Józef Zajaczek
Encyclopedia
Prince Józef Zajączek (1 November 1752, Kamieniec Podolski — 28 August 1826, Warsaw
) was a Polish
general and politician.
His first important military post was that of an aide-de-camp
to hetman
Franciszek Ksawery Branicki
. Before the partitions of Poland
in 1795 he was a deputy
to the 4-year Sejm (1788–1792), one of the secretaries of the Assembly of Friends of the Government Act, commander of a division during the Polish-Russian War of 1792
, hero of the battle of Zieleńce
(for his valor he received the highest decoration
of Polish military: Virtuti Militari
, becoming the 5th person to receive this award (instituted that year)http://www.depechemode.9o.pl/kalisz/jozefzajaczek.html) and a Polish Jacobinhttp://www.president.pl/x.node?id=442. He was a general and the commander of the Kościuszko Uprising
in 1794 after Tadeusz Kościuszko
was imprisoned. He is criticised for his poor military skill in preparing defence of Warsaw against Russian invasion. Just before Warsaw fell he escaped to Polish Galicia where he was interned by Austrians. Due to his wife's influence, he was released one year later.
After the uprising was subdued, Zajączek like many other Polish soldiers joined the Polish Legions in Italy
led by Jan Henryk Dąbrowski
, which were part of Napoleon's army. He later took part in the Revolutionary Wars
and the Egyptian Expedition
. At this time he decided to break all ties with his homeland during this time as a result of criticism of his person in Poland http://www.biblioteka.opatowek.pl/002/hist0001.html.
When the Polish state was recreated as Duchy of Warsaw
by Napoleon, Zajączek believed he should be put in charge of war department; when his demands were not granted, he refused to wear a Polish uniform http://www.biblioteka.opatowek.pl/002/hist0001.html, and was forced to do so only on direct orders of Napoleon. His constant disputes and demands were problematic for Polish government, and there was even a proposal to give him some sort of bribe so that he would stop http://www.biblioteka.opatowek.pl/002/hist0001.html. He particularly insisted on being granted land and possessions, going as far as addressing Napoleon himself http://www.biblioteka.opatowek.pl/002/hist0016.html. He was put in charge of the so-called Northern Legion, composed primarily of Poles. During Napoleon's Invasion of Russia in 1812 Zajączek commanded the 16th infantry division of la Grande Armée
until a wound at Berzina
claimed his leg and he was taken prisoner by the Imperial Russian Army
in Wilna.
In captitvity through contacts gained by Princess of Łowicz, Zajączek managed to contact Russian Grand Duke Constantine
, which helped to place him on Russian created committee on military organisation. Thereupon he was presented to the Emperor Alexander I
; his desire to serve the emperor resulted in appointment as his representative in Congress Poland
in 1815, becoming the first Namestnik of Kingdom of Poland. He adopted the position of utmost servility towards Aleksander I, who bestowed on him the title of a 'Prince of Poland' in 1818. http://www.president.pl/x.node?id=442. He was the only man to receive the title from the Russian emperor. Other princes of Poland were the brothers of the previous King of Poland, Stanisław August Poniatowski (Kazimierz, Andrzej and Michal), who were awarded the hereditary title by the Polish Sejm (parliament) before Russia invaded and conquered Poland.
His wife Aleksandra Pernet, though of advanced age, was known for her youthful looks. They had no children, and the princely title went extinct upon Zajączek's death, which happened in Warsaw's palace called Pałac Namiestnikowski (Regent's Palace), nowadays a seat of the President of Poland. He was buried in Opatówek
near Kalisz
, but his heart was placed in the Bernardine Church in Warsaw. The choice of Opatówek was not accidental, because he contributed a lot to the economic growth of the town.
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...
) was a Polish
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 politician.
His first important military post was that of an aide-de-camp
Aide-de-camp
An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...
to hetman
Hetman
Hetman was the title of the second-highest military commander in 15th- to 18th-century Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which together, from 1569 to 1795, comprised the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, or Rzeczpospolita....
