Monday, March 7, 2011, the city of Chicago and Cook County observes Casimir Pulaski Day, in honor of the Polish-born cavalry officer killed in the Revolutionary War.
Chicago Public Library is closed.
Arlington Heights Memorial Library open.
City of Chicago and Cook County government offices and courts closed.
Central Bond Court is open.
State and Federal offices and courts are open.
Banks and financial markets are open.
ll public transportation, Metra, CTA, RTA, Pace are on normal schedules.
District 214 open
District 25 open
St. Viator Open
Who is Casimir Pulaski?
Casimir Pulaski (March 6, 1745– October 11, 1779), was a Polish soldier, nobleman, and politician who came to the United States as a Soldier of Fortune, and has been called “the father of American cavalry”. A member of the Polish landed nobility, Pulaski was a military commander for the Bar Confederation and fought against Russian domination of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. When this uprising failed, he emigrated to North America as a soldier of fortune. During the American Revolutionary War, he saved the life of George Washington during a courageous Battle of Brandywine which engaged the British starting September 11, 1777. Pulaski was then promoted to brigadier general of the American cavalry in the Continental Army, which was formed by the colonies that became the United States. Pulaski died of wounds suffered in the Battle of Savannah. Casimir Pulaski is one of only seven people to be awarded honorary United States citizenship.
In Poland, the Bar Confederation (Polish: Konfederacja barska; 1768–1772) was an association of Polish nobles (szlachta) formed at the fortress of Bar in Podolia in 1768 to defend the internal and external independence of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth against Russian influence and against King Stanisław August Poniatowski and Polish reformers who were attempting to limit the power of the Commonwealth’s magnates (wealthy szlachta). The founders of the Bar Confederation included the magnates Adam Krasiński, Bishop of Kamenets, Kazimierz Pułaski and Michał Krasiński. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, its creation led to a civil war and contributed to the First Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Some historians consider the Bar Confederation the first Polish uprising — the first serious national military effort trying to restore Polish independence.