Wincenty Krasinski
Encyclopedia
Count Wincenty Krasiński (April 5, 1782 – November 24, 1858) 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...

 nobleman (szlachcic), political activist and military leader.

He was the father of Zygmunt Krasiński
Zygmunt Krasinski
Count Napoleon Stanisław Adam Ludwig Zygmunt Krasiński , a Polish count, is traditionally ranked with Mickiewicz and Słowacki as one of Poland's Three National Bards — the trio of great Romantic poets who influenced national consciousness during the period of Poland's political bondage.-Life and...

, one of Poland's Three Bards
Three Bards
The Three Bards are the national poets of Polish Romantic literature. They lived and worked in exile during the partitions of Poland which ended the existence of the Polish sovereign state...

—Poland's greatest romantic poets.

Life

His military career began at the age of eight in 1791 in the National cavalry. He advanced in rank to Chorąży
Chorąży
Chorąży or Khorunzhyi is a military rank in Poland, Ukraine and some neighboring countries. A chorąży was once a knight who bore a standard — the emblem of an armed troop, a province , a land , a duchy, or the kingdom...

 and Lieutenant in 1793, being only ten at the time. Although this was more a military school service than a real combat experience, he became later a brave a capable commander. After 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...

, he became an enthusiastic supporter of Napoleon Bonaparte. As the French Army entered occupied Prussian
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...

 Poland, Wincenty Krasiński created a cavalry squadron at his own expense.

He participated in Napoleon's Campaigns from 1807 to 1814. He became the commander of the 1st Chevau-Légers
Light cavalry
Light cavalry refers to lightly armed and lightly armored troops mounted on horses, as opposed to heavy cavalry, where the riders are heavily armored...

 Lancer
Lancer
A lancer was a type of cavalryman who fought with a lance. Lances were used in mounted warfare by the Assyrians as early as and subsequently by Greek, Persian, Gallic, Han-Chinese, nomadic and Roman horsemen...

s, Imperial Guard regiment. In 1811 he was promoted to Brigadier-General and in 1813 to Division-General (gen. dywizji). From 1814 he commanded the Polish Corps. In France he is known as Vincent de Corvin-Krasinski :fr:Liste des généraux de la Révolution et du Premier Empire.

Wincenty Krasiński participated in numerous battles. He fought at Wagram
Battle of Wagram
The Battle of Wagram was the decisive military engagement of the War of the Fifth Coalition. It took place on the Marchfeld plain, on the north bank of the Danube. An important site of the battle was the village of Deutsch-Wagram, 10 kilometres northeast of Vienna, which would give its name to the...

 in 1809, the Russian Campaign from 1812 to 1813 and the Campaign of 1814. He was awarded the 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...

 in 1810 and the Légion d'honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...

 order in 1811.

After the abdication of Napoleon, Wincenty Krasiński became commander of a Guard Division in Russian
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...

-dominated 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. From 1818 he served as General-Adjutant of the Czar and Sejm Marshal. He became senator-voivode and was awarded the Order of the White Eagle in 1821.

In 1828 as member of the Sejm
Sejm
The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....

 Court, during the trial against the activists of the "Patriotic Society" (among others Stanisław Sołtyk), he was the only senator who voted for death penalty. For this he was condemned by public opinion and independence circles alike.

He refused to join 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...

 in 1830 and was from 1831 General-Adjutant of the Russian Czar Nicolas I. From 1833 Wincenty Krasiński he served as member of the Russian Council of the State.

In 1844 he founded the Krasinski Ordynacja Library in Warsaw. From 1855 to 1856 he served as governor of Polish Congress Poland. Wincenty Krasiński became the 1st Ordynat (1844), and starost of Opiniogóra estates.

Wincenty Krasiński married Princess Maria Urszula Radziwiłł on September 12, 1803 in Lwów. He died on November 24, 1858 in Warsaw.

He was the father of Zygmunt Krasiński
Zygmunt Krasinski
Count Napoleon Stanisław Adam Ludwig Zygmunt Krasiński , a Polish count, is traditionally ranked with Mickiewicz and Słowacki as one of Poland's Three National Bards — the trio of great Romantic poets who influenced national consciousness during the period of Poland's political bondage.-Life and...

, one of Poland's Three Bards
Three Bards
The Three Bards are the national poets of Polish Romantic literature. They lived and worked in exile during the partitions of Poland which ended the existence of the Polish sovereign state...

—Poland's greatest romantic poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...

s.

Decorations

  • 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...

    , highest decoration for bravery on the battlefield, awarded in 1810.
  • Légion d'honneur
    Légion d'honneur
    The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...

    , awarded in 1811.
  • Order of St. Anna
    Order of St. Anna
    The 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...

    , 1st class with diamonds (November 16, 1815)
  • Knight of the Order of the White Eagle, highest Polish decoration, awarded in 1821.
  • Order of Saint Stanislaus
    Order of Saint Stanislaus
    The 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...

  • Order of St. Vladimir
    Order of St. Vladimir
    The 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....

    , 2nd class (11 October 1820) and 1st class (18 January 1832)
  • Order of St. Alexander Nevsky
    Order of St. Alexander Nevsky
    The Imperial Order of St. Alexander Nevsky was an order of chivalry of the Russian Empire.-History:The introduction of the Imperial Order of St. Alexander Nevsky was planned by Emperor Peter I of Russia...

      (June 9, 1825, diamonds added on Oct. 13, 1831)
  • Order of St. Andrew
    Order of St. Andrew
    The 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...

     (August 24, 1840, diamonds added on Nov. 17, 1855)

See also

  • List of Poles
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