In Progress...
Cambridge Common in Boston, MA can trace its history back to 1632 at the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Company. Follow along as we connect Harvard University, the founding of Connecticut, Paul Revere & the Midnight Ride, Bunker Hill, General George Washington, the Siege of Boston, Fort Ticonderoga, the signing of the first Massachusetts Constitution, Polish-American War Heroes, Irish Famine, the Civil War, World War 2, West Point, Abolition, Matt Damn & Ben Affleck, and the nation's first subway system to Cambridge Common.
Harvard Station, Red Line, Boston's T
Coming from Downtown Crossing, take the Red Line Train to Alewife 5 stops (about 10 Minutes), and get off the T at Harvard. You can come out the station a few different exits, all on Massachusetts Ave.
One exit for Harvard Square for dining & westbound transfers, and one on Church St, near the Johnson Gate to Harvard, for the University & northbound transfers. Whichever way you choose, look for the Church Steeple, walk towards the First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church, away from the business district.
First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church, Built 1833, also known as the Fifth Meeting House.
The First Meeting House in Cambridge, MA was right outside the Harvard Square Station, at Massachusetts Ave & Dunster St. Probably at the site of today's Cambridge Savings Bank.
The first Minister, Thomas Hooker, left in 1636 to escape religious persecution from the Mass. puritans, and he founded Connecticut Colony. After Hooker left, it became the First Church of Cambridge. Rev. Thomas Shepard convinced Massachusetts Bay Colony leaders to build their first University across the Street, and in 1636 Harvard University was created.
The First Harvard College building was built in 1638 & stood until 1670.
Cambridge, 1668 - Facing SouthWest from atop Harvard Yard 1. The Second Meeting House, 2. Harvard College, 3. House of the Minister Thomas Shepard, 4. Market Square, 5. Creek Lane with road to Watertown, 6. Town Wharf and Ferry Landing, 7. Causeway through the Marsh, 8. The Great Bridge across the Charles River 9. First School House
The Second Meeting House was built in 1652, across the street on the site of Harvard's Lehman Hall. The Third Meeting House was built on the same site in 1706. In the photo above, we can see the site is on a hill, referred to as "Watchmen's Hill", not on level ground like today, but perhaps the hill was excavated to build underground for the Subway in 1912.
In 1925, Harvard's Lehman Hall was built on the site of the former 2nd, 3rd & 4th Meeting Houses. This view taken from Brattle Square, facing Harvard Square Station & Lehman Hall.
In 1680, Rev. William Brattle graduated from Harvard University and became the rector at the Second Meeting House. He moved from Calvinism to a more liberal theology. He attracted many to Cambridge & Harvard, and as far back as 1692 the road from Watertown Square to Harvard Square has been named Brattle St. It meets with Mt Auburn Rd out in West Cambridge, but also ends at Mt Auburn Rd in Brattle Square, directly in line with Harvard Square & Lehman Hall, the site of the 2nd Meeting House where he preached until 1717.
British General Thomas Gage, Governor of Montreal & Massachusetts Bay
Rev. Brattle's son, also named William Brattle, would graduate from Harvard in 1722. He served 21 terms as Cambridge Select Person, and also served as Assemblyman and Attorney General of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He was commander at Boston's Fort William during French & Indian War. By 1771, he was the Major General for Massachusetts Militia and was involved with the Sons of Liberty (Samuel Adams), but he was a British Loyalist and alerted British Governor Thomas Gage in 1774. He was confronted by future President John Adams, and fled back to Fort William on Castle Island, and occupied the British Fort during the Siege of Boston. After the siege, the Colonists captured Fort William, claiming it as Fort Independence. He fled to Nova Scotia in 1776 and remained there until his death, an American traitor. Gen. Gage also fled back to England.
William Brattle House, c.1727, 42 Brattle St, Tory Row. 1 of 7 original Mansions on Tory Row in Cambridge, named Brattle St after Rev. Brattle. The house sits across from the Harvard Bus Tunnel South Exit, at Brattle Square, one block from the Third Meeting House/Lehman Hall.
John Adams visited here in 1776 on his way to Philadelphia to sign the Declaration of Independence, after the second William Brattle fled to Nova Scotia.
In 1756, the Fourth Meeting House was built on the site of the 2nd & 3rd Meeting Houses and present-day Lehman Hall. In 1775, George Washington worshipped on site at the Fourth Meeting House (Harvard Yard) while commanding the Army after Lexington & Concord, MA. The British occupied Christ Church a few blocks up the street, as we will see below. Fourth Meeting House was used until 1829 and in 1833 today's Fifth Meeting House was built at Mass Ave & Church St
In September 1779, the Fourth Meeting House hosted the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention. John Adams drafted the document, with support from Samuel Adams and James Bowdoin. Adams referred to Massachusetts as a Commonwealth rather than a state.
