The Peasant Prince; Thaddeus Kosciuszko and the Age of Revolution

The Peasant Prince; Thaddeus Kosciuszko and the Age of Revolution by Alex Storozynski
The plain at West Point is dotted with statues of some of America's most recognizable leaders: Patton, Grant, MacArthur, Washington, Eisenhower.  Overlooking the Hudson at a particularily scenic spot is also a very impressive monument dedicated to Thaddeus Koscieuszko.  WHO????  It notes that he was an engineer and lay the foundation for the West Point fortifications but little else so I was delighted to read this recent account of his life and now understand why the dedication is so significant.  Koscieuszko, born in 1746, was raised in a patrician Polish family which led to an appointment to the royal officer training academy; one of the finest of its kind in Europe at that time.  Thwarted in love by the class system so entrenched in Europe that led to his death sentence he fled Poland to join the American Revolution not long after the Declaration of Independence was signed, proving himself to be one of the Continental Army's most talented engineers.  He was known also as a defender of the common man (a human rights activist ahead of his time) standing up for the rights of slaves, women, Jews and Native Americans.  Indeed, he bequeathed much of his estate, executed by Thomas Jefferson, to freeing slaves. Reading about this obscure man who had a most remarkable career both here and in Europe during times of great upheaval was quite an adventure!