I am convinced that in many respects my narrative will be entirely opposed to the representations given in the public papers; for our land, like most countries struggling for liberty, was surrounded by enemies rather than friends. The sources from which these accounts have been drawn, are, first, my own recollections of events of which I was an eye-witness; secondly, the reports of my friends and comrades who were present; and lastly, (particularly as to the operations of the detached corps) the official reports of the army, which have not yet escaped my memory. The same course I have followed in the design of the plans, which have been traced partly from my own recollections of positions and scenes at which I was present, partly from the accurate reports of friends, and partly from public reports, assisted by my personal knowledge of localities. Americans! I am neither an author nor a scholar by profession, but a simple republican and soldier. In such a one you will forgive faults in the form and style of writing. Do not then judge me as a writer, but see in me an unhappy Pole, who presents to your sympathies the picture of the fatal disasters of his unfortunate country, and of the manner in which it strove to regain its liberty, that first and greatest of national blessings. In this hope of your indulgence, I beg you to accept this work as a token of my gratitude and as a memorial of my short stay among you, as well as an expression of the great esteem, with which I shall always remain, Americans, your devoted servant, JOSEPH HORDYNSKI. To the gentlemen who have aided me, by the translation, the execution of the plates, and the publication of the work, I offer the only recompense which they will permit me to make--my heartfelt thanks; and I assure them that in the feelings which prompt this acknowledgment, all my comrades will participate. J.H. PRONUNCIATION.--_To the Reader._ There are difficulties in the way of accurate rules for the pronunciation of Polish words arising from the circumstance that some letters have varieties of sound which are indicated by signs in the Polish alphabet, and which cannot be represented in the English. Thus, the letter _Z_ has, in addition to that of the English _Z_ the sounds of _jet_ and _zet_; the first indicated by a short line and the second by a dot placed over the letter. It has therefore been thought more for the convenience of readers, who may wish to know the English pronunciation of the names which occur in this work, to subjoin an alphabetical list of them and their pronunciation, than to give rules which must necessarily be imperfect. This list will be found at the end of the Volume. [Illustration: CASIMIR PULASKI, _the undaunted Chief of the Poles during the Confederacy of Bar from 1768 to 1772. Born in 1746 & killed before Savannah in 1779 while fighting for the Liberty & Independence of these U.S._ _Dedicated to the American people._