KOSCIUSZKO WAS MADE POSSIBLE BY -- >> WHO WAS KOSCIUSZKO?

THIS MODEST AND AMEBLE MAN DEVOTED HIMSELF TO THE CAUSE OF FREEDOM FOR HIS COUNTRY AND OUR BELOVED HOME COUNTRY.

>> WHY IS THIS PARK NAMED AFTER HIM?

>> GENERAL KOSCIUSZKO IS EVERYTHING THAT'S RIGHT ABOUT THE AMERICAN IDEA.

WHY DO WE HAVE A MONUMENT FOR HIM.

>> HIS FRIEND, THOMAS JEFFERSON CALLED TODAY'S KOSCIUSZKO PURE A SON OF ACCOMPLISH AS I'VE EVER KNOWN AND A LIBERTY WHICH IS TO GO TO ALL AND NOT TO THE FEW OR WISH ALONE.

>> HERE WE GO!

ALL RIGHT.

LET'S SING HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO GENERAL KOSCIUSZKO.

>> FEBRUARY 12, 2013, 267th 267th ANNIVERSARY OF TADEUSZ KOSCIUSZKO'S BIRTH.

THE BRIGADIER GENERAL'S SCULPTURE IS BEING REMOVED FROM ITS FOUNDATION AT KOSCIUSZKO PARK.

>> HE WAS CERTAINLY A MAN WHO WAS ENTITLED TO AND DESERVING OF A MONUMENT IN 1905.

AND HE IS CERTAINLY DESERVING OF A MONUMENT TO BE RESTORED IN 2013, SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE TODAY.

>> IN THE 62 YEARS THAT IT STOOD WATCH OTHER LINCOLN AVENUE, THE POLISH PATRIOT AND HIS HORSE HAD SUFFERED DAMAGE AT THE HANDS OF MOTHER NATURE AND THE ENVIRONMENT.

IN THE NEXT HALF-HOUR, WE'LL SEE HOW THE POLISH COMMUNITY OF MILWAUKEE COMMISSIONED AN ITALIAN SCULPTURE TO PRODUCE THE MONUMENT ANDEST EFFORTS BEHIND ITS CURRENT RESTORATION.

WE'LL ALSO LEARN ABOUT KOSCIUSZKO, THE MAN, AND THE CAREER WHICH DISTINGUISHED HIM.

DON PIENKOS IS EMERITUS PROFESSOR OF SCIENCE AT UW-MILWAUKEE.

>> THERE WAS ALWAYS A CERTAIN NUMBER OF SOME PEOPLE WHO WANTED TO WORK FOR THE CAUSE OF FREE POLAND.

WHAT BETTER SYMBOL OF THE CAUSE OF FREEDOM WAS TADEUSZ KOSCIUSZKO.

>> AUTHOR SUSAN MIKOS HAS WRITTEN ABOUT THE POLISH COMMUNITY.

>> THERE'S THE POLISH COURIER, WHICH THE LEADING POLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER, PUBLISHED IN MILWAUKEE, ARGUING THAT THERE SHOULD BE A MONUMENT TO TADEUSZ KOSCIUSZKO, ESPECIALLY SINCE NOW WE HAVE A PARK NAMED KOSCIUSZKO.

THEY KNEW THEY NEEDED BETWEEN 10 AND $15,000.

THEY HAD THE IDEA THAT IF THEY COULD GET 10 CENTS FROM 100,000 TO 150,000 PEOPLE, THAT THEY WOULD HAVE IT.

IT'S NOT EXACTLY HOW IT WORKED OUT, BUT THEY DID RAISE THE FUNDS THROUGH MANY MANY SMALL DONATIONS, RANGING FROM 5 CENTS TO A DOLLAR, $5.

MANY OF THEM WERE 25 CENTS.

>> SOON, $13,000 HAD BEEN RAISED.

AND IN 1902, THE COMMITTEE BEGAN TO SOLICIT DRAWINGS AND PROPOSALS FOR THE STATUE.

AN ITALIAN SCULPTURE, GAETANO TRENTANOVE, HAD BEEN CHOSEN FOR THE JOB.

GAETANO TRENTANOVE HAD A STUDIO IN MILWAUKEE AND WAS WORKING ON ANOTHER KOSCIUSZKO, A SCULPTURE COMMISSIONED BY A GROUP IN CLEVELAND, WHICH NOW RESIDES OUTSIDE THE CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART.

