In the year 1853, WILLIAM B. HODGSON wrote for the "Savannah Republican" the following Sketch of the Polish patriot, in which was incorporated a narrative concerning Pulaski's Aid, by the late Mr. TEFTS, the eminent antiquary of Savannah.

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The following little narrative of one of the nameless heroes" of the Revolutionary war, will be read with lively interest. It was communicated to the writer by Mr. T. of this city. The narrative is too brief to satisfy, but it is suggestive of historical instruction. The writer offers it for publication, to make known a heretofore "nameless hero," who in the annals of the revolutionary period, received a passing and innominate notice, as 66 one of the Captains of Pulaski's legion, who was then

1 Count Cassimer Pulaski was a native of Lithuania, in Poland. He left the legal profession to become a soldier, and with his father, the old Count Pulaski, he was engaged in the rebellion against Stanislaus, King of Poland, in 1769. The father was captured and put to death, when the young Count became commander-in-chief of the insurgents. He, with others, made an ineffectual attempt to carry off the King from Warsaw. Pulaski's estates were forfeited, and himself outlawed. In Paris he became acquainted with Dr. Franklin, who encouraged him to go to America, in 1777. He joined the army under Washington, and was placed in command of cavalry. In 1779, he was in active service, under Lincoln, in Georgia and South Carolina, until the Siege of Savannah, in October of that year, when he was mortally wounded, taken on board

living (in 1824,) but far advanced in years."

The accidental meeting of this gentleman with Charles Litomninski, aide-de-camp to General Count Pulaski, at the siege of Savannah, could not but excite his greatest interest. The burial place of Pulaski had always been, as it is now, a question of uncertainty. The same ignorance exists at this day, of the precise locality, where repose the remains of General Greene. That he was laid in a vault of the cemetery in Savannah, is universally known, but to what spot his body was subsequently removed, is at this day the subject of discussion. It has increasing and sad interest at this moment, as the Congress of the United States has recently been solicited to carry into effect its own resolution, passed seventy years ago, to erect a suitable monument to him, who was the hero of the Southern campaign, and the confiding friend of Washington.

the United States brig Wasp, where he died, and was buried, not in" a watery grave," as one of the writers above quoted says, but under a large live oak tree on St. Helen's Island, fifty miles from Savannah, by his first lieutenant and personal friend, Charles Litsminski. Funeral honors were paid to his memory at Charleston; and on the 29th of November, the Continental Congress "Resolved, That a Monument be erec

ted to the Memory of Brigadier Count Pulaski; and that a committee of three be appointed to bring in a resolution for that purpose." No monument was ever erected by the Government, but the citizens of Georgia completed one to the memory of Greene and Pulaski, in 1829. A more beautiful one has since been reared.

The narrative now furnished by Mr. T. may settle the question of Pulaski's burial place, so far as the assurance that he was not committed to a watery grave, as it has been believed. Mr. Lossing, in his recent work, has probably made a statement as nearly correct as the subject admits. He says that Pulaski was buried on St. Helen's island. This statement concurs with Colonel Litominski's.

The extracts from the anonymous pamphlet, entitled "Pulaski Vindicated," will present a detailed account of the attack upon Savannah, by the combined American and French forces, under General Lincoln and the Count d'Estaing. During this assault, the chivalrous Pulaski received his mortal wound. His aide-decamp, as it now appears by the following narrative, was Charles Litominski, his fellow-countryman, from gallant but ill-fated Poland. The magnanimous devotion of Kosciusko, Pulaski, and many other Polish soldiers, to the cause of our liberty and Independence, must endear to us the memories of that chivalrous nation.

We must supply from imagination, the eventful life of Charles Litominski, when on his return to Poland, with Kosciusko, they fought for the independence of their native land, together with Poniatowski. He may have been with Kosciusko, at the last and fatal battle of Macziewice, by Warsaw, when Kosciusko fell, and "freedom shrieked.” He there fell, and uttered these words, "FINIS POLONIÆ. He died in retirement, at Solothurn, 1 in 1817. Litominski lived to take part in the decisive battle of Leipsic, where he witnessed the death of Poniatowski, the nephew of the Polish king Stanislaus, against whom, he and Kosciusko had taken up arms for the liberation of Poland.

were several cabin, and a few deck passengers on board. Among the latter, I observed, soon after leaving the wharf, an aged foreigner, who had the appearance and gentlemanly bearing of a veteran soldier. He seemed to be much depressed.

