Casimir Pulaski

Casimir Pulaski, the Polish patriot, was mortally wounded approximately one-half mile northwest of this spot during the assault by French and American forces on the British lines around Savannah on October 9, 1779. He was struck by grapeshot as he rode forward from where his cavalry was stationed to rally the disorganized Allied columns. The fatal ball, removed from his thigh by Dr. James Lynah of South Carolina, is in the possession of the Georgia Historical Society at Savannah. Doubt and uncertainty exist as to where Pulaski died and where he was buried. A contemporary Charlestown, S.C. newspaper item and other sources indicate that he died aboard a ship bound for that port, and it was generally believed that he was buried at sea. A tradition persisted, however, that he died at Greenwich plantation near Savannah and was buried there. When the grave at Greenwich was opened during the erection of the monument here, the remains found there were judged by physicians to conform to a man of Pulaski’s age and stature and were re-interred beneath this memorial in a metallic case in 1854.

Savannah, Georgia · United States