THE MILWAUKEE COMMITTEE WAS APPARENTLY INSPIRED BY THE MODEL OF THIS SCULPTURE, WHICH WAS IN GAETANO TRENTANOVE'S MILWAUKEE STUDIO AT THE LAYTON ART GALLERY AND IN 1903, COMMISSIONED KOSCIUSZKO ON HORSEBACK.

GAETANO TRENTANOVE, I THINK, IS ONE OF THE UNSUNG CHARACTERS OF THE 1890'S IN MILWAUKEE.

A NUMBER OF MILWAUKEEANS WHO HAD TRAVELED TO FLORENCE, ITALY, HAD IN A SENSE DISCOVERED GAETANO TRENTANOVE IN HIS STUDIO THERE AND HAD ENCOURAGED HIM TO EXHIBIT ONE OF HIS PRIZE STATUES, THE LAST OF THE SPARTANS AT THE 1893'S WORLD FAIR IN CHICAGO, SO HE TRAVELED WITH THE STATUE, EXHIBITED OVER THE SUMMER OF 1893, AND THEN THOSE MILWAUKEEANS HAD KIND OF BROUGHT HIM UP HERE AND INTRODUCED HIM INTO SOCIETY AND HE BECAME ABSOLUTELY THE PERSON OF THE HOUR, THE PERSON OF THE DECADE.

>> THE SCULPTURE WAS CAST AT THE GALEY BROTHERS IN ITALY AND FOUND ITS WAY BACK TO MILWAUKEE IN 1904.

IN JUNE OF THE FOLLOWING YEAR, THE MEMORIAL WAS DEDICATED IN KOSCIUSZKO PARK AT THE NORTH END OF BEECHER STREET AND.

DR. JAMES PULA IS ONE OF KOSCIUSZKO'S BIOGRAPHER.

>> THERE'S A RASH OF STATUES THAT GO UP IN 1920 TO KOSCIUSZKO AND THEN HE STARTS FADING OUT OF THE PUBLIC MIND AFTER THAT.

>> I AM THE CHAIRMAN OF THE VOLUNTEER COMMITTEE THAT HAS RAISED THE FUNDS TO RESTORE OUR NDERFUL KOSCIUSZKO MONUMENT.

SO I GREW UP IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD JUST ON 6th AND BEECHER, JUST A FEW BLOCKS I A WAY ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PARK.

>> I HADN'T GIVEN IT ANY THOUGHT.

NEVER UNDERSTOOD THAT THE MONUMENT WAS IN BAD SHAPE, FOR ME IT WAS JUST SOMETHING THAT WAS ALWAYS THERE AND I DIDN'T APPRECIATE THE FACT THAT IT WAS DETERIORATING.

IT OCCURRED TO ME THAT THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT I SHOULD BE INVOLVED IN AND I WAS HAPPY TO GET INVOLVED, AND WHEN WE FIRST STARTED IN THAT SUMMER OF 2008, WE DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING.

WE HAD RA REPORT ON THE CONDITION OF THE MONUMENT, AND WE HAD A BROCHURE PRINTED AND THAT WAS IT.

WE HAD A COMMITTEE OF ABOUT 12 TO 15 PEOPLE AND SOME WERE MORE INVOLVED THAN OTHERS, SUSAN MIGHT COAST AND JUDY RAMAZINI WERE THE PEOPLE WHO WERE THERE FROM THE BEGINNING TO THE END.

THEY WERE STEADFAST IN MAKING SURE THAT THE GOAL WAS MET.

>> GWYNNER WAS THE LEAD CONSERVATOR FOR THE RENT NATION PROJECT, WORKING WITH THE McKAY CONSERVATION LABORATORY IN OVERLAND, OHIO.

>> YOU COULD SEE WHERE THE LEGS HAD OPENED UP AND WEEPING THE INTERNAL MATERIAL INSIDE.

SO THIS AREA WAS SPLIT OPEN, THIS AREA WAS SPLIT OPEN HERE.

SO THOSE AREAS WERE REMOVED, CLEANED OUT, SO NOW THAT WATER CAN ACTUALLY HAVE A PATHWAY OUT OF THE SCULPTURE, IF IT GETS IN THERE, AND THEN WELDED BACK IN IT PLACE.

THE ONLY WAY WATER HAD TO ESCAPE WAS TO FREEZE ITSELF AND BREAK OPEN THE SCULPTURE, WHICH IT WAS DOING HERE.

THEN WHAT WAS HAPPENING WAS THAT MATERIAL WAS LEAKING OUT AND STAINING, YOU CAN SEE EVIDENCE OF STAIN HERE AND IT WAS STAINING THE BASE AND RUNNING OUT.

