The appearance of an English biography of the Polish patriot, Tadeusz Kościuszko, requires no justification. Kościuszko's name is prominent in the long roll-call of Polish men and women who have shed their blood, sacrificed their happiness, and dedicated their lives to gain the liberation of Poland. We are now beholding what it was not given to them to see, the fruit of the seed they sowed--the restoration of their country to her place in the commonwealth of the world. It is therefore only fitting that at this moment we should recall the struggle of one of the noblest of Polish national heroes, whose newly risen country is the ally of England and America, and whose young compatriots fought with great gallantry by the side of British and American soldiers in the war that has effected the deliverance of Kościuszko's nation. M. M. G. CONTENTS Preface 17 Note on the Pronunciation of Names 21 CHAPTER I. The Youth of Kościuszko 23 II. The Fight for American Freedom 37 III. The Years of Peace 53 IV. The First Fight for Poland 71 V. The Eve of the Rising 87 VI. The Rising of Kościuszko--I. 96 VII. The Rising of Kościuszko--II. 129 VIII. The Russian Prison 159 IX. Exile 173 List of Books Consulted 204 Index 205 NOTE ON THE PRONUNCIATION OF POLISH NAMES C==ts. Ć, ci,==a soft English ch. Ch==strongly aspirated h, resembling ch in Scotch loch. Cz==ch, as in charm. Dz==j. J==y. Ł==a peculiarly Polish letter, roughly speaking to be pronounced between u and w. Ó==oo, as in mood. Rz==the French j, as in Jean. Ś, si,==a slightly hissed and softened sound of sh. W==v. Ż, zi==French j. The stress in Polish falls almost invariably on the penultimate syllable. KOŚCIUSZKO CHAPTER I THE YOUTH OF KOŚCIUSZKO The great national uprisings of history have for the most part gone down to time identified with the figure of a people's hero: with some personality which may be said in a certain manner to epitomize and symbolize the character of a race. "I and my nation are one": thus Poland's greatest poet, Adam Mickiewicz, sums up the devotion that will not shrink before the highest tests of sacrifice for a native country. "My name is Million, because I love millions and for millions suffer torment." If to this patriotism oblivious of self may be added an unstained moral integrity, the magnetism of an extraordinary personal charm, the glamour of a romantic setting, we have the pure type of a national champion. Representative, therefore, in every sense is the man with whose name is immortally associated the struggle of the Polish nation for her life--Tadeusz Kościuszko.