Under intense artillery fire from British cannoneers, American General Casimir Pulaski lead French troops into a withering fusillade of English grapeshot. He was blown from his horse trying to break the Siege of Savannah in the Revolutionary War. He had the complete confidence of General Washington, having saved the future president’s life at the Battle of Brandywine.
General Pulaski was carried from the battlefield but died at a local plantation and was buried where he died. In 1825, the Marquis de Lafayette laid the cornerstone for a monument to Pulaski since he was leading French troops at the time of his death. In 1854, the monument was being created in Savannah and someone got the idea to remove the general’s remains and place them in the base of the monument. Workers respectfully moved the body and the general rested in peace under his monument until amateur sleuths came up with reasons why the body in the monument was not the general’s.
The general’s body was disturbed, yet again, and over the course of nine years scientists applied modern forensics to prove the body in the monument was not the general’s. The initial forensic scientists were startled when they found the pelvic bone belonged to a female, rather than a man. The sleuths were right. Or were they? DNA was extracted and compared to known Pulaski descendants in Poland. The body was, indeed, Pulaski’s.
Further detective work in Poland revealed that Pulaski was born with an unknown birth condition. Although his birth records did not reveal what the problem was, circumstantial evidence suggests he was a hermaphrodite or intersex. The extremely rare condition was something that could have limited his ability to live a normal life. He never married or fathered children. He chose to overcome any obstacles and pursue a life of military hardships, including the crossing of the Atlantic Ocean.He was a courageous cavalry general who led by example. He gave his life believing that our God does not create us to live with society’s limitations but to seize opportunities that fulfill our potential. Fortunately for us, General Pulaski still provides his adopted country with an excellent example of outstanding character and personal courage. A grateful nation proclaims him to be the “Father of American Cavalry.” The photo is of me visiting General Pulaski at his grave/monument in Savannah. Do statues really mean anything? God Bless America.