THE ONLY ITEM THAT WAS MISSING WAS WHERE HIS SPURS HAD BROKEN OFF.

THE SCABBARD WAS ALSO MISSING, BUT SOMEBODY HAD THAT IN MILWAUKEE, SO WE WERE ABLE TO COLLECT THAT.

THE SPURS WERE REMANUFACTURED AND PLACED BACK ON A SCULPTURE IN A HISTORICAL CONTEXT, SO WE LOOKED AT OLD PHOTOGRAPHS AND ASCERTAINED WHEN THEY PROBABLY LOOKED LIKE.

WE DIDN'T HAVE A DIRECT REPRESENTATION, BUT SO WE REMANUFACTURED THOSE, REATTACHED THOSE.

WE HAD A STUB ABOUT THIS LONG COMING OUT OF THE BACK HERE.

SO THAT KIND OF TOLD ME WHAT THE SCALE OF THE SPUR WAS AND THE SIZE OF IT AND THEN KEEPING IT IN PROPORTION, FABRICATED THE LENGTH AND THEN ATTACHED THE SPUR BY WELDING.

SAME WAS DONE ON THE OTHER SIDE.

WE HAD LESS TO WORK WITH ON THE OTHER SIDE, SO WE DID THIS SIDE FIRST TO KIND OF GET THE SCALE RIGHT AND WENT OVER AND DID IT AGAIN ON THE OTHER SIDE.

>> HOPEFULLY, IT'S INVISIBLE.

AND THEN JUST THE OVERALL CONDITION OF THE PATINA BEING VERY DISFIGURING, SCULPTURE BEING DIRTY, THOSE ARE THE THINGS I FOUND.

>> I KNOW THE ONE ARTIST WANTED TO PORTRAY HIM AS A BOLD HERO AND HE OBVIOUSLY COMES OFF LIKE THAT.

HE LOOKS GREAT ON HORSEBACK.

YOU KNOW, HE'S RIGHT THERE, HE'S READY TO GO, BECAUSE HE'S GOT HIS SWORD DRAWN, SAME THING WITH THE KOSCIUSZKO AND CLEVELAND.

HE'S READY TO GO.

HE'S PART OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.

SO I THINK THE ARTIST REALLY TRIED TO PORTRAY HIM AS THE MAN OF ACTION.

AND ONE OF OUR GREAT HOPES, BECAUSE OF WHAT HE HELPS ACCOMPLISH HERE.

>> WE ALSO HAVE TO FILL IN THE CASTING PROCESS THAT'S LEFT ON TOP OF THE HAT, WHICH IS ESSENTIALLY HOLES THAT GO STRAIGHT THROUGH THE SCULPTURE, AND SO WHAT WE WANT TO DO IS FILL THOSE TO KEEP THE DEBRIS AND THE WATER FROM RUNNING DOWN INSIDE THE SCULPTURE.

>> A PATINA IS THE COLOR THAT YOU SEE BEHIND ME.

THIS IS A PROCESS OF OXIDATION ON THE COPPER, WHICH WILL TURN THE COPPER OR EXCUSE ME, THE BRONZE DIFFERENT COLORS, PRIMARILY THESE SCULPTURES WERE BROWN OR BLACK.

STATUTORY BROWN THEY'LL CALL IT.

OVER TIME THEY WILL OXIDIZE IN THE GREEN COLOR.

BLACK STREAKS FROM POLLUTION, GRAFFITI, SOOT, POLLUTION COLLECT ON THE SURFACE AND IT DISFIGURES THE ARTWORK, SO YOU CAN'T ACTUALLY SEE THE SCULPT RALLY INTENT.

>> KOSCIUSZKO HAD FOUGHT FOR AMERICA'S FREEDOM DURING THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE AND FOUGHT FOR POLAND'S FREEDOM IN THE 1790'S.

HE WAS ALSO A BELIEVER IN HUMAN RIGHTS AND EQUALITY OF ALL THE SOCIAL CLASSES, SO POLES IN POLAND AND OF COURSE, IN THE EMIGRATION CUT RALLY TO SUCH A FIGURE LIKE THIS.

>> HE WAS MUCH MORE IMPORTANT THAN A LOT OF PEOPLE TODAY GIVE HIM CREDIT FOR.

AND I THINK A MARK OF THAT IS THAT THE SOCIETY OF THE CINCINNATI WAS CREATED AFTER THE REVOLUTION AS A VETERANS ORGANIZATION FOR OFFICERS WHO SERVED IN THE AMERICAN ARMY DUNG THE WAR.

