performed valiantly in the South. It participated in the siege of Savannah, where Pulaski was wounded on Oct. 9, 1779. He died two days later.
Before coming to America, Pulaski led an unsuccessful revolt of Polish forces against Russia, which controlled Poland at that time. He learned of the American cause in France from Benjamin Franklin, who encouraged him to travel to America.
Pulaski was born on March 6, 1745, in Warsaw, the Polish capital. By an act of the United States Congress, October 11 is observed as Pulaski Day. In Illinois, the first Monday in March is celebrated as Pulaski Day.
