Jan Krukowiecki
Encyclopedia
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
general and chairman of the Polish National Government
Polish National Government (November Uprising)
Polish National Government of 1831 was a Polish supreme authority during November Uprising against Russian occupation of Poland. It was created by the decree of the Sejm of the Congress Poland on 29 January 1831 to assume the competences of the Polish head of state in the aftermath of another...
(prezes Rządu Narodowego) during the November Uprising
November Uprising
The November Uprising , Polish–Russian War 1830–31 also known as the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in Warsaw when the young Polish officers from the local Army of the Congress...
and general during Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
fighting in the troops of Napoleon.
Early life and education
Jan Krukowiecki was born December 15, 1772 in Lwów. He studied at the TheresianumTheresianum
This article is about the Theresian Academy in Vienna. For other uses of Theresianum, see Theresianum .Theresianum is a private boarding school governed by the laws for public schools in Vienna, which was founded by Maria Theresa of Austria in 1746.-History:-1...
in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
and joined the Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n army.
Military career
Krukowiecki fought in the campaigns against TurkishTurkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
troops in the Balkans. In September 1794 Krukowiecki protested against the Austrian response to the Kościuszko Uprising
Kosciuszko Uprising
The Kościuszko Uprising was an uprising against Imperial Russia and the Kingdom of Prussia led by Tadeusz Kościuszko in Poland, Belarus and Lithuania in 1794...
and resigned his officer's commission. He spent the next 12 years in retirement.
In 1806 Krukowiecki joined the French army and fought in Napoleon's campaigns. In 1812 he was part of the Napoleon's army in the war against Russia. He was wounded in Smolensk
Smolensk
Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River. Situated west-southwest of Moscow, this walled city was destroyed several times throughout its long history since it was on the invasion routes of both Napoleon and Hitler. Today, Smolensk...
and received the Legion of Honour, was promoted to general of brigade and took command of a cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
brigade. At the battle of Leipzig
Battle of Leipzig
The Battle of Leipzig or Battle of the Nations, on 16–19 October 1813, was fought by the coalition armies of Russia, Prussia, Austria and Sweden against the French army of Napoleon. Napoleon's army also contained Polish and Italian troops as well as Germans from the Confederation of the Rhine...
he fought under general Sokolnicki but failed to secure the Halle Gate
Halle, Saxony-Anhalt
Halle is the largest city in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is also called Halle an der Saale in order to distinguish it from the town of Halle in North Rhine-Westphalia...
.
On March 1, 1814 Krukowiecki received command of the Polish guard of honor at Versailles
Versailles
Versailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre...
. In 1814 Tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
Alexander I
Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I of Russia , served as Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801 to 1 December 1825 and the first Russian King of Poland from 1815 to 1825. He was also the first Russian Grand Duke of Finland and Lithuania....
commissioned Krukowiecki to go to England because of his knowledge of the language. He was to secure the reparations of Polish prisoners of war. When he returned to Paris, he saw that his conduct in Leipzig was questioned in a public pamphlet. He sued general Sokolnicki, who had written the pamphlet under a pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
, but lost.
Krukowiecki proceeded to report to the Tsar and arrived in Moscow in February 1815 before he returned to Paris. On April 16 of the same year, during a banquet in honor of Russian and Polish officers, he stomped on Sokolnicki's toe. He was subjected to a court martial but when Sokolnicki died in September 1816, Krukowiecki was merely removed from active army service and returned to Poland.
In August 1831 Krukowiecki became head of Polish government during the November Uprising, but had to surrender Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
to the Russians in September and was sent to Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
. When he returned to Poland where he was tried for treason but acquitted. Krukowiecki settled on his wife's estate at Popień, near Rogowo
Rogowo
Rogowo is a village in Żnin County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina called Gmina Rogowo. It lies approximately south of Żnin and south-west of Bydgoszcz...
, where he died April 17, 1850.
Honours and awards
- Knight's Cross of the Virtuti MilitariVirtuti MilitariThe Order Wojenny Virtuti Militari is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war...
- Order of the Two Sicilies
- Order of St. VladimirOrder of St. VladimirThe Cross of Saint Vladimir was an Imperial Russian Order established in 1782 by Empress Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptizer of the Kievan Rus....
, Third Class - Commander of the Legion of Honour
- Order of Saint StanislausOrder of Saint StanislausThe Order of Saint Stanislaus , also spelled Stanislas, was an Order in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and The Kingdom of Poland between 1765 and 1831 and of Russian Empire from 1831 to 1917.-History of the Order of Saint Stanislaus:Stanisław August Poniatowski, King of Poland, established the...
, 2nd class