ONLY TWO FOREIGNERS WERE EVER INVITED TO BE MEMBERS, LAFAYETTE AND KOSCIUSZKO.

SO CERTAINLY, HIS CONTEMPORARIES HELD HIM IN VERY HIGHEST STEAM.

>> -- HIGH ESTEEM.

HE GREW UP IN A SO-CALLED NOBLE MILY, BUT THEY WERE REALLY AN IMPOVERISHED NOBLE FAMILY BY THE TIME KOSCIUSZKO CAME AROUND.

THEY WERE GENTRY, BUT THEY WERE WITHOUT ANY SIGNIFICANT LANDS, MONEY.

THEY HAD TO, I GUESS, IN THE VERNACULAR OF TODAY, SCRAPE FOR A LIVING.

HE GOES OFF TO PARIS, TO STUDY ON THE SPONSORSHIP OF ONE OF THE WEALTHY FAMILIES IN POLAND, THE CZARTORYSKI FAMILY, AND IN PARIS, HE'S EXPOSITIONED TO ROUSSEAU AND LOCKE AND MANY OF THE OTHER ENLIGHTENMENT FIGURES, SO I THINK HE COMES TO PARIS AS A RATHER POOR PERSON, WHO KNOWS WHAT IT'S LIKE TO HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO BE DOING IN THE FUTURE, AN HOW YOU'RE GOING TO, YOU KNOW, MAKE YOUR MARK.

HE GETS THERE, AND HE'S EXPOSED TO ALL OF THESE IDEAS OF THE FRENCH, WHAT LATER BECOMES THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, CERTAINLY ALL OF THE DEMOCRATIC IDEALS ABSORBS THEM.

AND THEN IS LOOKING FOR SOMEPLACE TO USE THEM.

HE GOES BACK TO POLAND, ONLY TO FIND OUT THAT POLAND HAS BEEN LARGELY SUBSUMED BY ITS LARGER NEIGHBORS, THE POLISH MILITARY ESTABLISHMENT HAS SHRUNK, THERE REALLY ISN'T ANYPLACE FOR HIM THERE, SO HE GOES, WANDERS OFF TO GERMANY, ENDS UP BACK IN PARIS, WHERE HE PROBABLY IS RECRUITED TO GO TO NORTH AMERICA BY SOME OF THE AMERICAN AGENTS WHO ARE LOOKING FOR EXACTLY WHAT HE WAS, MILITARY ENGINEERS TO HELP THE REVOLUTION.

>> YOU KNOW, HE CAME TO AMERICA ONLY A MONTH AFTER THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE WAS SIGNED.

AND HERE HE WAS, WITH REAL TRAINING, MILITARY SCIENCE, VERY, VERY RELEVANT TO EVERYTHING THAT WAS GOING ON IN EUROPE AND THE WORLD AT THAT TIME.

VERY IMPORTANT SKILLS THAT HE HAD.

AND HE WAS APPOINTED TO BE REALLY IN THE COMMAND OF THE SECOND MOST IMPORTANT GENERAL IN THE AMERICAN COLONIAL GATES.

>> HE ASKS KOSCIUSZKO TO GO ALONG WITH HIM AS HIS CHIEF ENGINEER.

IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR THE BIG BREAK, THAT'S THE BIG BREAK THAT KOSCIUSZKO GETS, THAT GATES TAKES HIM ALONG WITH HIM, AND THAT GIVES KOSCIUSZKO AN OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY HAVE AN INFLUENCE ON THE CAMPAIGN IN 1777 WHEN THE BRITISH UNDER GENERAL BURGOYNE MARCHED SOUTH FROM MONTREAL, TRYING TO GET TO ALBANY AND EVENTUALLY LINK UP WITH BRITISH FORCES FROM NEW YORK CITY.

>> KOSCIUSZKO'S WEST POINT, HE WOULD HAVE BEEN OVERLOOKING THIS.

>> LIEUTENANT COLONEL DAVID SIRY, A HISTORIAN AT THE UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY, DISCUSSED KOSCIUSZKO'S INVOLVEMENT DURING THE AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY WAR.

>> SARATOGA WAS A KEY TURNING POINT IN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.

BECAUSE BURGOYNE, WITH SEVERAL THOUSANDS, SOME REPORTS SAY 13,000, SOME SAY 11,000 SOLDIERS, ADVANCING SOUTH, WITH THE GOAL OF LINKING UP WITH HENRY CLINTON AND SERVING THE HUDSON RIVER AND SEPARATING THE COLONIES TO THE EAST, CONNECTICUT, MASSACHUSETTS, THOSE COLONIES, FROM ALL THE SOUTHERN COLONIES.

