Kaz: War, Love, and Betrayal, by Bogdan Kotnis
(For young readers unfamiliar with this Polish military leader and his contributions to winning the American Revolutionary War.)
Kaz: War, Love, and Betrayal is an historical novel that follows the factual exploits of General Kazimierz Pulaski, who fought the Russians in Poland and then led cavalry soldiers in the fight against the British in the Revolutionary War.
Kaz’s story begins in 1763, when as a Colonel of the Polish Bar Confederacy, he led Polish cavalry troops in various battles against the Russians and Catherine the Great, who conspired with Prussia and Austria to take over Poland and eventually erased it from the map.
As the Bar Confederacy was nearing defeat, Kaz left Poland as a fugitive from the false claim that he had attempted regicide. In 1777, Benjamin Franklin was the new American ambassador to France and, upon the recommendation of General Lafayette, who described Kaz’s wartime experience in commanding cavalry, recommended Kaz to General George Washington. Pulaski then sailed for America, believing that the defeat of Britain would indirectly benefit the Poles’ ability to oppose Russian interference in Poland.
Shortly after his arrival, Kaz reunited with Lafayette, who introduced him to George Washington. Washington was familiar with another of Poland’s better-known American heroes, Colonel Tadeusz Kościusko, and was favorably disposed toward Pulaski.
Pulaski, despite his lack of English, acquired and trained horses, recruited European immigrants and American colonials, trained them in the science of calvary warfare, and wrote the U.S. Army’s first manual on calvary warfare. He removed horses from their role as ceremonial vehicles and promoted them to the trained steeds of deadly, front-line warriors.
Kaz recognized the error to not enlist American Indians as allies against the British. He arranged to meet the leaders of the Haudenosaunee Nation to ask for their support against the British. Despite his successful scouting and fondness for the Haudenosaunee, Kaz was unsuccessful in dissuading Washington from sending General Sullivan on a campaign to subdue the Haudenosaunee tribes.
Kaz is credited with saving Washington’s life at the Battle of Brandywine. As the British closed in on the Americans, he gathered a small group and led the charge that disrupted the British enough to enable the safe retreat of Washington’s forces.
Washington also sent Pulaski to Savannah to repel a British attempt to establish a Southern foothold. He succeeded in driving the British south; however, he was betrayed by Major James Curry, who informed the British of the battle plan. As a result, he was wounded by shrapnel in his final charge and died a few days later.
