Vice President Thomas Jefferson Aids His Friend and Fellow Republican, Polish Revolutionary War Hero Gen. Thaddeus Kosciuszko

The relationship between Thomas Jefferson and the Pole Thaddeus Kosciuszko is one of the most interesting to come out of the American Revolution. Kosciuszko received his military training in France, concentrating on artillery and engineering. In 1776, as a skilled military engineer, he came to Philadelphia to offer his services to the American colonies in their struggle for independence. On October 18 of that year he was commissioned as Colonel of Engineers by the Continental Congress and began his service of planning and fortifying key sites. First Kosciuszko helped fortify the Philadelphia waterfront, then after he was transferred to New York, designed fortifications along the Hudson. He planned the defense of Saratoga, and the victory in the resulting battle there swayed the French to agree to a treaty of alliance, which proved to be the turning point of the Revolution. In 1778 Kosciuszko was made chief engineer at West Point, New York. His fortifications there became known as the American Gibraltar, as the British were unable to penetrate them. Then he was sent South to serve with Gen. Nathanael Greene, and made significant contributions to Greene’s successful campaigns. On June 10, 1781, while participating in the siege of British Fort Ninety-Six, Kosciuszko was wounded. He ultimately achieved the rank of brigadier general, and was a member of the Society of the Cincinnati.

Kosciuszko, along with the Marquis de Lafayette and Rochambeau, represented the spread of the spirit that stemmed from Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence

Shortly after arriving in Philadelphia in 1776, Kosciuszko read the Declaration of Independence and was moved to tears because he discovered in this single, concise document everything in which he truly believed. When he discovered that Thomas Jefferson was responsible for drafting the Declaration, he felt compelled to meet him. In time Kosciuszko stopped in Virginia to meet with Jefferson. After a very warm reception, the two men spent the day comparing philosophies and found their sentiments the same.

At the close of the Revolution, Kosciuszko returned to Poland, where his military leadership was called upon in the Russo-Polish War of 1792. Poland was defeated and ceased to exist as an independent nation. Kosciuszko was badly wounded in the great Polish Uprising against Russia in 1794, and was thereafter imprisoned in St. Petersburg, Russia. In 1797, in exchange for his freedom and that of other Polish prisoners, Kosciuszko promised not to return to Poland, and returned to America, arriving in Philadelphia in August 1797. It was there that he and Jefferson formed a strong and lasting friendship, with Kosciuszko making long visits to Monticello. Even though Kosciuszko would remain in the United States for less than a year before returning to Europe, the correspondence between him and Jefferson continued for over 20 years until Kosciuszko’s death in Switzerland in 1817.

When Jefferson was elected President in 1800, Kosciuszko wrote: "Do not forget in your post be always a virtuous Republican with justice and probity without pomp and ambition; in a word, be Jefferson and my friend." Jefferson in turn told Kosciuszko: “The tree which you had so zealously assisted in planting you cannot but delight in seeing watered and flourishing.” And of his friend, Jefferson said, “He is as pure a son of liberty as I have ever known.”

Just before Kosciuszko left America on April 30, 1798, he executed a Power of Attorney to Thomas Jefferson, authorizing him to manage his investments in the United States. It stated in part: “Know all men by these presents that I Thaddeus Kosciusko late of Poland, but now at Philadelphia in the United States of America do hereby constitute & appoint Thomas Jefferson of Monticello in Virginia my attorney in fact and proxy in all cases within the United States, giving him full power & authority over all the property real or personal, in possession right, title or action which I now have, or hereafter may have within the United States, and of and touching the same to enter into and conclude any transactions which he may think expedient for my interest with any person or persons, body politic or corporate, or any state or the United States, and…receive, dispose of, transfer & convey the same in all cases whatsoever, & to give, make & take in every case full and valid transfers, conveyances, discharges & acquittances, as to any thing touching the premises…”

It is touching to see the relationship forged in the fight for independence transforming into this lifelong partnership. This is a very rare memento of the Jefferson-Kosciuszko relationship, being one of the transactions in which Jefferson acted on behalf of Kosciuszko. Document signed as Vice President, Philadelphia, May 10, 1800, just months prior to the removal of the U.S. Government to Washington, DC, transferring Kosciuszko’s shares in the Bank of Pennsylvania to a third party.“I, Thomas Jefferson, Attorney to Genl. Thaddeus Kosciuszko, For value received, assign and transfer two shares in the Capital or joint stock of the President, Directors, and Company of the Bank of Pennsylvania, to Joseph Olden.” Olden was from a prominent family in the Pennsylvania/New Jersey area; the document was witnessed with the signature George Smith.  The Bank of Pennsylvania was established on July 17, 1780, by Philadelphia merchants to provide funds for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Within a year after the Union was founded in 1781, the Bank of North America superseded the Bank of Pennsylvania.  In 1793, the Bank of Pennsylvania was re-established, with a charter from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and branches were opened in Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Lancaster, Reading, and Easton.

A search of public sale records going back 40 years shows just three others of these documents, the last appearing in 1997.  Anything relating to this great Polish patriot and his service or relationships in America is very uncommon.

There is a twist to their relationship that relates to emancipation of slaves. In 1798, at the same time as the Power of Attorney, Jefferson helped Kosciusko draft a will that provided funds to educate and emancipate slaves. Jefferson himself agreed to be the will's executor. Kosciusko returned to Europe, and over the years wrote three more wills (1806, 1816, and 1817) that put his 1798 bequest in jeopardy. In fact, the will he wrote in his own hand in 1816 contained a clause that explicitly revoked all previous wills. However, in an 1817 letter to Jefferson, Kosciusko referenced the 1798 bequest as if it were still operational. Notwithstanding that the 1817 will covered his European property, it contained a provision that the will's beneficiaries apparently believed gave them the right to the funds in the 1798 will. When Jefferson’s learned of Kosciusko's death, he voiced reservations about remaining as executor, citing his age – he was approaching 75 – saying that seeing to the provisions of the will, "would take a longer course of time than I have left of life." He then learned of Kosciusko's 1806 and 1817 wills when the beneficiaries and representatives wrote to him claiming all or part of the funds covered by the 1798 will. At this point, Jefferson was sure he did not want to be the executor, adding the prospect of litigation to his list of reasons for bowing out. Although he would not be the executor, Jefferson then took steps to insure that Kosciusko's intent would be honored, and repeatedly indicated in his correspondence that this is what he wanted.  He asked John Hartwell Cocke, a well-respected Virginian who had anti-slavery sentiments, to take his place. Cocke, amenable at first, eventually declined the appointment. Jefferson is much criticized for bowing out and leaving the slaves in place unfreed. But he was right that the litigation surrounding this would exceed his lifetime, as it was not ended until a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 1852 found for the European heirs and against the 1798 will.