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Secondary sourceSculpture1910

Statue of Tadeusz Kościuszko

Antoni Popiel · 1910

A 1910 bronze statue in Lafayette Square, Washington D.C., honoring Kościuszko as a foreign-born hero of the American Revolutionary War.

An American monument honoring Kościuszko's service as an engineer in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.

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Dark bronze statue of a standing military man in a tricorn hat and long coat, atop a tall grey granite pedestal inscribed KOŚCIUSZKO. Below are a bronze eagle on a globe and a bronze figure of a soldier with a rifle; the base is inscribed SARATOGA. Blue sky and green trees behind.
Antoni Popiel, Statue of Tadeusz Kościuszko, 1910. Lafayette Square, Washington, D.C.

About this source

What it is

This bronze statue by Antoni Popiel was dedicated in 1910 in Lafayette Square, across from the White House. It is one of four statues there honoring foreign-born heroes of the American Revolution. The base includes bronze reliefs referencing his service, including the Battle of Saratoga.

Why it matters

The statue commemorates Kościuszko's service as an engineer in the Continental Army, where he earned praise from General George Washington and other officers. Its erection, pushed by the Polish National Alliance and President Theodore Roosevelt, and attended by thousands of Polish Americans, shows how Polish-American communities used public monuments to claim a place in American history.

Look closer

  • Why might Polish Americans in the early 1900s have wanted a monument to Kościuszko in the nation's capital?
  • What do the symbols on the base - the eagle, the soldier, the word Saratoga - tell us about what the sculptor wanted to emphasize?
  • What does the large turnout at the dedication suggest about Kościuszko's importance to a particular community?

This sculpture is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Tadeusz Kościuszko on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Portrait of Tadeusz Kościuszko

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1778

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Constitution of May 3, 1791

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