An aristocrat who fought for the common people, a great Polish patriot who became a hero of the American Revolution, Thaddeus Kosciuszko won fame and lasting glory both in the Old World and the New.

Born in Poland in 1746, Kosciuszko bitterly resented the subjugation of his country to foreign powers. At the same time, touched by the rising revolutionary spirit of the age, he saw that independence could be won only through the efforts of all the people, with ancient class distinctions erased. His record as a cadet in the Polish army was brilliant, but it was clear the country was not ripe for action. He would have to look elsewhere to serve the cause of freedom. And so, in 1776, Kosciuszko crossed the Atlantic to aid the embattled American colonies.

Through the darkest days of the American Revolution as well as in the final drive to victory, working beside such men as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, Kosciuszko proved his genius both as planter and a fighter. By the war's end, he had won the rank of General and the fervent gratitude of the new nation. Yet his greatest challenge still lay ahead. Poland awaited him, and he returned to lead his beloved country in a vast uprising against the power of imperial Russia—a rebellion his leadership brought to the brink of success against overwhelming odds, only to have triumph turned to defeat through sudden betrayal.

One of the inspiring figures in the annals of the struggle for human freedom, Kosciuszko was a soldier and idealist who led men into battle on two continents not for spoils or for conquest, but for their own liberty.

From the dust jacket