The Casimir Pulaski Monument in Savannah, or Pulaski Monument on Monterey Square, is a 19th-century monument to Casimir Pulaski, in Monterey Square, on Bull Street, Savannah, Georgia, not far from the battlefield where Pulaski lost his life during the siege of Savannah.
The monument is one of the only two that still has a railing around it, the other being the Civil War Memorial in Forsyth Park. [1]
Sources vary with regards to when the cornerstone for the monument was placed, with either 1825 (involving the presence of Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette [2] ) or 1853 being given. [3] Coulter notes that the Lafayette cornerstone was originally located at Chippewa Square, but the funding proved insufficient to erect the monument at that time, and in 1853 it was moved to the Monterey Square, where the monument would be erected. [4] [5] [6] Construction of the monument at Monterey Square began after funding (approximately $17,000) was finally secured. [2] [3] The cornerstone was relaid on October 11, 1853 (anniversary of Pulaski's death). [6] Nash notes it was unveiled in 1856; [2] [3] Knight, however, notes that the statue was dedicated on January 9, 1855. [6] The monument is said, according to Knight, to have been "considered at the time one of the most elegant memorials in America." [6] Alongside the monument, a body alleged to be Pulaski's was buried in it (recent genetic reexaminations of the body are conclusive that this was Pulaski). [7] [8]
Szczygielski notes that already on October 29, 1779 (Pulaski died on October 11 that year) the United States Congress passed a resolution that a monument should be dedicated to him. [9] The Savannah monument, built over half a century later, was the first monument dedicated to Pulaski in the United States. [9]
Work on restoration of the monument began in 1995. [2]
The monument is made from Italian marble, with smaller elements of granite. [3] It is 55 feet (17 m) tall. [2] The monument has a bronze bas relief of mounted Pulaski, and is topped with a statue of Liberty, with the stars and stripes banner. [2] [6] The monument was designed by Robert Launitz. [3] The bas relief was designed by Henryk Dmochowski, and shows the moment of Pulaski's death. [6] [9] Additional elements present on the monument include the coat of arms of Poland and the coat of arms of Georgia. [3]
Inscription on the monument reads: "Pulaski, the Heroic Pole, who fell mortally wounded, fighting for American Liberty at the siege of Savannah, October 9, 1779." [6]
Kazimierz Michał Władysław Wiktor Pułaski was a Polish nobleman, soldier, and military commander who has been called "The Father of American cavalry" or "The Soldier of Liberty".
The siege of Savannah or the Second Battle of Savannah was an encounter of the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) in 1779. The year before, the city of Savannah, Georgia, had been captured by a British expeditionary corps under Lieutenant-Colonel Archibald Campbell. The siege itself consisted of a joint Franco-American attempt to retake Savannah, from September 16 to October 18, 1779. On October 9 a major assault against the British siege works failed. During the attack, Polish nobleman Count Casimir Pulaski, leading the combined cavalry forces on the American side, was mortally wounded. With the failure of the joint attack, the siege was abandoned, and the British remained in control of Savannah until July 1782, near the end of the war.
General Pulaski Memorial Day is a United States public holiday in honor of General Kazimierz Pułaski, a Polish hero of the American Revolution. This holiday is held every year on October 11 by Presidential Proclamation, to commemorate his death from wounds suffered at the siege of Savannah on October 9, 1779, and to honor the heritage of Polish Americans. The observance was established in 1929 when Congress passed a resolution designating October 11 as General Pulaski Memorial Day. Every President has issued a proclamation for the observance annually since.
The city of Savannah, Province of Georgia, was laid out in 1733, in what was colonial America, around four open squares, each surrounded by four residential ("tything") blocks and four civic ("trust") blocks. The layout of a square and eight surrounding blocks was known as a "ward." The original plan was part of a larger regional plan that included gardens, farms, and "out-lying villages." Once the four wards were developed in the mid-1730s, two additional wards were laid. Oglethorpe's agrarian balance was abandoned after the Georgia Trustee period. Additional squares were added during the late 18th and 19th centuries, and by 1851 there were 24 squares in the city. In the 20th century, three of the squares were demolished or altered beyond recognition, leaving 21. In 2010, one of the three "lost" squares, Ellis, was reclaimed, bringing the total to today's 22.
Signers Monument is a granite obelisk located on Greene Street in Augusta, Georgia recognizing the state's three signatories of the Declaration of Independence: George Walton, Lyman Hall, and Button Gwinnett, all of whom are considered Founding Fathers of the United States. The remains of Walton and Hall lay beneath the monument, while Gwinnett's have not been located for certain.
Robert Eberhard Launitz was a Russian-American sculptor.
