Pulaski Square: A Polish Count, a Savannah Square, and an Address at 20 Martin Court

Every October 11, the United States pauses for General Pulaski Memorial Day. Congress set the date in 1929, and presidents have proclaimed it nearly every year since. In most of the country it passes quietly; but in Savannah, it is local history. Here in Savannah, Casimir Pulaski rode his last charge.

It is more personal for us at the Gateway: When Office Evolution Savannah Gateway opens its doors, one of our hallways will carry his name. Here is the story behind it.

A Polish cavalryman with nothing left to lose

Casimir Pulaski was born in Warsaw in 1745 into Polish nobility. In his early twenties he joined the Bar Confederation, an uprising against Russian control of Poland, and made his name as a cavalry commander. The uprising failed, and by 1772, he was an exile. Just one year later, he had been sentenced to death in absentia.

In the spring of 1777, he met Benjamin Franklin (another eponymous name for us) in France. Franklin recommended him to George Washington as an officer “famous throughout Europe for his bravery and conduct in defence of the liberties of his country.” Pulaski landed in Massachusetts that July.

Pulaski did not wait for a commission. At the Battle of Brandywine in September 1777, he led a charge that covered the Continental Army’s retreat, with some accounts crediting him with saving Washington’s life. Days later, Congress made him a brigadier general in charge of the cavalry. He wrote the army’s first cavalry regulations and went on to raise an independent unit of lancers and light infantry known as Pulaski’s Legion. He is remembered today as the Father of the American Cavalry.

October 1779: the Siege of Savannah

In the fall of 1779, American and French forces tried to take Savannah back from the British. On October 9 they launched their main assault on the British lines at Spring Hill. Pulaski commanded the combined French and American cavalry. When the attack faltered, he rode forward to rally the troops and was struck by grapeshot.

He was carried aboard the brig Wasp and died two days later, on October 11, 1779, at the tender age of 34.

Where he was laid to rest is still debated. Some accounts say he was buried at sea. Others say he was brought ashore at Greenwich Plantation in Thunderbolt. Remains found there in 1853 were placed beneath the Pulaski monument, and a 2019 DNA study concluded they are likely his, though not every historian agrees. In 2009, Congress made him an honorary United States citizen, one of only eight people ever given that honor.

How Savannah remembers him

Savannah put his name on the map more than once. Fort Pulaski, on Cockspur Island between the city and Tybee Island, was christened in his honor in 1833. The 55-foot marble Pulaski monument, designed by Robert Launitz, stands in Monterey Square, with a bronze relief of the general on horseback at the moment he fell.

Pulaski Square, laid out in 1837 on Barnard Street, sits south of Orleans Square and west of Madison Square. It is one of the few Savannah squares without a central monument. Instead, Pulaski’s square is known for some of the best live oaks downtown and a ring of homes dating back to 1839. It is a quiet square—the kind you walk through on the way to somewhere else but end up lingering in tranquility.

Pulaski Square at 20 Martin Court

When we planned Office Evolution Savannah Gateway, we did not want hallways labeled A, B, and C. Savannah has the best wayfinding system in America: its squares. Similarly, each group of offices in our building is named for a Square, such as Pulaski Square. Ellis Square is our central gathering location. Greene Square has dedicated desks for coworking. Oglethorpe Square spans the width of the building.

Pulaski Square is near our copier, the restrooms, and the water station. It is a practical stretch of the building, close to everything a one- or two-person business reaches for during the day. We like the fit. The downtown square has no statue; it is simply a good place to be—shaded and close to everything. And the man it is named for crossed an ocean to build something from scratch with people he had just met. Most of the founders who will work at 20 Martin Court in Pulaski Square know a little about that.

Learn more about Casimir Pulaski

If today sent you down a rabbit hole, these are good places to keep going:

• Casimir Pulaski, American Battlefield Trust: a short, readable biography.
• Casimir Pulaski, National Park Service: his story from the people who look after Fort Pulaski.
• Casimir Pulaski, Wikipedia: the long version, including the burial and DNA debate.
• General Pulaski Memorial Day: how October 11 became a national observance.
• Pulaski Square: the square and the historic homes around it.
• Casimir Pulaski Monument in Savannah: the Monterey Square monument.

Better yet, visit Pulaski Square and Monterey Square in downtown Savannah.

Come see our Pulaski Square

Office Evolution Savannah Gateway opens in mid-January at 20 Martin Court. If you would like a look at Pulaski Square, or any of the other squares in the building, get in touch and we will save you a spot. Have we mentioned our Founding Membership Deal?