>> HE USES HIS ENGINEERING SKILLS TO MAKE IT DIFFICULT FOR THE BRITISH.

WHAT HAPPENS, THE BRITISH ATTACK THERE.

THE AMERICANS, BECAUSE OF THE WAY KOSCIUSZKO CONSTRUCTED THE FORTIFICATIONS, ARE ABLE TO ANTICIPATE WHERE THE BRITISH ATTACK IS GOING TO COME, STACK UP THEIR BEST TROOPS THERE, AND THEN DEFEAT IT AT THE BATTLE OF FREE MAN'S FARM AND THE BATTLE OF BEMIS HEIGHTS, TWO SEPARATE BATTLES, RATHER DECISIVELY AND EVENTUALLY FORCE BURGOYNE'S ENTIRE ARMY TO SURRENDER.

THE FIRST TIME IN THE HISTORY OF WARFARE THAT AN ENTIRE BRITISH ARMY OUT IN THE FIELD HAD BEEN FORCE IN TOTO TO SURRENDER.

>> THE SURRENDER PROVED TO BE THE TURNING POINT OF THE WAR.

>> NEWS OF SARATOGA GETS TO PARIS.

A WHOLE BRITISH ARMY HAS SURRENDERED TO THE COLONIALS, PEOPLE IN PARIS START TO THINK, MAYBE THESE PEOPLE HAVE A CHANCE, MAYBE THEY CAN WIN.

SO THE FRENCH SIGN AN ALLIANCE WITH THE UNITED STATES, RECOGNIZING THE UNITED STATES AS INDEPENDENT AND OPENING COMMERCIAL RELATIONSHIPS.

AND THEY SIGN A SECOND MILITARY ALLIANCE OPENLY OFFERING THE UNITED STATES, NO, NOT JUST MILITARY ASSISTANCE, BUT TO SEND TRAINED FRENCH REGULARS TO NORTH AMERICA.

THE FRENCH ALLIANCE WAS POSSIBLE BECAUSE OF SARATOGA.

STAIR TOWING WAS POSSIBLE BECAUSE OF KOSCIUSZKO.

IF IT WASN'T FOR HIM, THERE MAY NOT HAVE BEEN A FRENCH ALLIANCE, AND THE UNITED STATES MAY HAVE STAYED BRITISH.

>> THAT IS KOSCIUSZKO, IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO WEST POINT, AND IN 1778, IN MARCH OF 1778, AFTER THE BATTLE OF SARATOGA, KOSCIUSZKO, A POLISH ENGINEER, WORKING WITH THE AMERICAN ARMY DURING THE REVOLUTION, CAME TO WEST POINT AND HELPED BUILD A SYSTEM OF FORTIFICATIONS AT WEST POINT IN ORDER TO DEFEND THE HUDSON RIVER VALLEY.

WHAT WASHINGTON HAD CALLED THE KEY TO THE CONTINENT IN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION AND HE FOUGHT IN THE SOUTH AND SO THAT'S ACTIVE CAMPAIGNING ACROSS THE SOUTH, HE PROVED THAT NOT ONLY WAS HE A GOOD ENGINEER BUT PA GOOD CALVARY MAN, SO AS A YOUNG MAN, HE'S OUT THERE LIVING A ROBUST LIFE OUT ON CAMPAIGN, WITH OTHER SOLDIERS, SO HE WAS ALWAYS SURROUNDED BY OTHER SOLDIERS.

HE WOULD HAVE HAD THE CAMARADERIE THAT YOU CAN EXPERIENCE LIVING THE MILITARY LIFE, BUT HE ALSO WOULD HAVE SEEN HIS SHARE OF DIFFICULTIES.

IN FIGHTING.

>> IN THE EARLY 1820'S, SPECIFICALLY AROUND 1825, CADETS WERE GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE A MONUMENT AT WEST POINT TO SOMEBODY FROM THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, THAT THEY WANTED TO MEMORIALIZE AND THEY PICKED TADEUSZ KOSCIUSZKO FOR WHAT HE REPRESENTED TO THEM.

A PATRIOT, SOMEBODY WHO LOVED LIBERTY, SOMEBODY WHO WAS DEDICATED TO THE AMERICAN CAUSE.

A PROFESSIONAL WHO STUDIED, WHO LEARNED, AND SO THEY PICKED KOSCIUSZKO.

