Michał Wielhorski (1755–1805) was a Polish-Lithuanian count. In 1789, he was a brigadier of the Polish

Crown Army The Crown Army was the land service branch of the military forces of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It existed from the establishment of the federation in 1569 until the Third Partition of Poland Th ...

. In 1792, he was made a lieutenant general of that army and he fought in the War of 1792. During the

Kościuszko Uprising The Kościuszko Uprising, also known as the Polish Uprising of 1794 and the Second Polish War, was an uprising against the Russian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia led by Tadeusz Kościuszko in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Pr ...

, he was a lieutenant general of the

Grand Ducal Lithuanian army The Lithuanian Armed Forces () are the military of Lithuania. The Lithuanian Armed Forces consist of the Lithuanian Land Forces, the Lithuanian Naval Force and the Lithuanian Air Force. In wartime, the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service (whi ...

. Son of Michał Wielhorski, brother of General Józef Wielhorski. He was an officer in the Habsburg army. He was in the same regiment as

Józef Poniatowski Prince Józef Antoni Poniatowski (; 7 May 1763 – 19 October 1813) was a Polish general, minister of war and army chief, who became a Marshal of the French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. A nephew of king Stanislaus Augustus of Poland (), ...

, and was his friend. They fought together in the

Austro-Turkish War (1788–1791) The Austro-Turkish War was fought in 1788–1791 between the Habsburg monarchy and the Ottoman Empire, concomitantly with the Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792), Russo-Swedish War (1788–1790) and Theatre War. It is sometimes referred to as the H ...

and were both wounded at

Šabac Šabac (Serbian Cyrillic: Шабац, ) is a city and the administrative centre of the Mačva District in western Serbia. The traditional centre of the fertile Mačva region, Šabac is located on the right banks of the river Sava. , the city p ...

in 1788. Together they entered service in the Polish Crown Army. Wielhorski was the brigadier of the 2nd Ukrainian National Cavalry Brigade with the rank of colonel. In 1792, he was a lieutenant general as the commander of the 2nd Ukrainian Division. He fought in the Volyn campaign. He was beaten at Boruszkowce. Poniatowski's right hand in the War of 1792, where he distinguished himself in the

battle of Zieleńce The Battle of Zieleńce was a battle in the Polish–Russian War of 1792, in defence of the Polish Constitution of 3 May 1791. The battle took place on 18 June 1792, between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Army of Józef Poniatowski and an ...

(he and Poniatowski were accused of speaking German on the battlefield). After Stanisław Poniatowski joined the

Targowica Confederation The Targowica Confederation ( pl, konfederacja targowicka, , lt, Targovicos konfederacija) was a Confederation (Poland), confederation established by Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Polish and Lithuanian magnates on 27 April 1792, in Saint Pe ...

, he resigned and emigrated. He came to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth again with Poniatowski to join the

in May 1794, where, as a lieutenant general, he was the commander of the Lithuanian army from June 4, after the resignation of

Jakub Jasiński Jakub Krzysztof Jasiński ( lt, Jokūbas Kristupas Jasinskis) of Rawicz Coat of Arms, Rawicz Clan (24 July 1761, in Węglew near Pyzdry in Greater Poland – 4 November 1794, in Warsaw, Poland) was a Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Polish genera ...

. However, the military actions he conducted in Lithuania and in defense of Vilnius were unsuccessful, as he lacked support and his predecessor's energy and charisma. As a result of inaction, he lost Vilnius, then broke down and asked for his resignation. However, he later fought to defend Praga. Being seriously ill with his eyes, he went for treatment, and on August 5, by the decision of

Tadeusz Kościuszko Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko ( be, Andréj Tadévuš Banavientúra Kasciúška, en, Andrew Thaddeus Bonaventure Kosciuszko; 4 or 12 February 174615 October 1817) was a Polish Military engineering, military engineer, statesman, an ...

, he was replaced as the commander of the Lithuanian army by

Stanisław Mokronowski Stanisław Mokronowski (1761-1821) was a prominent member of the Polish landed gentry of Bogoria coat of arms. A general of the Polish Army and a royal Chamberlain Mokronowski took part in both the Polish–Russian War of 1792 (War in the Defe ...

. After Kościuszko was taken prisoner, the new commander, Tomasz Wawrzecki, proposed Wielhorski as a member of the War Council, which was blocked by the "Jacobite" faction. Wielhorski was one of the main figures of the "court" faction of the insurgents, together with Prince Józef, Stanisław Mokronowski and Eustachy Sanguszko. Suffering for the rest of his life from complications from a head wound near Šabac, he died in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

in 1805. He was the third after Poniatowski and Kościuszko on the original list of awarded the Order of

Virtuti Militari The War Order of Virtuti Militari (Latin: ''"For Military Virtue"'', pl, Order Wojenny Virtuti Militari) is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war. It was created in 1792 by Polish King Stan ...

, the highest Polish-Lithuanian military award, in 1792.

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wielhorski, Michal 1755 births 1805 deaths 18th-century Polish nobility Polish generals Recipients of the Virtuti Militari Kościuszko insurgents 18th-century Polish–Lithuanian military personnel 19th-century Polish nobility 19th-century Polish military personnel