Casimir Pulaski, a Polish nobleman, became an American Revolutionary general and one of the fathers of the American cavalry. The first Monday of March is an official holiday in Illinois in his honor - he was born on Mar. 4 or Mar. 6, 1745. Already famous as a fighter for Polish independence, Pulaski was eventually recruited by the Marquis de Lafayette and Benjamin Franklin to serve under George Washington. When he arrived, the American army had only a few hundred horse soldiers, spread among several units and used mostly for reconnaissance. Pulaski was still waiting for his commission from Congress when, at the Battle of Brandywine in  1777, he warned George Washington that his retreat was being cut off. Washington ordered him to gather any wavering troops he could find. Pulaski's charge allowed the American army to retreat, preventing Washington's capture and execution. Less than a week later, Congress made Pulaski a brigadier general. He  was mortally wounded while leading a cavalry charge against the British during the Battle of Savannah in 1779.