#MassachusettsFirst became the first state in the US, and the first state to end slavery, and was an early abolitionist hub. Adams wrote "All men are born equally free & independent..." but the Convention had it altered to read "All men are born free & equal..."
Article I. All men are born free and equal and have certain natural, essential, and unalienable rights; among which may be reckoned the right of enjoying and defending their lives and liberties; that of acquiring, possessing, and protecting property; in fine, that of seeking and obtaining their safety and happiness.
Learn more about #MassachusettsFirst abolitionist history, as well as the first desegregated schools in the nation in our article Walking the Black Heritage Trail on Historic Beacon Hill, Boston's Underground Rail Road & African American History Museum.
Former Continental Congress President & 1st signer of the Declaration of Independence, John Hancock of Beacon Hill was elected as the 1st Governor of Commonwealth of Massachusetts and served until 1785. Re-elected in 1787 as the 3rd Governor of Massachusetts he was responsible for convincing Massachusetts to ratify the Constitution in 1789, and unsuccessfully ran for President against George Washington. When he died as Governor in 1793, Hancock Manor was donated to build the Massachusetts State House on Beacon Hill. Samuel Adams moved in as the Fourth Governor, serving until 1797.
Fifth Meeting House remains the First Parish in Cambridge, because the parishioners can trace their continuity all the way back to the First Meeting House, down the street in 1632. Everything we just mentioned is directly related to the history of the church. For about 200 years, until 1833, the First Parish operated as the center of governance for Cambridge, MA.
Illustration - September 1836 procession of Harvard alumni leaving the First Parish Meeting House and walking to the Pavilion - by the daughter of Harvard President, Josiah Quincy III
Left-This is most likely the actual Washington Elm Tree where George Washington took over command of the Continental Army in 1775, we will learn more about that later.
In 1837, Transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson gave his famous "American Scholar" address here at the Fifth Meeting House at the First Parish Church.
While facing First Parish, you'll be across the street from the Main Gates to Harvard
(Though there are many lesser used gates to access the Campus from different streets, mostly from the 1800's by Class of 18xx etc). Before we enjoy Harvard, we will explore the green space in Cambridge right outside the University.
In front of the Church is General MacArthur Square with a statue of Sen. Charles Sumner.
Sumner & his father were both Harvard Law graduates. Sumner was from Beacon Hill, near the Hancock Manor. Boston (specifically Beacon Hill) was a well-known center in the Abolitionist Movement and Underground Railroad Hub. Sumner linked up with Gov. John Andrew, Frederick Douglass, and other abolitionists, like the first 2 Black Representatives in Massachusetts (Lewis Hayden & John J Smith). Most Southern Democrats were pro-slavery, so Sumner was a Whig, and later a FreeSoil Democrat, ally of NY's Martin van Buren. As we will soon see, he was partially responsible for creating the anti-slavery Republican Party , and later became a Radical Republican, critical of the Lincoln-Johnson Union after the Civil War. Sen. Sumner was featured in our article Walking the Black Heritage Trail on Historic Beacon Hill, Boston's Underground Railroad & African American History Museum
Learn More about Senator Charles Sumner, who was nearly caned to death on the Congress Floor, while pro-slavery Democrats held Congress at gunpoint, in 1856. He gave his speech "The Crime Against Kansas" for opposing the Democrat-led slave state movement in Kansas & Nebraska. Also, in 1856, the Republican Party was founded as an anti-slavery party, and their first nominee Abraham Lincoln would win the next election in 1860, throwing the US into Civil War, when Southern Democrats seceded and recognized Jefferson Davis as President. Perhaps Democrats caning their comrades publicly and holding their fellow Congressmen hostage at gunpoint didn't sit too well with the rest of the country... Sumner is the first Senator to develop a LEGITIMATELY diagnosed PTSD from Washington DC, even though 540+ members of US Senate & House are traumatized daily by DC politics. :-)
The square is named after General Douglas MacArthur, born in Little Rock, Arkansas but raised in San Antonio, Texas. MacArthur was the Chief of Staff for the US Army in the 1930's, until his retirement in 1937. He came out of retirement in 1941 to lead the US Army in the Far East, the Pacific Theatre. He was kicked out of the Philippines by Japanese invaders during the Bataan Death March. He operated the Southwest Pacific Battalion from Australia and returned to the Philippines in 1945 and forced Japan into surrender. He remained in the Philippines from 1945-1951 overseeing the establishment of an independent country, from the former US Territory. He also spent much of that time in Tokyo, overseeing the International Military Tribunal (Far East Nuremberg Trials), and working with Emperor Hirohito to overcome spread of Communism from China. He became Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces. In 1948, he ran and lost against Pres. Truman as the GOP nominee.