Franciszek Ksawery Branicki
Franciszek Ksawery Branicki
Count Franciszek Ksawery Branicki was a Polish nobleman of the Korczak coat of arms, magnate and one of the leaders of the Targowica Confederation....
. Before the partitions of Poland
Partitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...
in 1795 he was a deputy
Legislator
A legislator is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are usually politicians and are often elected by the people...
to the 4-year Sejm (1788–1792), one of the secretaries of the Assembly of Friends of the Government Act, commander of a division during the Polish-Russian War of 1792
Polish-Russian War of 1792
The Polish–Russian War of 1792 or War in Defence of the Constitution was fought between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth on one side, and the Targowica Confederation and the Russian Empire on the other....
, hero of the battle of Zieleńce
Battle of Zielence
The Battle of Zieleńce was a battle in the Polish–Russian War of 1792, in defence of the Polish Constitution of 3 May 1791. The battle took place on 18 June 1792, between the Polish army of Józef Poniatowski and a Russian army group under the command of General Morkov, which was a part of...
(for his valor he received the highest decoration
Military decoration
A military decoration is a decoration given to military personnel or units for heroism in battle or distinguished service. They are designed to be worn on military uniform....
of Polish military: Virtuti Militari
Virtuti Militari
The Order Wojenny Virtuti Militari is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war...
, becoming the 5th person to receive this award (instituted that year)http://www.depechemode.9o.pl/kalisz/jozefzajaczek.html) and a Polish Jacobinhttp://www.president.pl/x.node?id=442. He was a general and the commander of 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...
in 1794 after Tadeusz Kościuszko
Tadeusz Kosciuszko
Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko was a Polish–Lithuanian and American general and military leader during the Kościuszko Uprising. He is a national hero of Poland, Lithuania, the United States and Belarus...
was imprisoned. He is criticised for his poor military skill in preparing defence of Warsaw against Russian invasion. Just before Warsaw fell he escaped to Polish Galicia where he was interned by Austrians. Due to his wife's influence, he was released one year later.
After the uprising was subdued, Zajączek like many other Polish soldiers joined the Polish Legions in Italy
Polish Legions in Italy
The Polish Legions, in the Napoleonic period, were several Polish military units that served with the French Army from the 1790s to the 1810s....
led by Jan Henryk Dąbrowski
Jan Henryk Dabrowski
-Biography:Dąbrowski was born to Jan Michal Dąbrowski and Sophie née von Lettow in Pierzchów, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth He grew up in Hoyerswerda, Electorate of Saxony, where his father served as a Colonel in the Saxon army...
, which were part of Napoleon's army. He later took part in the Revolutionary Wars
Revolutionary Wars
Revolutionary Wars may relate to:*American Revolutionary War*French Revolutionary Wars...
and the Egyptian Expedition
French Revolutionary Wars: Campaigns of 1798
1798 was a relatively quiet period in the French Revolutionary Wars. The major continental powers in the First coalition had made peace with France, leaving France dominant in Europe with only a slow naval war with Great Britain to worry about...
. At this time he decided to break all ties with his homeland during this time as a result of criticism of his person in Poland http://www.biblioteka.opatowek.pl/002/hist0001.html.
When the Polish state was recreated as Duchy of Warsaw
Duchy of Warsaw
The Duchy of Warsaw was a Polish state established by Napoleon I in 1807 from the Polish lands ceded by the Kingdom of Prussia under the terms of the Treaties of Tilsit. The duchy was held in personal union by one of Napoleon's allies, King Frederick Augustus I of Saxony...
by Napoleon, Zajączek believed he should be put in charge of war department; when his demands were not granted, he refused to wear a Polish uniform http://www.biblioteka.opatowek.pl/002/hist0001.html, and was forced to do so only on direct orders of Napoleon. His constant disputes and demands were problematic for Polish government, and there was even a proposal to give him some sort of bribe so that he would stop http://www.biblioteka.opatowek.pl/002/hist0001.html. He particularly insisted on being granted land and possessions, going as far as addressing Napoleon himself http://www.biblioteka.opatowek.pl/002/hist0016.html. He was put in charge of the so-called Northern Legion, composed primarily of Poles. During Napoleon's Invasion of Russia in 1812 Zajączek commanded the 16th infantry division of la Grande Armée
La Grande Armée
The Grande Armée first entered the annals of history when, in 1805, Napoleon I renamed the army that he had assembled on the French coast of the English Channel for the proposed invasion of Britain...
