Unidentified artist - Bust of Thaddeus Kosciuszko, Perth Amboy

This bust of Thaddeus Kosciuszko is located in front of St. Stephen's Parochial School in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. The subject, Thaddeus Kosciuszko (1746-1817), was “one of the first European volunteers to aid the American revolutionary cause in 1776.” A brilliant Polish military engineer, Kosciuszko “designed and constructed fortifications to help defeat the British, most notably at Saratoga and West Point…”(1)

Kosciuszko served as chief engineer of West Point in 1778, and was appointed Brigadier General in 1783. He received the Cincinnati Order Medal from General George Washington, who presented him with two pistols and a sword as gifts for his service to the young nation.(2) Kosciuszko was also a close friend of Thomas Jefferson.

Returning to Poland in 1784, Kosciuszko helped his own country win independence from the surrounding European powers. He has long been considered a national hero for his service during the 1794 insurrection. In 1797 he returned to America. His home at 3rd and Pine Streets, Philadelphia – now called the Kosciuszko House – is now an historic site.(3) Kosciuszko later returned to Europe, spending his remaining years in Switzerland.

(1,2) Polish American Center website (see link below).

(3) National Park Service website (see link below).

Bust of Thaddeus Kosciuszko, Perth Amboy

Thaddeus Kosciuszko, 1890, terra cotta bust, St. Stephen's Parochial School, Perth Amboy. Photograph by Douglas Petersen.

Thaddeus Kosciuszko, 1890, terra cotta bust. Detail of photograph by Douglas Petersen.

The bust above was made of terra cotta – literally, “baked earth” – a brownish-orange earthenware clay commonly used for ceramic sculpture.

Other memorials to Kosciuszko include a bridge in New York City, a school in New Jersey, a town in Mississippi, and a mountain in Australia, all of which bear his name.

(Spring 2006)