During the Korean War, MacArthur was responsible for working with the UN to take back most of North Korea and unite it with South Korea. When Chinese troops interfered, MacArthur suggested nuclear strikes along the Chinese-Korean border to permanently alter their border, and provide the UN a safe zone in Korea. The UN frowned on the US threatening nuclear weapons for a war it wasn't involved in, and Truman forced MacArthur to step down. The UN lost North Korea, and Chinese Communist forces drove them back to the current North & South Korean border today. In 1951, at 71 years old, MacArthur returned to the US as a National Hero and Medal of Honor recipient, popular enough to run for President. (The next election would see GOP Gen. Eisenhower defeat Truman)
MacArthur was invited to nearly every state in the country. Boston held the biggest welcome-home celebration for MacArthur in the country, as over 500,000 people surrounded South Station for his arrival by train. Legends recall up to 2 Million people in attendance, but newspapers at the time settled at over 500,000 but less than 1 Million, including the Harvard Crimson. MacArthur would even be an adviser for Massachusetts own JFK while President in 1961 (Age 81) before dying in 1965.
Cross up the street to Flagstaff Park, you will see the tall monument for the American Revolution.
There is an underground tunnel to Brattle Square coming out of the ground if you follow the Trolley Cables overhead. Be careful, stay left on the tiny sidewalk, watch for outgoing buses! There used to be Trolley Stations underground at many Subway T stops in Boston, before city buses were common. The trolley cables can be seen going into the ground in Flagstaff Park, near the flagpole and go completely under the street and some of the University, and they come out of the ground in the restaurant district in Brattle Square, a few blocks away.
Alternatively, if you are in the restaurant district in Brattle Square, you can see where the buses come from the underground tunnel to start the run Westbound. I imagine this used to, or still does, connect to the T station somehow. Google Maps lists this as "Harvard Bus Tunnel." Nowadays, we catch multiple Buses above ground about 5 minute walk from the Harvard T stop, mostly West of Harvard Square.
Learn more about Harvard Square & Cambridge being the transit hub from Boston & Charlestown to western suburbs like Watertown & Mt Auburn here where we examine the History of Boston's T, Oldest Subway in US and examine Harvard's history as a transport hub.
Ignoring the underground tunnel, we cross Massachusetts Ave on the Left to Cambridge Common. We see the Civil War Monument towering over the middle of the park, but wait....
A plaque on the wall of the bank reads "Here lived Stephen Daye who set up near by the first printing press in British America 1638." In 1640, Stephen Daye printed the first book in America, known as the Bay Psalm Book. Out of 1700 copies, only 11 exist today.
As far back as 1630, Cambridge was the halfway mark between settlements in Charlestown & Watertown. Following the directions on the sign, we start in Charlestown around Lechmere Station. Somerville Ave may have been part of today's Mass Rt. 28 going into Boston at one point, but the damming of the Charles River and creation of Back Bay has altered the land greatly from how it used to look in 1630. Leaving Lechmere you head NW on Somerville Ave, to Union Square in Somerville, MA. Turn Left on Washington St (Not to be confused with Boston's Washington St which was the only road into Boston from the South until the damming of the Back Bay.) Stay on Washington St to Ward Two, where Somerville ends, and Cambridge begins, and Washington St becomes Kirkland St. Kirkland St goes right through the middle of Harvard University and comes out at Cambridge Common at this very marker.
Go left on Mass Ave 1 block to Harvard Square, stay right onto Brattle St, and follow it until it merges with Mt. Auburn St and ends at Watertown Square on the Charles River. As stated, in 1636 Thomas Hooker left the First Parish of Cambridge for religious freedom and rode this trail to Watertown on his way to found New Canaan (Hartford) of the Connecticut Colony.
Cambridge Common is known for gatherings to protest, and they usually end up marching this same trail down to Boston Common, about 90 Minutes, and unite for bigger protests.
Gift of the Wind, Porter Square,15-minute walk (1-Mile) North from Harvard Square.
Cambridge Common was a green space that originally stretched a mile up Mass Ave to your right and ended around Porter Square. Today only 0.2 Miles each to your right and left remain. Porter Square became the next T stop, north of Harvard, when the Red Line was extended past Harvard in 1985.
Porter Square is one of 2 places who claim to have coined the phrase "Porterhouse Steak" to refer to an oversized T-Bone Steak in the early 1800's (The other was Pearl St, Manhattan). Zachariah Porter (1797-1864) owned the Porter House Hotel at what was then known as Union Square. It was renamed Porter Square in his honor in 1899.
