Joseph Sulkowski (Józef Sułkowski, c. 1770, Palatinate of
Poznań
Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...
– 22 October 1798,
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
, Egypt) was a Polish captain in the
French Revolutionary Army
The French Revolutionary Army (french: Armée révolutionnaire française) was the French land force that fought the French Revolutionary Wars from 1792 to 1804. These armies were characterised by their revolutionary fervour, their poor equipment ...
and friend and aide de camp to
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
Bonaparte. He also became friends with
Muiron,
Vivant Denon
Dominique Vivant, Baron Denon (4 January 1747 – 27 April 1825) was a French artist, writer, diplomat, author, and archaeologist. Denon was a diplomat for France under Louis XV and Louis XVI. He was appointed as the first Director of the Louvre ...
,
Lazare Carnot
Lazare Nicolas Marguerite, Count Carnot (; 13 May 1753 – 2 August 1823) was a French mathematician, physicist and politician. He was known as the "Organizer of Victory" in the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars.
Education and early ...
, Augereau, and Bourienne. His name is engraved on the
Arc de Triomphe
The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile (, , ; ) is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, France, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly named Place de l'Étoile—the ''étoile'' ...
, on the 28th column, as ''SULKOSKY''.
Life
Italy
A fine strategist, he played an important role in the first
Italian campaign. It was his bravery that led to the capture of the Saint-George batteries. He was wounded at the
battle of Arcole
The Battle of Arcole or Battle of Arcola (15–17 November 1796) was fought between French and Austrian forces southeast of Verona during the War of the First Coalition, a part of the French Revolutionary Wars. The battle saw a bold maneuver b ...
.
Egypt
He died in the
revolt of Cairo
The Revolt of Cairo was a revolt that occurred on 21–22 October 1798 by the citizens of Cairo against the French occupation of Egypt led by Napoleon Bonaparte.Chandler, p. 230.
The revolt
In 1798, Napoleon led the French army into Egypt, swi ...
on 22 October 1798, suffering from wounds received a few weeks earlier, and his body was given to the dogs. On hearing of his death Bonaparte showed remorse and, asked why he did not honour him more when he was alive, replied "On first meeting him, I saw in him a commander in chief". Dying too young, Carnot would have seen in him a potential replacement for the future emperor. Shortly before his death, he married one of the daughters of Venture de Paradis, an old military interpreter on the Egyptian expedition.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sulkowski, Joseph
1770 births
1798 deaths
Polish military personnel
Kościuszko insurgents
People of the Polish–Russian War of 1792
French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars
French Republican military leaders killed in the French Revolutionary Wars
Recipients of the Virtuti Militari
Joseph
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe