Chapter I: Front Matter

_Born in Poland A.D. 1756. Died the 15th. October 1817 near Solothurn in Switzerland. He and G'al. Lafayette were the only two Europeans who wore the Cross of the Order of Cincinnatus._

_Dedicated to the American people._

_Entered according to Act Congress by Paulin Miedzielsky, N.-York, 1833._]

HISTORY

OF THE

LATE POLISH REVOLUTION,

AND THE

EVENTS OF THE CAMPAIGN.

BY JOSEPH HORDYNSKI, MAJOR OF THE LATE TENTH REGIMENT OF LITHUANIAN LANCERS.

Fourth Edition.

BOSTON:

PRINTED FOR SUBSCRIBERS.

1833.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1833,

By Joseph Hordynski,

In the Clerk's Office of the District of Massachusetts.

TO

THE GREAT AND FREE NATION

OF THE

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

Liberated from prison, and from the prospect of a more gloomy future, by some of your fellow citizens, I have been so fortunate as to reach these happy shores. Providence has granted me to behold that fair country, and that nation, which every lover of freedom desires to see with his own eyes, and every freeman of Poland is wont to think of with love and esteem. Your land, long since the asylum of the persecuted, has welcomed me with hearty benevolence. From the first moment of my arrival to the present time, I have received daily proofs of your sympathy. Full of gratitude, and in the hope of doing you an acceptable service, I cannot better employ the moments allowed me during my stay among you, than by giving you a faithful account of our revolution, and of its true causes and motives, as well as of the events of the war by which it was followed. By a brief statement of the circumstances which brought about that revolution, I wish to inform you of the injustice and outrages, which my nation was compelled to endure, during fourteen years, in which both its natural rights, and the constitution solemnly guarantied to it, were trampled under foot. By a true account of the events of the ensuing war, you will be enabled to convince yourselves of the means by which small forces became victorious over a colossal power, as well as of the causes of the final catastrophe to which Poland has been doomed.

I am convinced that in many respects my narrative will be entirely opposed to the representations given in the public papers; for our land, like most countries struggling for liberty, was surrounded by enemies rather than friends. The sources from which these accounts have been drawn, are, first, my own recollections of events of which I was an eye-witness; secondly, the reports of my friends and comrades who were present; and lastly, (particularly as to the operations of the detached corps) the official reports of the army, which have not yet escaped my memory. The same course I have followed in the design of the plans, which have been traced partly from my own recollections of positions and scenes at which I was present, partly from the accurate reports of friends, and partly from public reports, assisted by my personal knowledge of localities.

Americans! I am neither an author nor a scholar by profession, but a simple republican and soldier. In such a one you will forgive faults in the form and style of writing. Do not then judge me as a writer, but see in me an unhappy Pole, who presents to your sympathies the picture of the fatal disasters of his unfortunate country, and of the manner in which it strove to regain its liberty, that first and greatest of national blessings. In this hope of your indulgence, I beg you to accept this work as a token of my gratitude and as a memorial of my short stay among you, as well as an expression of the great esteem, with which I shall always remain,

Americans, your devoted servant, JOSEPH HORDYNSKI.

To the gentlemen who have aided me, by the translation, the execution of the plates, and the publication of the work, I offer the only recompense which they will permit me to make--my heartfelt thanks; and I assure them that in the feelings which prompt this acknowledgment, all my comrades will participate.

J.H.

PRONUNCIATION.--_To the Reader._ There are difficulties in the way of accurate rules for the pronunciation of Polish words arising from the circumstance that some letters have varieties of sound which are indicated by signs in the Polish alphabet, and which cannot be represented in the English. Thus, the letter _Z_ has, in addition to that of the English _Z_ the sounds of _jet_ and _zet_; the first indicated by a short line and the second by a dot placed over the letter. It has therefore been thought more for the convenience of readers, who may wish to know the English pronunciation of the names which occur in this work, to subjoin an alphabetical list of them and their pronunciation, than to give rules which must necessarily be imperfect. This list will be found at the end of the Volume.

_the undaunted Chief of the Poles during the Confederacy of Bar from 1768 to 1772. Born in 1746 & killed before Savannah in 1779 while fighting for the Liberty & Independence of these U.S._

_Dedicated to the American people._

_Entered according to Act of Congress by Paulin Miedzielsky, N.-York, 1833._]

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

Geographical extent, population, and political importance of Poland,
as anciently constituted.--Conduct of Napoleon in 1812.--Congress
of Vienna.--Grand-duchy of Warsaw erected into a kingdom.--Dispositions
of Alexander.--Zajaczek appointed Viceroy,
and Constantine commander of the army.--Constantine encroaches
upon the civil administration.--Acts of tyranny.--Meeting
of the Diet.--Public debates suppressed.--The Polish Conspiracy
of 1821.--The Russian Conspiracy of 1824.--Union of the
Patriotic Associations.--Death of Alexander.--The Revolt at St
Petersburgh.--Punishment of the Patriots.--Coronation of
Nicholas.--Constantine appointed Viceroy of Poland.--Oppressions
of the Government.--Patriotic Club.--Influence of the French
and Belgic Revolutions.--The Quartering-tax.--Excitement in
Warsaw.--Arrest of the students at Praga.--Day of the Revolution
fixed upon. Page 5

CHAPTER II.