Around present-day Lancaster St (Half a Mile to the North), was Gallows Hill. This was Cambridge's public hanging ground since 1638. In 1755, 2 slaves were killed here, one hung from the Gallows and one burned at the stake (It's a Massachusetts Thing...) These were the last executions there and Cambridge Common was shortened by 5 blocks, to nearby Linnaean St in 1770. Cambridge Common was shortened by a half-mile to what we know today by 1837, when the Cloverden House was built one block North of the park.
Built 1901 - Cabot House, Radcliffe Quadrangle, Harvard Houses, Cambridge, MA
Today, most of the former land is residential, as well as part of Harvard's off-campus housing, a children's botanical garden, and Radcliffe University (1901). The Radcliffe Quadrangle is a famous cluster of off-campus housing for Harvard undergrads. The rest of the 12 Undergrad houses are south of Harvard Square, near the Charles River, known as the River Houses.
North of Cambridge Common, just south of Gallows Hill (today known as Avon Hill) we find the oldest house in Cambridge, the Cooper-Frost-Austin House from 1681. A children's nursery home lies very near to, if not on the exact location of the gallows.
Back at Cambridge Common, the first monument is on the far right of the Common (NE). John Bridge was born in Braintree, Essex County, England in 1578. He arrived in Cambridge, MA in 1631 with Thomas Hooker and helped establish the First Parish Church. He stayed when Hooker left to found CT in 1632 and recruited Rev. Thomas Shepard from England. Bridge was also responsible for establishing the First Public School of Cambridge in 1635. He later became a Select Person for MA, an early Representative title such as the one John Hancock would hold 100 years later. He was also responsible in founding Braintree, MA & other settlements in New Towne, MA (Greater Cambridge). The statue is referred to as "The Puritan". It was dedicated by Samuel Bridge in 1882. Samuel also dedicated the John Harvard Statue we will learn more about later. (Learn More About Harvard University)
Since 1899, The Puritan, Merrick Park, Quadrangle, Springfield, MA
In the 1880's, many other Puritan/Pilgrim themed statues were dedicated in the former Colonies, like "The Puritan" in Springfield, MA, and "The Pilgrim" found both in Philadelphia & NYC Central Park. This one is the first monument to Puritans in the US.
Turn back Left (SW), and head towards the middle of the park to the Civil War Monument.
You will see the Green where Ben Affleck & Matt Damon met playing football in the mid-80's
From the front of the Monument walk to the left (W), and we will come across the Washington Elm.
Washington's Orders
Washington Elm
In this 1808 view from the North End of Cambridge Common facing South to Harvard Square, we can see that there are no trees in the entire park except for tall tree in the middle of the photo. Find the American Revolution Monument in Flagstaff Park in the middle of the photo, and just to the right, the tree at the end of the path. This is most likely Dawes Island, and this was the Washington Elm before it was moved to create an intersection. Harvard College is on the Left and Christ Church (1760) on the far right. We will learn more about Christ Church soon. Notice there is no Civil War statue or any other monument either.
In 1932, Washington's 200th birthday was celebrated by spreading trimmings across the US.
Many Washington Elm trimmings have been planted across the country and today many cities have a Washington Elm in their city park, check yours out, mine did. Albany, NY was on the center of the Henry Knox Trail as we will soon learn, and a strategic power in the War.
Albany, NY already had a planting of the original Washington Elm from 1862 when Frederick Law Olmsted completed Washington Park & Washington Lake, they created an entire Elm Walk leading to and from George Washington's Elm.
Today the Elm Walk leads to the Soldiers & Sailors Monument & Henry Johnson Memorial
Back at Cambridge Common, if you walk 2 blocks to the right, and take a right on Brattle St, you will cross through Lesley University, and find the Longfellow House. This was Washington's Headquarters during the Siege of Boston in '75 & '76.
Henry Knox 1750-1806
After Washington took command of the Army at Cambridge, he switched his high-ground bases from Bunker Hill in Charlestown to Dorchester Heights, south of Boston. They were better positioned to fire on occupied Boston to scare off the British, but he didn't have the' long range weapons necessary. Local bookmaker Henry Knox had a plan. Knox was an Army Colonel and one of the Sons of Liberty aligned with Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, William Dawes, Joseph Warren and others. Knox was an eyewitness at the Boston Massacre and testified against the British, and he also participated in the Boston Tea Party. He was manning cannons at Bunker Hill. He was loyal to the cause, and willing to go to great lengths to save Boston from British occupation.
