Tadeusz Ko¶ciuszko has been regarded by generations of Poles as one of the greatest freedom fighters of his era. He was born on 4 February 1746 in Mereszowszczyzna in the Polessia region. The fourth child of Ludwik Ko¶ciuszko and his wife Tekla, he did not stand a good chance of inheriting a substantial part of his father's property, which was to pass on to his elder brother Józef. However, a military career stood open before Tadeusz. Therefore in 1766, after finishing school at Lubieszów, Ko¶ciuszko joined the Szko³a Rycerska, a miltary academy newly founded by King Stanis³aw August Poniatowski. Although poor and without connections, the young cadet quickly drew the attention of his superiors and was promoted to the rank of lance corporal. After participating in an engineering course for the best students, he was promoted to captain. Next he left for France, where he intended to study at the finest military schools in Paris. In spite of the lack of money for full-time study, young Ko¶ciuszko managed to attend public classes and private lectures, bought scripts and theoretical manuals and studied the defensive fortresses outside Paris.

Five years abroad gave the young man a good insight and understanding of the need for the changes and reforms that Poland desperately needed. But his return home in 1774 proved to be a huge disappointment. Two years earlier Poland had sustained the First Partition by Russia, Prussia and Austria, which were no match for the limited, 10,000-strong Polish army. There was no room in the army for Ko¶ciuszko. He could not find it in his family home, either, which had been mismanaged by his elder brother after the death of their parents. When, in addition to that, he suffered an emotional heartbreak, because the father of his beloved Ludwika Sosnkowska rejected this impoverished son-in-law, Tadeusz decided to go abroad once again.

In 1776 he went to North America, to the United States, where he took part in the War of Independence. Since he had an engineering education, the American Congress promoted him to the rank of colonel and ordered him to fortify Fort Ticonderoga. On completing that duty, Ko¶ciuszko set about the construction of fortifications near Saratoga on the Hudson River, which ultimately stopped the advance of the British army. It was there that the army capitulated on 17 October 1777. Ko¶ciuszko was granted American citizenship for special bravery at Saratoga and promoted to the rank of brigadier-general.

In 1784 he returned to Poland, only to find that nothing had changed in the country. He settled at his estate in Siechnowice, where he lived a simple, modest life. The situation did change, however, in 1791 when the Four-Year Sejm (1788-1791) enacted reforms in the army, treasury and the executive authority, to improve the domestic conditions of the state. An innovative constitution was passed on 3 May and Poland became a modern constitutional monarchy. A military commission was created to rebuild the army, which did not have a proper staff of officers. For Ko¶ciuszko, this opened up the prospect of a military career also at home. On 12 October 1789 he received an appointmnent from the king to the rank of major general in the cavalry, which he duly accepted.

However, the country itself was divided. Part of the noble estate sided with the king and Parliament, in favour of reform. Others allied themselves with Russia and Tsarina Catherine II, creating the Confederacy of Targowica, which effectively led to the 2nd Partition of Poland in 1793. Polish patriots refused to give up, however, and began plotting an uprising which would free the country from foreign rule. The rising, later known as the Ko¶ciuszko Insurrection from the name of its supreme commander, broke out on 24 March 1794. One of the biggest battles of the time was fought at Rac³awice, where Ko¶ciuszko attacked the forces of General Tomasov. The Polish kosynierzy, a peasant infantry unit armed with characteristic straight scythes, proved their special bravery. When the news of this victory spread, another uprising broke out in Warsaw, under the command of Jan Kiliñski, and a few days later still another one in Lithuania. Nonetheless, faced with the huge armies of the partitioning powers, the insurrection of the Polish patriots had little chance for success. In October 1794 Tadeusz Ko¶ciuszko's army was defeated at Maciejowice by the Russian army of General Alexander Suvorov. Ko¶ciuszko was taken prisoner, while the slowly subsiding uprising finally ended on 9 November.

The 3rd and final partition came a year later, after which Poland disappeared from the map of Europe. Tadeusz Ko¶ciuszko went into exile in Switzerland, where he died in 1817. After his death, his compatriots brought his remains to Poland an laid them to rest in Wawel Cathedral in Cracow, the burial place of kings and Poland's most distinguished men and women.

Facts The outbreak of the Ko¶ciuszko Insurrection was announced in the Market Square of Cracow on 24 March 1794. There, Ko¶ciuszko was nominated the Supreme Commander of the Polish Army and swore an oath before the townsfolk of Cracow that he would free Poland and restore her old borders. This event has been recorded for posterity by a commemorative plaque laid in the Market Square.