I approached him with civility, and ventured to enquire if I could be of service to him. He promptly replied that he was destitute of means, and gave his name as CHARLES LITOMINSKY.-The following narrative of his personal history, excited my interest, and I immediately committed it to writing. to writing. A subscription was made on board for his relief, to which the ladies who were passengers, generously contributed.

Charles Litominsky, a Pole, was at the siege of Savannah, as aide-de-camp to Brigadier General COUNT PULASKI. He had the consoling satisfaction of supporting this Hero, in the struggles of death, and assisted in consigning his mortal remains to its kindred earth, under a large oak tree, about fifty miles from Savannah, upon the bank of an inlet, leading from Savannah to Charleston.

He returned to his native country, Poland, in company with Kosciusko, and united with him in fighting her battles in the memorable years of 1793,-'4, and '5.

He afterwards joined the standard of Napoleon, and was attached to the second Regiment of Polish Lancers. He was at the battle of Austerlitz, in 1805,where he received a severe wound in the neck. served five years in the Peninsular War.

He

Icated to the writer.

Returning from an official visit to the Banks in the interior of Georgia, I reached Augusta early in March, 1831, and took passage in a steamer for Savannah.-There

1 Soleure.

was among the small remnant of the grand army of invasion, which returned to France from that disastrous campaign.

After these events, he resigned his commission of Colonel, at the departure of Napoleon for the island of Elba, and retired to private life. He collected together

the remains of his fortune, amounting to upwards of $35,000, with the view of returning to America, the land of his early career, there to repose. But in the providence of God, the ship Two Brothers, in which he was embarked, was wrecked off Helisgoland, near the river Elbe, by which disaster, he lost nearly his all.

After having passed three or four years in France and England, he came to this country, with a reduced fortune of about $1,800. On his way from Washington City to the south, he unfortunately lost his pocket-book, contaning $1700, at Norfolk, in Virginia, which, with the exception of his gold watch and some eight or ten dollars, was all that he possessed. By disposing of his watch he was able to reach Augusta, at which place he was obliged to have recourse to the aid of a few friends to enable him to prosecute his journey to Brazil. There he expected to find a friend to whom in better days he had rendered service, and from whom he hoped to receive a return of kindness.

Extracts from a pamphlet published in Baltimore, in 1824, anonymously, and en

titled "Pulaski Vindicated."

"At the siege of Savannah by the general orders, an assault was resolved upon, and to be made at an early hour on the morning of the 9th October, 1779. This assault was to be made at the right of the British lines. "Two columns, (says the author,) one French, and the other American, were to attack, at the same time. In the rear of the columns, the whole cavalry, American and French, was to be stationed, under the command of Count Pulaski. Should, as was confidently expected, the redoubts be carried, and the way opened, that intrepid leader was, with these united troops of horse, to enter the place, sword in hand, and to carry confusion and dismay among the garrison. D'Estaing led in person the French corps of attack. Wishing to avoid a circuitous advance round a swamp, and supposing the ground at the bottom to be sufficiently firm, he marched directly through it. The enemy

had been informed of his plan by spies. They knew the intended point of attack, and the direction in which the approach of the assailants was to be made. Accordingly they collected all their force where it would be required, and, at the first alarm, opened a tremendous and deadly fire. Pulaski, impatient to know where he was to act, determined, after securing his cavalry under cover as well as the ground would admit, to go forward himself, and called to accompany him one of the captains of his legion, who is yet living, but far advanced in years. They had proceeded only to a small distance, when they heard of the havoc produced in the swamp by the hostile batteries. D'Estaing himself was grievously wounded. Aware of the fatal effects which such a disaster was likely to produce on the spirits of French soldiers— and hoping that his presence would reanimate them, Pulaski, rushed on to the scene of disorder and bloodshed. In his attempt to penetrate the murderous spot, he received a swivel shot in the upper part of his right thigh, and the officer who accompa