In May 1775, Ethan Allen's Green Mountain Boys forced the British to surrender at Fort Ticonderoga, situated between Crown Point, Lake Champlain & Lake George, NY. They had abandoned their ammunitions and Knox planned a 300-Mile trip to Ticonderoga, to claim the artillery and bring them back to Cambridge in the dead of winter to catch the British off guard. He left Cambridge on Horseback on December 1, 1775, and arrived 4 days later. He discovered & repaired 59 pieces of heavy artillery. 43 Heavy Cannons made of Brass & Iron, 6 Cohorns, 8 Mortars & 2 Howitzers would go a long way back in Boston if all went well.
By December 9th, 1775 Henry Knox's troops had loaded the artillery onto 40-flat bottom barges and sent them 30 Miles South on half-frozen Lake George on the way to Fort William Henry. They made it just as the lake was freezing over.
On December 17th, 1775, Knox wrote Washington and hoped to be in Cambridge in 16-17 days (January 2-3). They ran into a lack of snow and the Sleds were stuck for about a week. On Christmas morning, several feet of snowfall allowed them to begin their trip to Albany. This was the first of many Christmas miracles that would aid Gen. Washington & Col. Knox.
They began a 250+ Mile Land Journey on 40+ Wagon Sleds pulled by 80+ pairs oxen, over ancient Native American foot paths in the brutal Adirondack & New England cold winds & snow storms. They journeyed over land to Albany and arrived on Jan. 5th, 1776. They needed to cross the Hudson River over to Massachusetts Colony. The ice wasn't deep enough for them, and they failed on two separate attempts, losing a sled & a cannon.
Henry Knox Trailhead (The Final Marker on 56 stop trail throughout NY & MA)
Finally, on January 8th, 1776, they capitalized on an overnight deep freeze, and crossed the Hudson at 8am making 23 separate trips across. The local Albany villagers helped them recover the Cannon they lost in the Hudson and they set off from Kinderhook, over land towards Boston. They journeyed through the Berkshire Mountains to Springfield, MA and continued East on the Boston Post Rd to Watertown, MA where they followed the 1630 Trail named above to arrive here at Cambridge Common at the end of the trail on January 24th, 1776 (only 3 weeks late). The entire trip took 55 days from start to finish, thus the 56 Markers.
View of Boston from Dorchester Heights, 1841, Mass State House in Center
Washington waited six weeks until March 4th, 1776. He distracted the British by using the Ticonderoga Cannons at Cambridge to fire on their troops from the North, while his 2nd Army setup the surprise attack from Dorchester Heights in the South. The men were only able to drag a small amount of the cannons to Dorchester and painted some logs to match the cannons and arranged them to look like they had more firepower than they actually did. It worked; the British thought it was a new army arriving from the South for backup, and on March 17th, 1776, they fled Boston, including Gen. Gage & William Brattle, abandoning Castle William, which the Americans claimed as Fort Independence! The British continued through Maine, retreating all the way to Halifax in Nova Scotia colony, a huge win for the US.
British Landing at Kips Bay, Manhattan Island. September 15, 1776
Knox would remain close to Washington, who appointed him 1st Senior Officer of the US Army after they renamed the Continental Army in 1776. Knox worked with Alexander Hamilton, Commander of the NY Army, to better protect Connecticut & Rhode Island territories from British occupation, which would cut their armies off from each other. On September 15th, 1776, the British landed at Kip's Bay in Manhattan, and Knox fled to Trenton with Aaron Burr.
Washington prepares to cross the Delaware, with Henry Knox's British Cannons
Knox navigated the Crossing of the Delaware River by Washington's troops on Christmas, 1776. This was the 2nd Christmas miracle for Knox, Washington & the US Continental Amry. Knox fought with Washington in victories at Battles of Trenton & Princeton. In 1777, he defended NJ/PA during the British Philadelphia Campaign, including the Battle of Monmouth. In 1777, he trained over 1,000 troops at the first US Military School, predating West Point, which was not regained from the British until 1778. He was Washington's Northern Commander and supplied him with freshly trained troops during the Southern Campaign. He was involved in the investigation that uncovered Benedict Arnold's treason and he also fought in the Siege of Yorktown. After the War, he moved to Newburgh, NY and became the Commander of the first Military Academy at West Point, NY. When Washington was elected as 1st President of the Constitutional Republic in 1789, he chose his old friend Henry Knox to serve as 1st US Secretary of War until 1794. Knox famously petitioned the Confederate Congress for a pension from his war efforts and was denied, so he became a member of the Federalist Party, led by John Adams, in favor of strong central government.
In 1783, Henry Knox founded the Society of the Cincinatti in Fishkill, NY. It was named after Lucius Quinctius Cincinattus (519-430BC) an early civil rights activist in ancient Rome, he helped create the idea of a Republic. November 25th, 1783 was known as Evacuation Day, when the British surrendered Manhattan after ending the War for the Treaty of Paris.
