Józef Zajączek
Prince Józef Zajączek (born November 1, 1752 in Kamieniec Podolski , † August 28, 1826 in Warsaw ) was a Polish general and politician.
Life
Zajączek was born in 1752 to Antoni Zajączek and Marianna Cieszkowska, a member of the Świnka family of Polish aristocrats. At the age of 16, he entered the Confederation Bar Association and served as secretary to Senator Michał Wielhorski. With the support of the Sapieha magnate family, he became the orderly officer of the hetman Franciszek Ksawery Branicki and sat in the Sejm from 1788 to 1792 as a member of the Podolia and Kiev Voivodeship . Soon he left Branicki's camp and joined the Patriotic Party faction of Hugo Kołłątaj and became a supporter of the new constitution of May 3, 1791.
In Poland's struggle for freedom
Dissatisfaction with the reforms resulted in Russian troops marching into eastern Poland in May 1792. Zajączek was given command of the reserve corps in the Lublin area on May 26 and was promoted to major general on May 29 . In June he was one of the victorious commanders in the Battle of Zielńce, for which he was awarded the high order Virtuti Militari . In August 1793 he left after Stanisław August Poniatowski's conversion with Kościuszko and Kołłątaj the country to rekindle the uprising in March 1794. Zajączek received from the insurgent leader Kościuszko the command of the Malopolska Division and took part in the victorious Battle of Racławice on April 4 . On April 6, 1794 he was promoted to lieutenant general, but was defeated on June 8 in the Battle of Chełm and had to return to Lublin. In mid-June he united with Kościuszko's armed forces and led the hapless Battle of Gołków (July 9-10). He was then commander of the defense of Warsaw and was defeated by Russian troops on November 4th in the Battle of Praga (1794) . He fled to Galicia , where he was interned by Austrians. A year later he was released and went into exile in Paris.
Military service in France
In the hope of winning revolutionary France to support the Polish cause, many Poles enlisted in the French Revolutionary Army, which eventually led to the establishment of the Polish Legions in Italy, commanded by General Dąbrowski . On March 8, 1797, he was appointed Brigadier General in the French Army. He took part in Bonaparte's Egyptian expedition of 1798 and on January 25, 1800 defeated the Mamlucken under Murad Bey at the Battle of Sédiman . He fought under General Menou in the Battle of Canopus (March 21) and was promoted to divisional general in May 1801 , participated in the unsuccessful defense of Alexandria and returned to France. In 1802 he was appointed commander of the French 2nd Division and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Legion of Honor in 1803 .
Further career
Since 1807, Zajączek, as future viceroy of the Kingdom of Poland, administered the Opatówek region . At first he refused to serve under Prince Poniatowski, who was hateful to him, and refused to wear a Polish uniform and to swear the oath to the newly established Duchy of Warsaw . It was only after the direct order of the French Marshal Davout that he served in the old Polish army as a general and was also awarded the Commander's Cross of the Virtuti Militari order. In the campaign of 1809 he commanded several formations in the Polish-Austrian War and suffered the only significant defeat in the Battle of Jedlińsk on June 11th. He remained in the Polish army, commanded the Polish 2nd Division and organized the troops for the expected conflict with Russia.
During Napoleon's Russian campaign of 1812 he was in command of the 16th Division in the 5th Army Corps under Poniatowski and fought during the Battle of Smolensk and Borodino . After Prince Poniatowski was wounded in the Battle of Tarutino , Zajączek took over the leadership on November 1st. He led the V Corps interim in the battle of Vyazma and Krasnoye . Seriously wounded during the Battle of the Beresina (November 26, 1812), the doctor general Larrey had to amputate his leg in order to save his life. No longer adequately transportable, was taken prisoner by Russia while retreating. He was later able to win the trust of Tsar Alexander I .. , who installed him in 1815 as governor ( Namiestnik ) in Congress Poland and in 1818 made him Prince of Poland . In Warsaw Royal Castle Zajączek left the Royal Route by Jan Chrystian Aigner converted for military guard. In the spring of 1826 Zajączek fell seriously ill, passed out on July 25th and died on the morning of July 28th in the Warsaw Regent Palace. He was buried in Opatówek near Kalisch, his heart remained in the St. Bernard Church in Warsaw.
swell
- Brockhaus-Efron , 1906
- Biography on www.frenchempire
Individual evidence
Web links
- Biography (polish)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Zajączek, Józef |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Polish general and politician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 1, 1752 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Kamieniec Podolski |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 28, 1826 |
| Place of death | Warsaw |