The man behind ‘Twin Bridges,’ Gen. Thaddeus Kosciuszko, remembered as the Revolutionary War hero he was
HALFMOON — To countless Northway travelers, the span over the Mohawk River is simply a way to get to and from work, or fun Adirondack vacations.
Most people call it the “Twin Bridges.”
To veterans advocate Carol Hotaling, of Clifton Park, the structure has a much deeper meaning – a tribute to the Revolutionary War hero that it’s officially named after — Gen. Thaddeus Kosciuszko.
The bridge, which first opened in 1959, underwent a major reconstruction project this fall.
“I would like to propose a rededication of this bridge,” she said. “He (Kosciuszko) was born in Poland, came to a struggling America, volunteered his services to the Continental Army and became chief engineer.”
Hotaling, the “Yellow Ribbon Lady,” has made countless yellow decorations for veterans-themed events, celebrations and observances, and works tirelessly to support troops stationed overseas.
Kosciuszko’s accomplishments were many, including the fortification of West Point. But his most important contribution was designing the American defenses for the 1777 Battles of Saratoga, which proved to be the Revolution’s turning point.
Gen. Horatio Gates, the American commander, gets most of the credit for the victory at Saratoga. Without Kosciuszko, though, it never would have happened.
“It was his use of topography and design of defenses that gave Americans an extremely strong and defensible position,” said Bill Valosin, a Saratoga National Historical Park ranger.
Specifically, artillery placed atop Bemis Heights stopped the flow of British supplies on the Hudson River, directly below, and kept them from using the main north-south river road. Continued...
The southward advancing British army, under Gen. John Burgoyne, was trying to reach Albany, where it would meet British forces moving up the Hudson Valley led by Gen. William Howe. The goal was to split the colonies in two, and bring the American rebellion to a quick end.
At Saratoga, however, the river forms a bottleneck and thanks to Kosciuszko’s well-designed defenses, the Americans controlled it. Burgoyne’s army split up into three separate columns – one near the river; the other two about a mile and two miles inland, respectively.
However, Kosciuszko built an L-shaped three-quarter-mile long line to the west, and another about two-thirds of a mile to the south and west, to hold off attacks from those directions, too.
None of this work began until Sept. 12, one week before the first battle.
“He (Kosciuszko) wasn’t directly in the (battle) lines,” Valosin said. “But his fortifications, where and the way that he placed them, forced the British to abandon the direct route south.”
Born in February 1746, Kosciuszko came to America looking to gain experience and make a name for himself, which he unquestionably did. In Europe, he’s considered one of the Revolution’s greatest heroes, perhaps second only to George Washington.
After the war, he helped lead an insurrection against the Russian occupation of Poland.
In August 1797, still suffering from battle wounds during the insurrection, he came back to the U.S. and lived in Philadelphia. That historic home is now the smallest site, one fifth of an acre, in the entire National Park system.
The next spring, Kosciuszko left Philadelphia for France. He dreamed of seeing a unified and free Poland, but Napoleon’s rise to power dashed those hopes. He spent the last two years of his life in Soleure, Switzerland where he died in 1817.
Recently, there’s been some debate because of constantly changing European borders, about whether Kosciuszko was born in Poland, Lithuania or Belarus. Continued...
Regardless, there is no question about his role as a hero during the American fight for independence.
His good friend Thomas Jefferson called him “as pure a son of liberty as I have ever known.”
Hotaling would like people to remember that during the course of their busy travels over the bridge that bears Kosciuszko’s name.
“It’s one way we can show him the respect he deserves,” she said.
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Barbara Lombardo is the managing editor of The Saratogian.
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