WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - History Off Script - The Founding of America's Cavalry: Casimir Pulaski and Michael Kovatz

Episode Date: November 16, 2025

At the start of the American Revolutionary War, the Americans had a problem: a lack of cavalry. European freedom fighters Casimir Pulaski and Michael Kovatz changed this. In a few short years, American cavalry went from being a laughingstock to a deadly fighting force, but it came at a cost. 

That's how history can often feel, mechanical, one event after the other. But what's in the fine print? What happens if we peel back the layers? What kind of hidden dramas may unfold? It's time we went beyond the textbook. This is history off script. Here's your host, James Jocke. On September 11th, 1777, hours into the Battle of Brandywine, a disturbance came on the right flank of General Washington's army. To the shock of the Americans, lines of British redcoats emerged from the dense fog. The Americans were at risk of being encircled and destroyed.

It was only with the aid of one young cavalry commander that a fateful retreat was made. This is the story of the father of American cavalry. This is the story of Casimir Pulaski. To understand Casimir Pulaski's role in the Revolutionary War, you need to first understand cavalry's role, or more properly, the lack thereof. When the Revolutionary War started in 1775, America had no formal cavalry, not a horse, the British did, and they were battle-hardened.

After a strain of defeats, General Washington wrote despairingly, I am convinced that there is no winning the war without cavalry. Taking action, he authorized the creation of four units of mounted cavalry, and Congress slated its formation to be complete in March of 1777. But Washington still had a problem. He had no experienced leaders to train these new units. It must have felt like a miracle then, when in July experienced cavalrymen and Polish romewomen and Polish romewomen.

rebel, Casimir Pulaski, requested to volunteer for Washington's army. Pulaski had gained notoriety in Europe, fighting for the freedom of his Polish state against the Russian Empire during the 1760s. Poland had a deep tradition of cavalry usage, and when Russia took back control, Pulaski brought that tradition with him when he fled to fight for freedom in America. In a letter to Washington, Pulaski wrote the following. I am here where freedom is being defended, to serve it, and to live or die for it. Time would show these words prophetically true.

Pulaski quickly rose to the ranks in Washington's army, distinguishing himself with his brave defense of Washington during the retreat at the Battle of Brandywine. Soon he would secure his own independent cavalry corps. Plaskey immediately sought the services of an old acquaintance from Europe, Michael Kobitz. Kovitz was from Hungary, another nation with a deep tradition of cavalry usage. Kovits had once served in the formidable Prussian army, rising through the ranks by his discipline and merit. However, he would eventually leave that army to fight for Polish freedom against the Russians. When Poland was crushed, he too would leave for America.

In a letter to Benjamin Franklin, Kovitz wrote the following. I have no wish greater than to leave forthwith to be where I am needed most, to serve and die and everlasting obedience to your excellency in Congress most faithful unto death. Pulaski and Kovets turned the cavalry corps

into a disciplined fighting force called Pulaski's Legion. In 1779, the Legion was sent south to Charleston to stop the British advance upon the city. When he arrived, local leaders believing the advance to be inevitable, were ready to surrender. Plaskey persuaded them to stand their ground

and rode against the British. After vicious fighting, the Legion turned the British back, but it came at a steep price, including the life of Michael Colvitz. He was buried with honors by his enemy, the British. In September, the American Army and their French allies prepared to retake Savannah. Plasky was given full command of all American and French cavalry, yet this fight would be his last. On October 9th, Plasky was mortally wounded as he was rallying his men in the thick of the fight. He died two days later. The courageous sacrifices of Casimir Pulaski and Michael Kovits testify that the American

Revolution was not an isolated affair. It was not simply Americans versus British, but instead a global struggle for self-determination against tyranny, a struggle that foreigners, such as Pulaski and Kovets, laid down their lives for. This has been history off script with James. James Jawsky, I'm Radio Free Hillsdale, 101.7 FM.