Mount Gulian Verplanck, Fishkill, NY (Baron Friedrich Wilhelm Von Steuben)
Knox met with other commanders like Alexander Hamilton at Baron Friedrich Von Steuben's headquarters at Mount Gulian in Fishkill, NY. 14 Branches of the Society were setup, one in each colony and one Society of the Cincinatti in France to celebrate the Revolution.
Interior of the Mount Gulian Verplanck House where the Society of Cincinatti formed
On July 4th, 1784 King Louis XVI hosted the Society's first independence celebration. Other members of the society included Aaron Burr, Philip Schuyler, Philip Van Cortlandt & George Clinton of NY, Nathaniel Greene of RI, Benjamin Tallmadge of CT, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney of SC, George Washington, Horatio Gates & Henry Lee III of VA, Poland's Tadeusz Kosciuszko & France's Marquis de Lafayette, Comte de Rochambeau & Pierre L'Enfant.
Much later, future Presidents James Monroe, Franklin Pierce, Andrew Jackson, Zachary Taylor, James Buchanan, Ulysses Grant, Grover Cleveland, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Warren Harding, FDR, Harry Truman, Ronald Reagan & George HW Bush became members of the SOC.
Today, 3 Cannons here symbolize Henry Knox's 600-mile roundtrip journey from Lake Champlain to Boston, and his efforts to aid Gen. Washington in the Siege of Boston.
Nearby are 2 Memorials for the Revolutionary War heroes from Poland: Tadeusz Kosciuszko & Casimir Pulaski
Thaddeus Kosciuszko Statue at Lafayette Square, DC
Thaddeus Kosciuszko (1746-1817) was a famous military commander from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth who fought against Russia, Prussia & Austria during the Polish Civil Wars. He was born in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and today many nations claim him as their own such as Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, Latvia & Russia. He graduated from Cadet Corps in Warsaw, Poland and Paris, France. He met Benjamin Franklin, American Ambassador to France, and sailed to the US in 1776 with Pierre Beaumarchais.
Tadeusz applied to the 2nd Continental Congress on August 30, 1776 and was assigned to the Continental Army the next day as a Colonel under Maj. Gen. Horatio Gates and the Northern Army. He was a skilled engineer and tasked with designing fortifications for the defense of the colonies. His first task was protecting Philadelphia from invasion at Billingsport & Ft. Mercer across the Delaware River in NJ. In May 1777, he was posted at the former British Fort Ticonderoga where Henry Knox recovered cannons 18 months earlier. British Gen. John Burgoyne sieged Ticonderoga and the Northern Army fled towards New Jersey and Philip Schuyler ordered Kosciuszko to delay the British by all means. Tadeusz came up with creative solutions like dropping trees across the path, damming streams to flood the roadways and destroying bridges, effectively destroying any supply routes in New York State for a couple years, preventing British advancement from Canada.
Surrender of Gen. Burgoyne at Battle of Saratoga, October 1777
After this, Gates ordered Kosciuszko to protect the Hudson River and the routes to the Green Mountains & Berkshires by fortifying at Stillwater, NY. At the inevitable Battle of Saratoga in October 1777, Kosciuszko's creative Earthworks prevented Burgoyne's Army from reaching high ground and Horatio Gates' Northern Army forced Burgoyne to surrender, one of the first victories for the US Army.
In March 1778, Kosciuszko arrived at the newly regained West Point, NY. Kosciuszko spent 2 whole years fortifying West Point on the Hudson River, including today's Fort Clinton. It was originally named Fort Arnold after Benedict Arnold, but when sold out to the British and tried to turn over West Point, the British were unable to take over the base, and it was renamed Fort Clinton after the NY Governor. Tadeusz is also responsible for the Great Chain Across the Hudson River which prevented any British ships from accessing the upper New York colony.
In 1780, he was transferred to the Southern Army in Virginia & South Carolina and saw grave injustices from slavery and slave auctions and he began to question the Liberty they were fighting for. He organized all-black militias that no white commander would lead. When British Gen. Cornwallis chased Nathaniel Greene's Southern Army 200-miles to the Dan River in 1781, it was Kosciuszko who scouted their retreat and had flat bottom boats built to maneuver the waterways in Virginia and allowed the Southern Army to regroup at Halifax, VA when Gen. Cornwallis troops were unable to cross the river and returned to NC. Kosciuszko later led the Continental Army in their last battle of the War at James Island, SC in November 1782, and he was involved in reclaiming Charleston, SC after British evacuation.