until a wound at Berzina
Battle of Berezina
The Battle of Berezina took place November 26–29, 1812 between the French army of Napoleon, retreating after his invasion of Russia and crossing the Berezina , and the Russian armies under Mikhail Kutuzov, Peter Wittgenstein and Admiral Pavel Chichagov. The battle ended with a mixed outcome...
claimed his leg and he was taken prisoner by the Imperial Russian Army
Imperial Russian Army
The Imperial Russian Army was the land armed force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian army consisted of around 938,731 regular soldiers and 245,850 irregulars . Until the time of military reform of Dmitry Milyutin in...
in Wilna.
Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich of Russia
Constantine Pavlovich was a grand duke of Russia and the second son of Emperor Paul I. He was the Tsesarevich of Russia throughout the reign of his elder brother Alexander I, but had secretly renounced his claim to the throne in 1823...
, which helped to place him on Russian created committee on military organisation. Thereupon he was presented to the Emperor 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....
; his desire to serve the emperor resulted in appointment as his representative in Congress Poland
Congress Poland
The Kingdom of Poland , informally known as Congress Poland , created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, was a personal union of the Russian parcel of Poland with the Russian Empire...
in 1815, becoming the first Namestnik of Kingdom of Poland. He adopted the position of utmost servility towards Aleksander I, who bestowed on him the title of a 'Prince of Poland' in 1818. http://www.president.pl/x.node?id=442. He was the only man to receive the title from the Russian emperor. Other princes of Poland were the brothers of the previous King of Poland, Stanisław August Poniatowski (Kazimierz, Andrzej and Michal), who were awarded the hereditary title by the Polish Sejm (parliament) before Russia invaded and conquered Poland.
His wife Aleksandra Pernet, though of advanced age, was known for her youthful looks. They had no children, and the princely title went extinct upon Zajączek's death, which happened in Warsaw's palace called Pałac Namiestnikowski (Regent's Palace), nowadays a seat of the President of Poland. He was buried in Opatówek
Opatówek
Opatówek is a village of 3,800 inhabitants situated 10 km southeast from Kalisz, county of Kalisz County in the province of Wielkopolska, Poland. The commune of Opatówek, including the village of Opatówek and 26 other villages, has about 10,000 inhabitants and is an agricultural and industrial...
near Kalisz
Kalisz
Kalisz is a city in central Poland with 106,857 inhabitants , the capital city of the Kalisz Region. Situated on the Prosna river in the southeastern part of the Greater Poland Voivodeship, the city forms a conurbation with the nearby towns of Ostrów Wielkopolski and Nowe Skalmierzyce...
, but his heart was placed in the Bernardine Church in Warsaw. The choice of Opatówek was not accidental, because he contributed a lot to the economic growth of the town.
Honours and awards
- Commander'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...
(1807) - Order of the White Eagle (1815)
- Order of St. AndrewOrder of St. AndrewThe Order of St. Andrew the First-Called is the first and the highest order of chivalry of the Russian Empire.- Russian Empire :The Order was established in 1698 by Tsar Peter the Great, in honour of Saint Andrew, the first apostle of Jesus and patron saint of Russia...
(1816) - Order of the Black EagleOrder of the Black EagleThe Order of the Black Eagle was the highest order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Prussia. The order was founded on 17 January 1701 by Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg . In his Dutch exile after WWI, deposed Emperor Wilhelm II continued to award the order to his family...
(Prussia, 1819) - Commander's Cross of the Legion of Honour (France)
- 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...
(Russia) - Order of St. AnnaOrder of St. AnnaThe Order of St. Anna ) is a Holstein and then Russian Imperial order of chivalry established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp on 14 February 1735, in honour of his wife Anna Petrovna, daughter of Peter the Great of Russia...
(Russia)