Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kociuszko was a Polish-Lithuanian military engineer and a military leader who became a national hero in Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, and the United States.
Ko?ciuszko took part in the American Revolutionary War as a colonel in the Continental Army, and as an accomplished military architect, he designed and oversaw the construction of the fortifications at West Point, New York. In 1783, the Continental Congress promoted him to Brigadier General.
Returning to Poland, Kociuszko was commissioned as a Major General in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Army in 1789. After the Polish–Russian War of 1792 resulted in the Second Partition of Poland, he organized and led the 1794 “Kociuszko Uprising” against Russia.
Russian forces captured him at the Battle of Maciejowice in October 1794 and the defeat of the Kociuszko Uprising led to Poland’s Third Partition in 1795, which ended the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth’s independent existence.
The “Racawice Panorama” is a monumental cycloramic painting located in Wrocaw, Poland. It depicts the Battle of Racawice, during the Kociuszko Uprising and is one of only a few preserved relics of the genre, and is the oldest in Poland. The panorama stands in a circular fashion with the viewer in the center, and the use of additional artificial terrain effects creates a feeling of reality.
The photos depict a critical moment during the Battle of Racawice when Kociuszko, on horseback, rallied forces of his army for an assault on the Russian cannons…
Sources: Wikipedia and LH