Thaddeus Kosciuszko & Thomas Jefferson
After the Treaty of Paris ended the War in 1783, Tadeusz returned to Poland and fought against Russia until 1796. By then Russia had annexed Poland at least 3 times, and Kosciuszko was wounded and taken prisoner at Poland's last stand, but the Tsar pardoned him and he returned to the US, where he became good friends with Vice President Thomas Jefferson. Tadeusz wrote a will leaving all of his US assets, including six and a half years of military pay, to funding the cause of abolishing slavery in the US. However, he moved back to Switzerland before dying in 1817 and his will was not carried out as he wished, the funds never went towards abolition. He specifically requested that his friend Thomas Jefferson use Tadeusz's estate to pay for the freeing of Jefferson's own slaves and their further education, but when the time came Jefferson feigned old age at 77 years old and claimed he couldn't execute the will. Jefferson was paid to free his slaves by his Polish friend who travelled across the Atlantic to fight for Jefferson's very freedom, and he still chose not to do so. In 1826, an African American school was built in Newark, NJ and named for Kosciuszko.
In 1798, Kosciuszko received word from Poland that his family members were involved with the French Revolution and were fighting with Napoleon Bonaparte against Russia. Kosciuszko was banished from Russia after his pardon and our Vice President Thomas Jefferson procured a false passport for Kosciuszko so he could travel to Paris. The Americans hoped Kosciuszko could persuade Napoleon to becoming an American ally, the Federalists like current President John Adams were loyal to Britain and were hesitant of France after the XYZ Affair and the French Revolution and execution of King Louis XVI, an American ally.
Kosciuszko clashed with Napoleon and didn't participate in the puppet state "Duchy of Warsaw" and Russia approached him to run a Russian puppet state in Poland but he declined. He retired to neutral Switzerland for the rest of his days. He is remembered as the most famous Pole worldwide and a Revolutionary War hero, civil rights activist and liberator of free people, as well as a brilliant engineer and strategist. Some of his famous quotes are "No citizen could be a complete man who did not give some service to his country" and
"Do not draw me without reason, do not sheathe me without honor" inscribed on his Sword.
Kosciuszko has many monuments worldwide, but he is especially famous in New York State. For years my daily commute included crossing the Kosciuszko Twin Bridges over the Mohawk River in the Capital District twice a day. Millions of New Yorkers are familiar with the Kosciuszko Bridge that connects the BQE from Queens to Brooklyn, and the Kosciuszko Street stop on the Jamaica Line. Tadeusz has a huge monument at West Point overlooking the Hudson River Valley as well as a monument at the Saratoga Battlefield National Park, plus his house in Philadelphia is a National Landmark. Tadeusz also has a statue in the Public Garden at Boston Common, as well as many other American cities.
Casimir Pulaski, Polish-American Brigadier General, Saved Washington's Life
Kazimierz Pulaski (1745-1779) was a Polish-born nobleman who also participated in the Polish-Lithuanian Civil Wars, and was close to the Holy Roman Emperor, Joseph II. After the First Partition of Poland in 1772, Pulaski fled to France. A death sentence was issued from the Russian government of Poland and Pulaski attempted to fight with the Ottoman Turks against Russia but they were defeated and he returned to France. He was captured but Marquis de Lafayette & Benjamin Franklin recruited him to right for the American Army and he left France for Boston on July 23, 1777. He immediately contacted Gen. Washington and on August 20th, 1777 he met Washington in Philadelphia and remained by his side for most of the War. He saw his first battle on September 11th, 1777 at Brandywine near the Delaware border south of Philadelphia. They were surprise attacked and forced to retreat. Gen. Washington was in danger of being killed, and Pulaski gathered 30 Cavalry and fought off the British Army from forward progress while Washington escaped to safety.
Washington promoted him to Brigadier General and he remained with Washington through the Battle of Germantown and the winter at Valley Forge. He is known as one of the 2 founders of the US Cavalry, along with Michael Kovats de Fabriczy, from Hungary. They organized Pulaski's Legion in Baltimore and they utilized Cavalry to scout British movements and to distract during attacks. He did not want to participate in the Iroquois Wars in New Jersey and Washington assigned him to South Carolina instead.
On December 29, 1778 the British had captured Savannah, they planned to move on Charleston, SC next, and when Pulaski arrived in Charleston on May 8, 1779 the city was already in crisis. General Benjamin Lincoln's Army had abandoned Charleston and setoff to Augusta, GA to attempt to retake Savannah for the Americans. 3 days after he arrived in Charleston, the British Army attacked, Pulaski was nearly killed, but escaped, while most of his 60-man cavalry was slain. They held off at Charleston and planned to take back Savannah.
Michael Kovats de Fabriczy, was killed at the Siege of Charleston on May 11th, 1779.
