The Battle of Siemiatycze was one of the largest battles of the

January Uprising The January Uprising ( pl, powstanie styczniowe; lt, 1863 metų sukilimas; ua, Січневе повстання; russian: Польское восстание; ) was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at ...

. It took place on February 6–7, 1863, in the town of

Siemiatycze Siemiatycze ( uk, Сім'ятичі ''Simiatychi'', be, Сямятычы ''Siamiatyčy'') is a town in eastern Poland, with 15,209 inhabitants (2004). It is situated in the Podlaskie Voivodeship (since 1999); previously it was in Białystok Vo ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

(now

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

). Russian forces of some 2,500 under General Zachar Maniukin clashed with 4,000 Polish insurgents commanded by

Walenty Lewandowski Walenty is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Jan Walenty Tomaka (born 1949), Polish politician * Jan Walenty Węgierski (1755–1796), Deputy Chancellor and Chamberlain of last king of Poland * Walenty Kłyszejko (1909–1987), ...

, Roman Roginski and Wladyslaw Cichorski-Zameczek. The battle was won by the Russians, and their victory had widespread implications in the area of

Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Białystok is located in the Białystok Up ...

, as local population decided not to back the uprising. Siemiatycze, located in

Grodno Governorate The Grodno Governorate, (russian: Гро́дненская губе́рнiя, translit=Grodnenskaya guberniya, pl, Gubernia grodzieńska, be, Гродзенская губерня, translit=Hrodzenskaya gubernya, lt, Gardino gubernija, u ...

, was one of centers of Polish patriotic movement in 1860 – 1862. For unknown reasons, in 1862 a Russian garrison was withdrawn from the town, which allow Polish conspirators to act freely. The insurgents held their meetings in the palace of Duchess

Anna Jablonowska Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century) * Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 122 ...

, which also served as a storage of weapons, uniforms and food. The uprising itself did not begin here on January 22, 1863, but a few days later, when news of it reached the town. Due to lack of Russian garrison, insurgents from whole area began to gather in Siemiatycze in early February. First unit to arrive here was led by Wladyslaw Cichorski-Zameczek, and it had volunteers from the area of

Łomża Łomża (), in English known as Lomza, is a city in north-eastern Poland, approximately 150 kilometers (90 miles) to the north-east of Warsaw and west of Białystok. It is situated alongside the Narew river as part of the Podlaskie Voivodeship si ...

. Soon afterwards it was joined by a unit under Roman Roginski, which came from the nearby village of Biala Podlaska. Both units merged under leadership of Walenty Lewandowski, the military commander (''naczelnik'') of the uprising in the region of

Podlasie Podlachia, or Podlasie, ( pl, Podlasie, , be, Падляшша, translit=Padliašša, uk, Підляшшя, translit=Pidliashshia) is a historical region in the north-eastern part of Poland. Between 1513 and 1795 it was a voivodeship with the c ...

. The battle lasted for two days, and began with a Russian assault on Polish positions. Polish

kosynierzy Scythemen, also known as scythe-bearers is the term for soldiers (often peasants and townspeople) armed with straightened war scythes. First appearing in the Kościuszko Uprising of 1794, scythemen quickly became one of the symbols of the strugg ...

managed to stop the Cossacks, with heavy losses on both sides. On the next day, Russian reinforcements arrived and Polish insurgents, facing supreme firepower of the enemy, had to retreat. The Cossacks entered Siemiatycze on February 7, and the insurgents fled either to

Congress Poland Congress Poland, Congress Kingdom of Poland, or Russian Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It w ...

, or Bialowieza Forest. Altogether some 200 Poles were killed in the battle, while Russians lost some 70 soldiers. Siemiatycze, with its mostly wooden houses, was completely burned, and its residents had to flee to the nearby forests. Consequences of Polish defeat were widespread, as the uprising lost its momentum in the region of

, and failed to attract local masses.

Sources

* Jan Buraczynski, Roztocze. Dzieje osadnictwa, Lublin 2008, s. 346–347, . *

Stefan Kieniewicz Stefan Kieniewicz (20 September 1907, in Dereszewicze – 2 May 1992, in Konstancin) was a Polish historian and university professor, notable for his works on the 19th-century history of Poland. During his work at various universities he became ...

: Powstanie styczniowe. Warszawa:

Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN (''Polish Scientific Publishers PWN''; until 1991 ''Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe'' - ''National Scientific Publishers PWN'', PWN) is a Polish book publisher, founded in 1951, when it split from the Wydawnictwa Szkolne i P ...

, 1983. . {{coord missing, Podlaskie Voivodeship

1863 in Poland

February 1863 events Grodno Governorate