Principles of the Revolution.--THE FIRST NIGHT.--Attack on the
Barracks of the Russian Cavalry.--Their Dispersion.--Attempt
to secure the person of the Grand Duke.--Capture of Russian
general officers and spies.--Actions with detached bodies of Russian
cavalry.--Two companies of Polish light-infantry join the
patriots.--Death of Potocki and Trembicki.--The Russian infantry
attacked and dispersed.--Armament and assembling of
the people.--Detachments sent to Praga. 30

CHAPTER III.

THE FIRST DAY.--Expulsion of the Russians from Warsaw.--Choice
of Chlopicki as Commander in Chief.--Provisional Government,
under the Presidency of prince Adam Czartoryski.--Deputation
sent to the Grand Duke.--Propositions and answer.--Abolition
of the Bureau of Police.--Establishment of the National
Guard.--Proclamations addressed to the inhabitants of the provinces
and the distant troops.--Provision for the Russian prisoners.--The
Academical Legions formed.--Arrival of detachments from the
provinces.--The Grand Duke consents to leave the kingdom, and
addresses a proclamation to the Poles. 47

CHAPTER IV.

The Patriotic Club commences its sessions.--Character of that
association.--The Grand Duke departs for the frontier.--Particulars
of his march.--The Polish regiments which had remained
with him return to Warsaw.--Their reception.--Krasynski and
Kornatowski.--Deputation to St Petersburgh.--Demands to be
laid before the Emperor.--Sierawski made Governor of Warsaw,
and Wasowiez chief of the staff.--Order respecting the army.--Arrival
of volunteers from the interior.--Opening of the theatre.--Religious
solemnities at Praga.--Chlopicki nominated and proclaimed
Dictator. Page 59

CHAPTER V.

The Dictator enters upon his duties.--Plans for the enrollment of
new forces.--System of officering them.--Want of energy in the
execution of his plans.--Fortifications neglected.--The people
supply the deficiencies of the administration.--Discovery of the
correspondence between the ministers Grabowski and Lubecki.--The
march of the army delayed.--Answer of the Emperor
Nicholas to the deputies.--His proclamation.--Its effect on the
nation.--The Diet demand of the Dictator an account of his trust.--The
result of their investigations.--Chlopicki deprived of the
Dictatorial power.--The civil administration entrusted to Prince
Adam Czartoryski, and the command of the army to Prince
Michael Radziwil, each subordinate to the Diet. 71

CHAPTER VI.

Remarks on the policy of the late Dictator.--System of operations
adopted.--The army leaves Warsaw.--Statement of the
existing forces.--Of the forces proposed to be raised.--Unfortunate
consequences of the delay in the preparation of the forces.--Statement
of the force with which the war was actually commenced. 87

CHAPTER VII.

Entrance of the Russian forces into the Kingdom.--Proclamations
of Marshal Diebitsch.--Their effect.--Disposition of the Russian
and Polish forces.--Plan of operations of the Poles. 98

CHAPTER VIII.

The opening fire.--Affairs of the 10th and 11th February.--Combat
of Stoczek.--Disposition in consequence of that battle.--Battle of
Boimie.--Retrograde movement to Dobre.--Combat of Makowiec.--Passage
of the Orsyca.--Combat of Dobre.--Attack on
the right wing at Minsk. 109

CHAPTER IX.

Retrograde movement of the 18th of February.--Details of this
movement, and of the actions which took place.--The army
reaches the field of Praga.--Its reception at Warsaw.--Position
of the army.--Battle of Wawr and Bialolenka.--Operations of
general Dwernicki against the corps of Prince Wirtemberg.--Defeat
of that corps by general Dwernicki at Swierza.--Renewal
of the enemy's attack on the main army on the 20th.--Its
successful resistance.--Review of the events of the preceding
days.--Examination of the plan of operations of the Polish
army. Page 126

CHAPTER X.

Proceedings of the National Government.--Marshal Diebitsch continues
in a state of inactivity.--Negotiations are opened by him.--His
propositions are declined.--Position of the army on the
24th, and battle of Bialolenka.--Position on the 25th.--Great
battle of Grochow.--Details.--State of the Russian army after
its defeat.--Examination of the plan of the battle of Grochow.--Remarks
upon the course adopted by prince Radziwil after that
victory.--The Polish army crosses the Vistula to Warsaw.--Its
reception by the national government and the citizens.--Resignation
of prince Radziwil. 148

CHAPTER XI.

Passage of the Vistula to Warsaw.--Disposition of the Polish forces
on its left bank.--Appointment of general John Skrzynecki to
the chief command.--Proclamation.--Prompt attention is given
to the re-organization of the army, the arsenals and manufactories
of arms, the fortifications, &c.--Deportment of the commander
in chief towards the army.--General enthusiasm of the nation.--The
Patriotic offers of the Polish women.--New regulations established
for conferring orders of merit.--Disorderly state of the
Russian army.--Attempt of Diebitsch to bribe the Polish soldiery.
--General view of the encouraging circumstances of this epoch.--The
insurrection in Russia under Yermolow.--View of the
state of the Polish forces when general Skrzynecki took the chief
command.--He presses the organization of the new forces.--Their
distribution and that of the general forces.--Positions of
the Polish army and the detached corps.--Russian position. 175