IN 1828, KOSCIUSZKO'S MONUMENT WAS UNVEILED, AND INITIAL LIRKS IT WAS JUST THE SINGLE -- INITIALLY IT WAS JUST THE SINGLE KLUMB WITH NOTHING ON IT.

THE BASE AND THE KLUMB.

AND INITIALLY, THEY THOUGHT ABOUT PUTTING IT DOWN IN KOSCIUSZKO'S GARDEN BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE KOSCIUSZKO LIKED TO GO.

IT'S A LITTLE SPOT ON THE EDGE OF THE CLIFF OVERLOOKING THE HUT SON RIVER AND IN THE EVENINGS, KOSCIUSZKO WOULD GO THERE TO SIT AND REFLECT ON HIS LIFE AND ON WHAT HE'D BEEN DOING THAT DAY.

AND THEY THOUGHT ABOUT PUTTING IT THERE.

BUT THEN THEY REALIZED THAT ON THE PARAPET OF FORT CLINTON, OVERLOOKING THE HUDSON RIVER FROM THE HIGH POINT ALONG THE -- ON THE PLAIN, THAT WOULD BE THE BEST SPOT TO PUT IT.

THEN IN 1912, A PRIEST FROM NEW YORK WANTED TO PUT THE STATUE ON TOP, THE KOSCIUSZKO STATUE ON TOP OF THE MONUMENT, AND HE PETITIONED THE WAR DEPARTMENT AND THEY SAID YES, THAT WOULD BE ACCEPTABLE, AND SO HE RAISED THE FUNDS AND THEY PUT THE MONUMENT UP THERE IN 1912.

>> THE AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY WAR ENDED IN 1783.

A YEAR LATE, 38-YEAR-OLD BRIGADIER GENERAL KOSCIUSZKO RETURNED TO POLAND, EVENTUALLY RECEIVING A COMMISSION IN THE POLISH ARMY.

DURING THOSE TURBULENT YEARS IN HIS HOMELAND, HE FOUGHT FOR POLISH INDEPENDENCE FROM RUSSIA ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS.

THE LAST TIME IN EARLY 1794, KOSCIUSZKO ASSUMED THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF AND LED THE POLISH ARMY.

DURING THE KOSCIUSZKO UPRISING, AS IT CAME TO BE KNOWN, HE WAS CAPTURED, AND IMPRISONED UNTIL 1796.

AFTER HIS RELEASE, HE RETURNED TO THE UNITED STATES, TO VISIT FRIENDS AND TO SETTLE HIS ESTATE.

CONGRESS AWARDED HIM BACK PAY CONSISTING OF AROUND $15,000 AND LAND NEAR THE PRESENT DAY MUIRFIELD COUNTRY CLUB IN COLUMBUS, OHIO.

>> THIS MORNING, WE REASSEMBLED THE SCULPTURE WHICH ENTAILED PUTTING THE GUY BACK ON THE HORSE, WE PUT BLIND FASTENERS BACK ON, HE'S REATTACHED TO THE HORSE, THE REINS THE SCABBARD AND THE SWORD WILL BE LEFT FOR THE LAST DAY ON THE DAY OF INSTALLATION.

>> HE'S HANDSOME AND A BEAUTIFUL COLOR.

>> I THOUGHT HE WOULD HAVE THE SWORD, BUT THAT'S ANOTHER 5 OR 7 FEET IN THE AIR, SO IT WOULD BE A PROBLEM FOR ANY LINES THAT THEY WOULD HAVE TO CROSS, BUT JUST WONDERFUL.

TRULY.

>> HIS FIGURE IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT TONE.

IT'S NOT AS BROWN.

>> LOOK AT HIS UNIFORM, HIS UNIFORM, IT'S JUST, YOU WANT TO TOUCH IT, IT'S DONE SO WELL.

THE TEXTURE OF IT.

>> AND THE COLLAR.

>> THE DETAILS.

>> AND HIS SHIRT AND THE RUFFLE AND THEN THERE'S A BIG EMBLEM AT THE THROAT, IT MUST BE SOME MILITARY HONOR.

>> IS THE FIGUR A LITTLE DIFFERENT TONE THAN THE HORSE?

>> VERY SLIGHTLY.

>> YOU DON'T WANT -- >> VERY SUBTLE.

>> YOU CAN'T DO TOO MUCH BECAUSE THEN IT LOOKS DIFFERENT.

>> WHAT IS IT MEANT TO DISTINGUISH HIM FROM THE HORSE.. >> A LITTLE BIT.

JUST A LITTLE BIT.

