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The Peasant Prince

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Probably states the Polish part too much, but Tadeusz Kosciuszko is a fascinating figure, bridging not only the American and French revolutions but the Polish-Lithuanian one as well.  Although not as famous as Casimir Pulaski, who has both a fort and a day named after him, Kosciuszko was no less instrumental in helping to win battles during the American revolution and defend the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth back at home. 

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  1. avrdsMarch 7, 2011 at 4:14 PM

    That actually looks fascinating. I just came across Lithuania again last night, reading a letter to the head of the National Museum arguing for a bison reserve. They were used as the model of what Americans should be doing, rather than trying to kill off the very last one of them.

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  2. James FergusonMarch 7, 2011 at 5:02 PM

    There's another book exploring the relationship between Jefferson, Kosciuszko and Agrippa Hull,

    http://jah.oxfordjournals.org/content/96/1/193.full

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  3. JAbelMarch 8, 2011 at 9:48 AM

    Avoice would love this or make a really wise ass comment about it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. James FergusonMarch 8, 2011 at 2:15 PM

    A colleague told me this morning that Kosciuszko is of Ukrainian/Belarusian ancestry, not a drop of either Lithuanian or Polish blood. However, the old Polish/Lithuanian Commonwealth took in most of Belarus and the Ukraine at the time, which is why he ended up forming the Society of Polish Republicans.

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