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Savannah Battle and Pulaski Observance Oct. 9, 2024
The 12th Polish Tablet on the Battlefield

Guard of Honor on the field with Edward Krolikowski (as General Pulaski), on his horse Mykonos.

Every October 9 the Coastal Heritage Society (CHS) of Georgia commemorates the Battle of Savannah in Battlefield Memorial Park next to the Savannah History Museum and the Georgia State Railroad Museum. Participants gather at 9:00 am in the museum parking lot and retrace the steps the American Militias and the French Army troops took to storm the Spring Hill Redoubt. This is where Gen. Pulaski fell struck with a grapeshot ball.

This year the ceremonies were conducted by Nora Fleming Lee of the CHS. Among the speakers was Mayor Van R. Johnson whose short speech aptly underscored the historical significance of the battle. Three new tablets to honor participants of the American Revolution were dedicated. Two tablets honored brothers from the LeBey family, Frenchmen, five of whom fell during the battle. These tablets were funded by their descendant D. Morgan Derst.

The Polish Heritage Society of Philadelphia (PHSP) unveiled a tablet in honor of Capt. Jan Grabowski (c. 1745-1815) a Polish nobleman who joined the French Army in 1774. He then came to America in 1780 as a 2nd Lieutenant of Hussars in Lauzan's Legion under Rochambeau. He fought at Yorktown, and supported Gen. Greene in North Carolina. He then returned to France in 1783 where he was promoted to Captain. Most likely he lived out his life in France never seeing Poland again.

Peter Obst, president of PHSP, was among the speakers and placed a wreath on the redoubt. So did Valerie Kuhn Granzow, the French Honorary Consul in Georgia, along with representatives of the Sons and Daughters of the Revolution and other patriotic organizations. A number of uniformed battle re-enactors formed the honor guard along with Edward Krolikowski, on his horse Mykonos, as Gen. Pulaski.

After the conclusion of the ceremonies, Edward Krolikowski and Peter Obst drove to nearby Fort Pulaski to complete the handover of a polychrome bust of Casimir Pulaski. This work of sculptor Joseph Aszklar from 1929 was cast in bronze and placed in Cudahy, Wisconsin. A plaster version was given to the city of Savannah on the sesquicentennial of the Battle. It was later stored at Fort Pulaski. The Pulaski Museum in Warka, Poland, recently accepted it as a gift, as there it would be in a better place for public exhibition. The museum has also agreed to restore it to its proper appearance, as the years have taken their toll.

The bust was moved to a garage bay at the Fort Pulaski maintenance facility by Miguel Roman, Patricio Ortiz, and Ryan O'Hara. It was waiting for the shipping box that Peter built and brought from Philadelphia. An all female crew led by Kathy Purcell, with Laura Seifert and Samantha Matera, gingerly wrapped Pulaski in styrofoam sheets and packed him tightly into the box with sponge foam and bubble wrap. Within an hour all the screws were fastened down on the covers and the box loaded for the journey to Philadelphia. Once Warka Museum director, Iwona Stefaniak, completes paperwork required by Polish Customs the bust will be shipped out as container freight across the Atlantic. We look forward to seeing this nice piece of art restored and in a place where it can be admired.

Polish Heritage Society of Philadelphia participated in the Pulaski Day Parade on Oct. 6th and was featured on ABC staton WPVI TV Channel 6

As an aside it should be mentioned that Pulaski Day was also celebrated in Philadelphia with a parade on Sunday, October 6. Members of the PHSP turned out on this beautiful day and joined the other marchers in paying tribute to General Casimir Pulaski. Janusz Romanski, a Polish Army Reserve Officer, and member of the PHSP board, was the Military Marshal this year. Several hundred marched in the parade which included the Pennsbury high-school marching band, military units, the Polish-American String band, classic automobiles, dancers, singers, Polish Saturday Schools, Polish parishes, and a Polish motorcycle club. The entire march-through lasted just over an hour, and was broadcast by WPVI TV 6 in the Philadelphia area.

Photographs from the Savannah Battle and Pulaski Observance Oct. 9, 2024

Marchers assemble in the Savannah City Museum parking lot

Marching to the field of battle, led by a fife player

Savannah Mayor Van R. Johnson speaks

Edward Krolikowski, as Pulaski, on his horse Mykonos; in front is Valerie Kuhn Granzow the Honorary Consul of France for Georgia

The Polish Heritage sponsored tablet

Polish Heritage Wreath

Patriotic Organizations were represented

Peter Obst on his way to the Georgia State Railroad Museum maintnance shed where the post-event brunch was served

Photographs from the packing of the bust at Fort Pulaski

Plaster Bust of General Pulaski

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(l. to r.) - Edward Krolikowski with Samantha Matera, Katherine Purcell, and Laura Seifert

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