Casimir Pulaski, Polish-American Brigadier General, Killed At Siege of Savannah
On October 9, 1779 was the Siege of Savannah. The French participated in the Southern Army's attempt to take back Savannah. During the fighting, Pulaski was leading the French Cavalry when he was mortally wounded by grapeshot. Both the Charleston Museum and the Georgia Historical Society have fragments of the grapeshot that killed Pulaski on display.
In 1837, Pulaski Square was dedicated on the spot where he was killed, but he had been buried at Monterey Square instead, a couple blocks away near Forsyth Park. Pulaski was a known freemason and Marquis de Lafayette laid his cornerstone at the Pulaski Monument in Savannah in 1825 with a full Masonic tribute. A 55-Foot Marble statue was dedicated, one of the largest in the country at the time. Today, Monterey Square & Pulaski's death and the Siege of Savannah feature on the Ghosts & Gravestones Haunted Tour in Savannah, GA, one of the 2 most haunted cities in the country, with New Orleans. Pulaski also has several statues across the country including Freedom Plaza in DC, and the Pulaski Bridge in Queens-Brooklyn and the Pulaski Skyway in Jersey City-Newark, NJ.
Back at the Washington Elm, walk down the West path back towards Harvard and we will pass a Monument for the Irish Hunger Famine. It was dedicated in 1997 by Irish President Mary Robinson.
Across the street to the right is Christ Church Episcopal dating back to 1759. The Church was occupied by the British Troops in Winter 1775, yet Martha Washington still requested New Years service on Dec. 31, 1775 and sent a special request to the King. The Washingtons celebrated Christmas Eve mass here under British-occupancy, while Col. Knox waited in Albany, NY with a sled-train of cannons, ready to leave at first snow. A Christmas miracle occurred, and Knox men woke on Christmas Morning to heavy snow fall and set off to Boston to attack the British with their own cannons. The Church was closed until 1790, and it did not have a full time rector until 1829. By 1857, Congregation was so big the Church was expanded for more parishioners.
In 1879, one of the Sunday School teachers was fired for embracing Dutch Reform. He was NY's own Theodore Roosevelt, future President of the United States, Harvard Class of 1880.
Continue back to the beginning of Cambridge Common, and cross Dawes Island. Dawes Island is named after William Dawes, who was one of 3 men who made a "Midnight Run" to alert the Colonists that "The British Are Coming" on April 18-19, 1775. Most people are familiar with Paul Revere who rode from Boston's North End to Charlestown, along the Mystic River past British lines to Somerville, Medford & Arlington and linked up with Dawes and Dr. Samuel Prescott to alert Concord, MA. William Dawes also left South Boston, rode through Roxbury, Brookline & Brighton, crossed the Charles River into Cambridge and continued North past Arlington to Lexington where he met with Revere. Dr. Joseph Warren sent Revere & Dawes to meet John Hancock & Samuel Adams. If Revere had been captured, we would never know his name, but the results would be the same as Dawes also completed the journey to deliver the news. Nearby is a marker depicting where he rode through Cambridge on his way to Lexington & Concord. In 1767, Dawes was one of 250 Boston natives who refused to buy British Goods, and basically started the "Buy American" movement. Dawes was also a Son of Liberty and a Freemason. Samuel Adams led the Sons of Liberty and Paul Revere would become the Grand Master Mason in Boston about 15 years after the Revolution. After his Midnight Ride, Dawes joined the Continental Army, fighting in the Battle of Bunker Hill in June 1775, and fleeing to Worcester, during the Siege of Boston.
Looking across the street to your right, away from Harvard, you will see the "Old Burying Ground" dating back to 1635. It is nestled between First Parish Church of 1632 and the Christ Church of 1760. Old Burying Ground was the only cemetery in Cambridge for over 200 years, so everyone from local slaves to the President of Harvard were buried next to each other in poorly marked graves. Some gravestones from 1600's still remain today. Oldest MARKED Grave is Ann Erinton (1576-1653) born abroad in Staffordshire, died in Cambridge.
The Portland Loo, At Your Service, MacArthur Square, Cambridge, MA
We arrive back at MacArthur Square, you can use the bathroom if you dare!
WARNING
Live By The Can, Die By The Log & Make Racists Scared Again - Poetry at Harvard Square
Capitalism vs Communism - Public Bathroom Debates at Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA
Back at First Parish Church, we cross the street to Johnson Gate to enter Harvard University at the East Campus . Through Harvard Yard to Science Center Plaza, cross over to West Campus, circle back to Harvard Square for Lunch, Happy Hour or Dinner & Drinks.
BONUS
Back at Harvard Square, we can find Quincy & Market Squares 2 blocks East at Harvard St. Heading south from Harvard Square we come across Brattle Square, and the next block is Winthrop Square. Followed by Charles Square and Harvard's Kennedy School & JFK Memorial Waterfront Park.
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