WHAT HAPPENS IS, IF YOU MAKE IT ALL ONE COLOR, IT JUST LOOKS A LITTLE BETTER IF -- IT'S GOT TO BE VERY SLIGHT.

>> VERY SUBTLE.

>> SO WHERE IS THE SWORD?

>> IT'S IN THE VAN.

>> OK. >> IT WILL BE THE LAST THING TO GO ON.

>> OK, GOOD.

>> BEFORE HE DEPARTS THE SECOND TIME, BACK TO EUROPE, WHILE IN PHILADELPHIA, HE BECOMES INTIMATELY ACQUAINTED WITH THOMAS JEFFERSON.

THE TWO ARE OF FAIRLY KINDRED SPIRIT ON ENLIGHTENMENT THOUGHT, THEY TALK POLITICS, WHEN KOSCIUSZKO'S RECOVERING FROM HIS WOUNDS, PHILADELPHIA, JEFFERSON VISITS HIM MULTIPLE TIMES, AN ONE OF THE LAST THINGS HE DOES BEFORE HE LEAVES TO GO TO FRANCE IS TO PEN A WILL, IN WHICH HE LEAVES ALL OF HIS AMERICAN PROPERTY TO BE USED AT THE TIME OF HIS DEATH TO PURCHASE THE FREEDOM OF SLAVES, AND TO EDUCATE THEM TO BECOME CITIZENS OF THE REPUBLIC.

USEFUL CITIZENS OF THE REPUBLIC.

AND HE NAMES THOMAS JEFFERSON AS HIS EXECUTOR.

IT'S CLEAR FROM HIS CORRESPONDENCE THAT HIS INITIAL INTENT WAS TO PURCHASE THE FREEDOM OF JEFFERSON'S SLAVES.

NOW, HERE WE HAVE THOMAS JEFFERSON, THE AUTHOR SUPPOSEDLY OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, WHO AMERICANS HAIL AS A CHAMPION OF LIBERTY AND IT'S KOSCIUSZKO, IS KIND OF TWEAKING HIM AND NEEDLING HIM ABOUT OWNING SLAVES, AND YOU KNOW, IF YOU OWN FREEDOM, HERE'S MY WILL.

I'LL FREE THEM.

>> BECAUSE OF NUMEROUS LEGAL COMPLICATIONS, RELATED TO THE WILL, IT WAS NEVER EXECUTED UNTIL A SUPREME COURT SETTLEMENT IN 1852, MANY YEARS AFTER JEFFERSON'S SLAVES HAD BEEN AUCTIONED OFF.

>> HE WAS VERY WIDELY RESPECTED BOTH FOR HIS MILITARY EXPLOITS AND FOR HIS PERSONAL CHARACTER.

HE WAS KNOWN TO BE VERY SYMPATHETIC TO ANYONE WHO WAS DOWN TRODDEN, ANYONE WHOSE RIGHTS WERE VIOLATED, WHETHER IT WAS PEASANTS IN POLAND, JEWS IN POLAND, SERBS IN RUSSIA, SLAVES IN AMERICA.

AND AS A PERSON, TOO, HE HAD A REPUTATION FOR BEING VERY HELPFUL, HE WAS VERY GENEROUS, AND ALWAYS WILLING TO HELP PEOP IN NEED.

>> HIS EXPRESSION IS FANTASTIC.

HIS VERY STERN EXPRESSION, WHICH HE COULDN'T SEE BEFORE, BUT YOU CAN, IT'S A VERY NICE PIECE OF ARTWORK.

>> MEMORIALIZING THINGS BY HUMANS IS NORMAL AND EXISTED AS LONG AS HUMANS WERE ON THE PLANET.

BEGINNING WITH THE PLACEMENT OF A STONE TO MARK A PARTICULAR LOCATION.

WE'VE MEMORIALIZED OURSELVES WITH OUR GRAVE MONUMENTS, DON'T WE?

OUR PARKS ARE FULL OF MONUMENTS AND THE REASON IS IS THAT HUMANS NEED CONSTANT VISUAL REMINDERS OF THINGS.

IF THOSE WEREN'T THERE, WE WOULD GO THROUGH OUR DAILY LIVES AND NOT THINK ABOUT PEOPLE, THE PAST, THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE PAST.

I PARTICULARLY AM FOND OF WALKING THROUGH CEMETERIES AND READING THE INSCRIPTIONS.

IT'S LIKE MEETING PEOPLE THAT YOU CAN'T MEET NOW, BUT PEOPLE THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE LIKED TO HAVE KNOWN.

SO CONSTANT VISUAL REMINDERS, IT'S PRETTY IMPORTANT FOR HUMANS.

