Statue of Tadeusz Kościuszko

The Kosciuszko Memorial stands in the northeast corner of Lafayette Square directly across from the White House, one of four corner monuments to foreign Revolutionary War heroes. Tadeusz Kosciuszko, a Polish-Lithuanian military engineer, designed the West Point fortifications in 1778 and is credited as one of the architects of the American victory at Saratoga. Sculptor Antoni Popiel showed him in general's uniform studying a map, with two allegorical figures at the base: an American soldier and a Polish peasant casting off his chains. Dedicated on 11 May 1910 in the presence of President Taft. Today the corner is a quiet spot in the shade of old magnolias, with the direct view onto the White House as context.