Kosciuszko’s Garden is one of the oldest, continuously existing gardens in America. In 1802, the year of the first class at the newly formed United States Military Academy, remains of Kosciuszko’s Garden were discovered by Cadet Joseph Swift. In his writings he states, “Early in this summer of 1802 Lieutenant Macomb and myself repaired the dilapidated garden of Kosciuszko, re-laid the stone stairway to the dell, and opened the little fountain at the base of ‘Kosciuszko’s Rock’ in the garden; planted flowers and vines and constructed several seats, which made the spot a pleasant resort for a reading party.” Kosciuszko was still alive in exile in Europe at the time having been released from a Russian prison as a prisoner of war. He most likely never knew of the enduring legacy of his garden and forts.

Colonel Thaddeus Kosciuszko, an engineer from Poland, served as Chief Engineer at the Battle of Saratoga in October of 1777, and Chief Engineer at Fortress West Point from 1778-1780, where he designed and constructed the majority of the fortifications.

In the spring of 1779, when resources were scarce at Fortress West Point and work had come to a standstill, Kosciuszko built a small garden overlooking the Hudson, building steps down the side of the cliff face, harnessing a natural spring to create a fountain and designing a circle of rocks that held flowers that reminded him of Poland. Here he studied books of the Enlightenment and used the garden for “rest and repose.” Almost 250 years later, cadets and many others at West Point still use the garden for the same purpose.

Cadets at West Point around 1880 can be seen sitting in a tree in Kosciuszko’s Garden in the photo on the left. The trail shown on the right was recently reopened to reconnect Kosciuszko’s Garden to Flirtation Walk / Revolutionary Supply Road after having been closed for the past 20 years due to erosion. Through a joint effort by Garrison Commander Colonel Andrew Hanson and the West Point Class of ’70, the trail was reopened in 2017.

Seen below are the Kosciuszko Memorial on The Plain and the fountain in Kosciuszko’s Garden, both of which were paid for by cadets in approximately 1820. The committee in charge at the time included Cadet Robert E. Lee.

An annual dedication ceremony to Kosciuszko is held every April by the American Association of the Friends of Kosciuszko at West Point, Inc.,and has included the President of Poland and many other ambassadors, dignitaries and military officers. In addition, this organization sponsors a yearly conference at West Point on Kosciuszko and other topics related to his achievements in America and Poland.

AGRIPPA HULL: FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN SOLDIER TO SERVE AT FORTRESS WEST POINT

Agrippa Hull, a freeborn New Englander and African American son of a slave brought to America, served as orderly to General Horatio Gates and Colonel Kosciuszko. Joining the American Revolutionary Army at age eighteen in 1777, he served throughout the entire war as orderly, spy for Kosciuszko in the Southern Campaign and medic. Highly revered by Kosciuszko, his relationship to Hull inspired Kosciuszko’s life-long quest to ensure “liberty for all” for minorities. At Kosciuszko’s death in 1818, the Polish general left all the money he had earned in the American Revolution to Thomas Jefferson for the express purpose of freeing and educating his slaves.

In 2008, one of America’s leading historians, Gary B. Nash, wrote Friends of Liberty: Thomas Jefferson, Tadeusz Kosciuszko and Agrippa Hull – A Tale of Three Patriots, Two Revolutions, and a Tragic Betrayal of Freedom in the New Nation. In this book he uses the three men to explore the complexity of the country’s idealistic struggle for “freedom for all,” and the different paths taken by these men to attempt to actualize that ideal.

Jefferson is shown on the right wearing Kosciuszko’s coat originally given to the Polish general by Russian Czar Paul upon his release as a prisoner of war. Kosciuszko returned to Poland at the conclusion of the American Revolution and worked tirelessly as Commander in Chief of the Polish Army and helped to create the world’s second democratic constitution. Kosciuszko led Polish forces in an unsuccessful attempt to defeat the Russians and the Prussians – who ultimately took over Poland – and he was imprisoned by Catherine the Great. Upon his return trip to America after his prison release, Kosciuszko happily gave his coat from Czar Paul to Jefferson who indicated his admiration for the garment. Jefferson’s sculpture depicts him wearing this coat in the lobby of the USMA Jefferson Library.

Jefferson called Kosciuszko “the purest son of liberty” he had ever known and asked that he be buried next to him at Monticello. Kosciuszko declined his friend’s offer as he hoped to be buried in a restored Poland one day which finally happened in the 20th Century. Sadly, the money left by Kosciuszko was never used for the freedom or education of Jefferson’s slaves.