>> ALL OF THESE THINGS ARE ALL ABOUT REMEMBRANCE AND HONORING AND KEEPING THINGS GOING FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS AND SO, WE REMEMBER.

THEY RECOGNIZE THAT THEN.

THE ANCIENTS RECOGNIZED THAT, THAT'S WHY THEY CREATED STATUES, AND SO THIS IS PART OF A VERY LONG LINE OF HUMANITY, OF REMEMBRANCE, OF GENERATIONS PAST.

>> KOSCIUSZKO'S RELEVANT TODAY BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, LOOK WHERE WE ARE NOW.

THE ENTIRE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES HAS BEEN A HISTORY OF ONE GROUP AFTER ANOTHER, AFTER ANOTHER.

SEEKING EQUALITY.

SLAVES ON THE ONE HAND, IRISH IMMIGRANTS, 1830'S'S GERMAN IMMIGRANTS IN THE 1850'S, THE GREAT MIGRATION, POLES AND ITALIANS, I MEAN, THE U.S. CONGRESS AT ONE POINT SAID THAT POLES AND ITALIANS SIMPLY, YOU KNOW, COULDN'T BE ASSIMILATED.

THEY'RE NOT SMART ENOUGH TO FIT IN TO AMERICAN SOCIETY.

SO CONGRESS LIMITED HOW MANY COULD COME IN.

THE WHOLE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES HAS BEEN DIFFERENT GROUPS COMING IN AND TRYING TO GAIN FOR THEMSELVES THE RESPECT AND THE CIVIL RIGHTS AND SO FORTH THAT OTHER AMERICAN CITIZENS HAVE HAD.

WOMEN, YOU KNOW, NOT UNTIL 1919, WITH THE 19th AMENDMENT THAT WOMEN WERE EVEN ALLOWED TO VOTE IN THE UNITED STATES.

ALL OF THESE THINGS WOULD HAVE BEEN CAUSES NEAR AND DEAR TO KOSCIUSZKO'S HEART.

SO WHY IS HE RELEVANT TODAY?

YOU KNOW, HE'S AS JEFFERSON SAID, THE PURIST SON OF LIBERTY.

>> ON A SNOWY NOVEMBER 11th, 2013, ALSO VETERANS DAY, AND THE ANNIVERSARY OF POLISH INDEPENDENCE, MILWAUKEE CITIZENS GATHERED ON LINCOLN AVENUE TO REDEDICATE GAETANO TRENTANOVE'S REFURBISHED KOSCIUSZKO.

>> SNOW IS THE SIGN OF GREAT GRACE.

TODAY, WE REDEDICATE THIS MONUMENT, WHICH IS ONCE AGAIN AS IMPOSING AS IT WAS 108 YEARS AGO.

>> BOTH PAST AND PRESENT, THIS HAS ALWAYS BEEN A NEIGHBORHOOD OF NEWCOMERS.

THAT IS THE SINGLEMOST CONTINUOUS THREAD.

AFTER MORE THAN A CENTURY, GENERAL KOSCIUSZKO IS STILL HERE TO GREET THEM.

>> BUT THIS MONUMENT IS MORE THAN METAL AND STONE.

IT'S RENEWAL, AFFIRMS A GREATER TRUTH, THAT TADEUSZ KOSCIUSZKO, A MAN WHO LIVED SO LONG AGO, IS WITH US TODAY.

IN HIS COMMITMENT TO THE CAUSES OF FREEDOM AND SOCIAL JUSTICE.

>> MAY THIS MONUMENT SERVE TO REMIND US OF HIS INVALUABLE LIFE, AND HELP US AND THOSE THAT COME AFTER US TO LIVE UP TO HIS AND OUR BEST IDEALS.

NIECH ZYJE, LONG LIVE TADEUSZ KOSCIUSZKO!

, HERO OF TWO CONTINENTS.

>> HE WAS A HERO OF TWO CONTINENTS, THAT IS THE UNITED STATES, HE WANTED PEACE IN ALL WORLDS, MORE THAN BEING FAMOUS GUY.

>> HE LIKED WANTED TO HELP OTHER PEOPLE.

>> WITH THE MONEY THAT HE EARNED, HE DONATEED SO THERE WOULD BE NO SLAVES.

>> HE WAS IMPORTANT.

HE WAS IN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.

>> HE WAS A HERO FOR MANY PEOPLE.

>> HE DIDN'T CARE HOW MANY WARS HE HAD TO FIGHT, HE JUST WANTED A SLAVE TO BE FREE.