REVOLUTIONARY WAR SITES IN NORTH ARLINGTON, NEW JERSEY

Pulaski Drive Marker
Pulaski Dr. and Ridge Rd.
Map / Directions to the Pulaski Drive Marker

This marker honoring Revolutionary War General Casimir Pulaski is embedded in the sidewalk of the street which bears his name. [1]  Pulaski was born on March 6, 1745, in Warsaw, Poland. In 1777 he came to America to fight on the American side in the Revolutionary War. He commanded a group of cavalry which was formed in 1778 [2] known as Pulaski's Legion, and he is remembered as the "Father of American Cavalry." He died on October 11, 1779, from wounds suffered at the Battle of Savannah, Georgia.

This is one of several sites honoring General Pulaski in New Jersey. There are four monuments to him in the state: one in Garfield, one in Paterson, one in Pennsauken, and a third in Wallington. Also, the Pulaski Skyway is named after him.

In 2009 Pulaski was made an Honorary Citizen of the United States [3]. Honorary Citizenship has rarely been granted; only eight people in the entire history of the United States have received it. Two of the others who have received Honorary Citizenship were also European officers who fought for the American side in the Revolutionary War: Marquis Lafayette of France, and Bernardo de Gálvez of Spain. [4]

Source Notes:

1. ^  The plaque states that the dedication of Pulaski Drive was done by an "act of Mayor and Council of the Borough of North Arlington" on September 18, 1955. The plaque was erected by the Polish American Clubs.

2. ^  Continental Congress, Saturday, March 28, 1778:
Roscoe R. Hill, Editor, Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789, Volume X. January 1 - May 1, 1778 (Washington D.C. : Government Printing Office, 1908) page 290
Available to be read at the Internet Archive here

3. ^  Congressional Record: Senate: Vol. 155, Part 5 (Washington D.C. : Government Printing Office, 2009) pages 6153 - 6154
Available to be read at Google Books here

4. ^  The other five people granted Honorary United States Citizenship are Winston Churchill, Raoul Wallenberg, William and Hannah Callowhill Penn, and Mother Theresa. Only Churchill and Mother Theresa received the Honorary Citizenship while they were alive. All other received it posthumously.
See the document:
U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual Volume 7 – Consular Affairs / HONORARY CITIZENSHIP, which is available to be read on the U.S. State Department website here
 ▸ Note that Pulaski and de Gálvez are not listed in this document, because it was published in 2008, before either had been granted the honor.
  • Pulaski was granted Honorary Citizenship in 2009. (See Source Note 3)
  • Bernardo de Gálvez was granted Honorary Citizenship in 2014. (See H.J.Res.105 - Conferring honorary citizenship of the United States on Bernardo de Gálvez at the Library of Congress website here)