1778:
Gates and the Board of War assign Kosciuszko to West Point as the engineer who will secure the Hudson River. He arrives in the highlands in late March and begins engineering plans for the fortifications and the garrison. Kosciuszko is 32 years old.
On January 27, West Point is established as a military site. In The Illustrated History of West Point, Theodore J. Crackle writes that “a brigade under Brigadier General Samuel Holden Parsons crossed the ice covering the river and occupied the heights... A few men remained on the western bank overnight, and from that day forward, West Point has been continuously occupied by elements of the United States Army.”
Parsons takes command at West Point in February. According to Crackle, “In less than two weeks, over 1,000 pieces of timber had been cut, and 1,000 to 1,500 fascines had been prepared.” On March 12, he breaks ground for the construction of Fort Arnold.
On March 25, the first guns arrive at West Point and the first cannonade is fired.
In April, the great chain is delivered and put across the Hudson. Work begins on Fort Putnam.
In July, General Washington visits West Point to inspect the fortifications. Kosciuszko is in charge of briefing Washington. Washington later commends Kosciuszko. In late August, he approves Kosciuszko’s plan for construction of the fortified positions with the addition of redoubts on Constitution Island. Construction commences.
In the spring, construction of the fortifications slows because of lack of materials. Kosciuszko may have begun work on his garden during this season.
In the award-winning book The Peasant Prince, Storozynzki writes:
1779:
Kosciuszko also planted a garden on a granite ridge overlooking the Hudson. The secluded ledge was naturally carved into the cliffs and could be reached only by descending the rocks from Fort Arnold. He lowered soil with ropes and buckets down the precipice to plant a flower patch encircled with stones, and crafted a marble basin that was naturally filled by a waterfall that trickled down the escarpement.
Dr. Thacher, who visits the garden, writes in his journal: “ I was gratified in viewing his curious water fountain with jets and cascades.” Others have written that Kosciuszko never asked soldiers, civilians or prisoners of war to help with the construction of the garden.
The Revolutionary War supply trail leads near or through the Garden. Later, it would turn into Flirtation Walk at the United States Military Academy at West Point with an entrance to Kosciuszko’s Garden.
In May, General Paterson assigns Agrippa Hull, a free African American enlisted man, to be Kosciuszko’s orderly and he continues in this capacity until the end of the war. Hull is 19 years old and has served at Ticonderoga, the Battle at Monmouth Court House, Valley Forge and Saratoga. He serves with Kosciuszko throughout the last battle of the Revolutionary War.
For more information see Friends of Liberty: Thomas Jefferson, Tadeusz Kosciuszko and Agrippa Hull : A Tale of Three Patriots, Two Revolutions, and a Tragic Betrayal of Freedom in the New Nation by Gary B. Nash and Graham Russell Gao Hodges.
