How a Heroic Polish Engineer’s Designs Aided America’s Victory in the Revolutionary War

Young engineer Tadeusz Kosciuszko aided America’s revolution with diversionary tactics and engineering feats.

“Surrender of General Burgoyne” by John Trumbull, 1821. Oil on canvas. United States Capitol, Washington, D.C. Public Domain

The Continental Congress enthusiastically welcomed Thaddeus Kosciuszko to Philadelphia in 1776. Kosciuszko’s engineering skills were urgently needed to build forts, plan defenses, and design fortifications for a young nation at war with the world’s greatest empire.

The Journal of the Continental Congress for October 18, 1776, read: “RESOLVED, that Thaddeus Kosciuszko be appointed an engineer in the service of the United States, with the pay of sixty dollars a month, and the rank of colonel.”