nied him was, while on his back, wounded by a musket ball. The enterprise upon Savannah was abandoned by the allied armies. The Americans and the French having witnessed each other's zeal and courage, and acquitting each other of any intentional share in this disastrous result, separated in harmony. D'Estaing reimbarked his troops and artillery, and Pulaski with his wounded officer, was conveyed on board the United States brig, the Wasp, to go round to Charleston. They remained some days in the Savannah river; and during that time, the most skilful surgeons in the French fleet attended on Count Pulaski. It was found impossible to establish suppuration, and gangrene was the consequence. Just as the Wasp got out of the river, Pulaski breathed his last, and the corpse immediately became so offensive, that his officer was compelled, though reluctantly, to consign to a watery grave all that was now left upon earth of his beloved and honored commander."'

H.

The RECORD is indebted to an old and highly respected inhabitant of New York city, for the following sketch:

To all of the early denizens of the city of New York who yet survive, and more especially to those, and the descendants of them, whose religious sentiments were instilled into their hearts under the discipline of the Reformed Dutch Church, any facts, or reminiscences relating to the early history of that church in this city, cannot fail to be of interest.

Most of the early inhabitants of the city in communion with the church were Germans of the Lutheran and Calvanistic order of faith, who having brought with them their strict notions of church discipline and worship from the Fatherland, had some church order here, in the "olden time."

In the year 1758, there was a meeting called of what were styled the members of the true German Reformed Church. They were comparatively few in numbers, but strong in the faith of their church, and determined to establish a congregation after their own order. A subscription was gotten up for the support of a minister, although they then had no place of worship. Eventually, they found in Nassau Street, between John Street and Maiden Lane, an old building, that had been used first as a brewery, and afterwards for Theatrical purposes by the Dramatic Company of New York. This building and the lots on which it was situated, they purchased for the sum of $1250; and the Temple of Thespis gave way to the Sanctuary of God. The masks of the harlequin and the paraphernalia of the stage yielded to the habiliments of the servants of the Most High, and the places of the immoral and irreligious were surrendered to the followers of Christ.

The first minister who preached to this congregation, was the Rev. Mr. Rosencrantz, but he remained only about a year, when he returned to his former congrega

tion on the Mohawk River, from which he had been driven by the Indians.

Two other ministers, in turn succeeded him, but both made themselves so obnoxious to the congregation, it became necessary for the peace and prosperity of the church, that they should be, and accordingly were discharged.

Thus disappointed and harrassed in their efforts to secure the services of an acceptable minister, communication was immediately had with the consistory of Heidelburgh, and an earnest appeal was made requesting them to send over a minister who by his talents, piety and devotion to the welfare of the church, would aid them in infusing vitality into the failing fortunes of the congregation.

The appeal was answered, and in Sept. 1763, the Rev. Johan Michael Kern arrived at New York, and immediately entered upon his ministry in charge of this congregation. It was under his advice that the church adopted the name and style of the "German Reformed Congregation in New York," and that for the better welfare and prosperity of the church, it would be advisable to yield their independent organization, and attach themselves to the classis of Amsterdam. His views upon this subject met with the cordial approbation of the consistory and were at once adopted, and thus was the congregation brought into connection with the Collegiate Reformed Dutch Church in the city of New York.

So well satisfied were the congregation with the ministrations of Dominie Kern, that it was resolved to give him a regular call, which was accordingly done, and he was installed into the pastorate at a meeting of the ministers of the Collegiate church on the 27th January, 1764. After preaching about a year in this old reformed, but still dilapidated building, it became necessary to take it down, and build a new and more commodious house of worship: and on the 8th of March, in the

year 1765, the corner stone of the new edifice was laid by the Rev. Mr. Kern, and the consistory and members of the church under arrangements made for the occasion by the two contractors, or as they were then styled workmasters, Van Dolsen and Peter Hendryks.