General Casimir Pulaski is a bronze equestrian statue, by Kazimierz Chodziński. It is located at Freedom Plaza, 13th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, Northwest, Washington, D.C.
Casimir Pulaski was a Polish nobleman, soldier and military commander who has been called "the father of the American cavalry". He has had hundreds of monuments, memorial plaques, streets, parks and similar objects named after him.
The following is a timeline of the history of Savannah, Georgia, United States.
Christ Church is an Episcopal church at 28 Bull Street, Johnson Square, in Savannah, Georgia. Founded in 1733, it was the first church established in the Province of Georgia and one of the first parishes within the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia, earning it the nickname "the Mother Church of Georgia". The present church building was constructed in 1838 and is located in the Savannah Historic District.
The Civil War Memorial in Savannah, Georgia, is a monument honoring soldiers who died during the American Civil War. Located in Forsyth Park, it consists of a 48 foot (15 m) tall shaft topped with a bronze statue of a Confederate soldier. Two bronze busts commemorating notable Confederate army officers flank the monument, which is protected by a railing, one of the only two that still stand around a monument, the other being the Casimir Pulaski Monument in Monterey Square. Originally known as the Confederate Monument, it was dedicated in 1875 to honor Confederate soldiers who died during the Civil War. Following the Unite the Right rally, the city of Savannah renamed and rededicated the structure in 2018. The monument is one of the oldest and largest Confederate monuments in Georgia.
The William Jasper Monument is a monument honoring William Jasper in Savannah, Georgia, United States. Located in Madison Square, the monument was designed by Alexander Doyle and dedicated in 1888.
The Nathanael Greene Monument is a public monument in Savannah, Georgia, United States. Located in Johnson Square, the monument was designed by William Strickland and honors Nathanael Greene, a general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. While the cornerstone was laid in 1825, the monument was not completed until 1830, at which time it served as a joint monument for Greene and fellow Continental Army general Casimir Pulaski. The monument became solely dedicated to Greene in 1853, after which two bronze plaques honoring Greene were added to the structure. In 1902, Greene's body was reinterred under the monument. In 2018, one of the bronze plaques was vandalized with googly eyes, which drew national attention to the monument.
Jones Street is a historic street in Savannah, Georgia, United States. It is named for major John Jones, aide-de-camp to brigadier general Lachlan McIntosh at the 1779 siege of Savannah during the American Revolutionary War.
Johnson Square is one of the 22 squares of Savannah, Georgia, United States. Located in the northernmost row of the city's five rows of squares, it was the first of the squares to be laid out, in 1733, and remains the largest of the 22. It is east of Ellis Square, west of Reynolds Square and north of Wright Square. Situated on Bull Street and St. Julian Street, it is named for Robert Johnson, colonial governor of South Carolina and a friend of General James Oglethorpe. The oldest building on the square is the Ann Hamilton House, at 26 East Bryan Street, which dates to 1824.
Pulaski Square is one of the 22 squares of Savannah, Georgia, United States. It is located in the fourth row of the city's five rows of squares, on Barnard Street and West Macon Street, and was laid out in 1837. It is south of Orleans Square, west of Madison Square and north of Chatham Square. It is known for its live oaks. The oldest buildings on the square are the Theodosius Bartow House and the Bernard Constantine House, which date to 1839.
Madison Square is one of the 22 squares of Savannah, Georgia, United States. It is located in the fourth row of the city's five rows of squares, on Bull Street and Macon Street, and was laid out in 1837. It is south of Chippewa Square, west of Lafayette Square, north of Monterey Square and east of Pulaski Square. The square is named for James Madison, fourth president of the United States. The oldest building on the square is the Sorrel–Weed House, at 6 West Harris Street, which dates to 1840.
Monterey Square is one of the 22 squares of Savannah, Georgia, United States. It is located in the southernmost row of the city's five rows of squares, on Bull Street and Wayne Street, and was laid out in 1847. It is south of Madison Square, west of Calhoun Square, north of Forsyth Park and east of Chatham Square. The oldest building on the square is the Herman Kuhlman Duplex, at 22–24 West Taylor Street, which dates to 1851.
Christ Church Anglican (CCA) is an Anglican parish in the Thomas Square neighborhood of Savannah, Georgia. It traces its history to 1733, when Christ Church was founded as the oldest Anglican presence in Georgia. In 2006, the majority of the clergy and parishioners of Christ Church departed from the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia; in 2012, after a loss in a court case, the congregation leaving the Episcopal Church relocated and renamed itself Christ Church Anglican. It is today part of the Gulf Atlantic Diocese in the Anglican Church in North America.