Who was Felix Miklaszewicz?
Everyone knows Pulaski and Kościuszko but have you heard of Felix Miklaszewicz?
A Polish noble who fought the Russian Empire, lost, and fled into exile then joined America’s fight for freedom at sea, hunting British ships with a license from Congress. A pirate with paperwork.
Boston gave him a warship, and he gave it a Polish name: the Prince Radziwill. He fought under the American flag until the very end of the war.
No portrait of him survives. No statue, no street. Some heroes get monuments, he got waves. This 4th of July, 250 years after it all began, he deserves at least to be remembered.
Miklaszewicz is only one name in a long line of Poles who shaped early America. Pułaski trained the cavalry. Kościuszko designed the fortifications at West Point. And centuries later, their descendants built a new Poland by the East River, in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, where Polish is still spoken on every corner and pierogi are made the same way they were back home.
At Restaurant Relax we like to think Miklaszewicz would have felt at home here too. A little rebellious, a little far from home, but still proud of where he came from. If his story makes you hungry for a taste of Poland, our menu of traditional Polish home cooking is a good place to start, or explore more of Greenpoint’s Polish heritage in our neighborhood guide.
Happy birthday, America
Long live the Republic! 🇺🇸🇵🇱
Can’t make it in?
Order online. We’ll handle the rest.
Fresh Polish home cooking, delivered to your door.