A large assemblage of persons attended at this memorable ceremony. As the Rev. Mr. Kern deposited the stone, he repeated the words of the Patriarch Jacob: "This stone which I erect shall be a house of God," and at the conclusion, the words of Christ, John IV. "God is a Spirit; and they that worship him, must worship him in spirit and in truth." "In the house to be built on this foundation stone" he continued, "shall be taught the word of God, pure and unadulterated according to the reformed doctrine of Heidelburg and Switzerland." After this each member of the consistory, and all who were present repeated the expression, "to be a German Reformed Church."

On the 9th of July, 1766, at a meeting of the consistory of the church, Dominie Kern read a memorial which he had prepared, detailing the history of the troubles and adversities of the German Reformed Church, and setting forth how the church had become involved in debt. This memorial meeting the views of the consistory, was afterwards submitted to the Revs. Dominie Ritzema, Auchmuty' and Ogilvie, and also the Mayor of the city, with a request that they would authenticate the truth of the matters therein set forth, with a view to its transmission as an application to London and Amsterdam for pecuniary aid.

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Samuel Auchmuty, D.D., was the Rector of Trinity (Episcopal) church, of New York city. He espoused the royal side when the old war for independence broke out, and continued to pray for the King in public, until the church was closed by General Lord Stirling, in 1776, and he was expelled from the city. After the British took possession in the autumn of that year he stealthily returned by a circuitous route on foot. The hardships and fatigues to which he was exposed on that journey, brought on a severe illness which soon ended in his death. Trinity church had been burned, and he held service only once, (in St. Paul's chapel, before he was prostrated. He died in New York in the spring of 1777. -[EDITOR.]

John Ogilvie, D.D., was also an Episcopal clergyman. He was at one time, a missionary among the Mohawk Indians, preaching most of the time however, at Albany. From 1765, until his death in 1774, he was assistant rector of Trinity church, New York. [EDITOR.]

It was signed by all the members of the consistory, except one, and he was willing to apply for assistance to Amsterdam, but not to London.

the

The memorial was sent on, and no reply was received until December 1768; and instead of the expected aid, there came back an answer to the supplication containing, among other things, following quaint and characteristic language. "That though the condition and "debt of the congregation being under"stood and though all the circumstances "are moving to pity, yet they could not "give any actual help, and recommended "to the church sparingness and a good "housekeeping.'

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It is not exactly known how congregation became so involved, as to necessitate this appeal, but undoubtedly it arose from the reliance they had upon subscriptions which were never paid, and because the expense in the alterations and changes in the old building was beyond the amount of contributions and subscriptions offered. Some ignorant and faultfinding people ascribed it in part to the expense incurred by the erection of a beautiful mural tablet, in marble, on the wall of the church, to the Baron Steuben. This however was no part of the trouble, for this tablet was placed in the church by the private munificence of General North.1 Dominie Kern continued to minister to this congregation until about 1771 or 1772, when he was succeeded by the Rev. C. F.

1 General William North was the favorite aid-de-camp of the Baron de Steuben during his service in the Continental Army, and they continued to be intimate friends until the Baron's death in the autumn of 1795. This affectionate friend and aid caused a mural monument to be erected in the church in Nassau Street, as mentioned in the text. When a Baptist Society commenced worshipping in that edifice (after the Germans had sold it,) under the late Rev. Charles G. Somers, D.D., they courteously allowed the monument to be taken down and carried to the new German church in Forsyth Street. There, lying in separate pieces, among rubbish in a small lumber-room of the church, disfigured and mutilated, I found it more than twenty years ago. By permission I drew it from its place of dishonor, sketched its parts, and made a correct engraving of it as restored, which appears on page 137 of the second volume of my "Pictorial Field Book of the Revolution," together with the following inscription which I copied from the white marble tablet on its base:

"Sacred to the memory of FREDERICK WILLIAM AUGUSTUS, BARON DE STEUBEN, a German; Knight of the Order of Fidelity; Aid-de-camp of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia; Major-general and Inspector-general in the Revolutionary War; Esteemed, respected, and supported by Washington. He gave military skill and discipline to the citizen