Zygmunt Padlewski (1836–1863) was a Polish insurgent who participated in the January Uprising. He was one of the leaders of the "

Red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

" faction among the insurrectionists as a member of the Central National Committee (''Komitet Centralny Narodowy'') and the Provisional National Government (''Tymczasowy Rząd Narodowy'').

Early years

Padlewski was born in a mansion in Czerniawka Mała, Russian-partitioned Poland (now

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

) on January 1, 1836. His father, Władysław, took part in the November Uprising. His parents assured that he had a good education and, as a youth, he learned to speak Polish, Ukrainian, Russian, and French. His formal education consisted of military training at the Corps of Cadets in

Brest Brest may refer to: Places *Brest, Belarus **Brest Region **Brest Airport **Brest Fortress * Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria * Břest, Czech Republic *Brest, France ** Arrondissement of Brest **Brest Bretagne Airport ** Château de Brest *Br ...

on the

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and at the Konstantynowskim Corps of Cadets in

St. Petersburg, Russia Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. In St. Petersburg he was a member of the underground Polish officer organization, led by general

Zygmunt Sierakowski Zygmunt Sierakowski ( be, Зігмунт Ігнатавіч Серакоўскі, lt, Zigmantas Sierakauskas) (19 May 1826, Lisów – 27 June 1863, Vilnius) was a Polish leader of the January Uprising in lands of the former Grand Duchy of Lith ...

. He was quickly promoted to lieutenant after service with the horse guards at Novgorod.

Planning an insurgency

In 1861 he emigrated to France to train anti-czarist Polish exiles. At the Paris Society of Polish Youth (''Towarzystwa Młodzieży Polskiej'') and at the Polish Military School (''Polskiej Szkoły Wojskowej'') he served as a military instructor and taught mathematics, strategy, tactics, artillery, and military history. He was a member of the radical democratic "red" left, and member of the Central National Committee. He was involved in negotiations with Russian revolutionaries, and a major planner of the future uprising. In 1862 he returned to

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

, Poland, and further helped plan the uprising set for spring of 1863. He also pushed for the abolition of

serfdom Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which deve ...

The January Uprising

When the January Uprising was set into motion, Padlewski was appointed general and took command of Polish insurgents in Warsaw and in the

Płock Governorate Płock Governorate (russian: Плоцкая губернияя pl, Gubernia Płocka) was an administrative unit ( governorate) of Congress Poland. It was created in 1837 from the Płock Voivodship, and had the same borders and capital (Płock) ...

. He was a member of the Provisional National Government (''Tymczasowy Rząd Narodowy''). He led his troops into the Puszczy Zagajnica forest of

Kurpie Kurpie () is one of a number of ethnic regions in Poland, noted for its unique traditional customs, such as its own types of traditional costume, traditional dance and distinctive type of architecture and livelihoods. Kurpie is also the name of t ...

where they skirmished with czarist forces near

Myszyniec Myszyniec is a town in Ostrołęka County, Masovian Voivodeship, northeastern Poland, with 3,032 inhabitants (2004). History Myszyniec was founded in 1654 by the Jesuits in accordance with a royal privilege issued by King John II Casimir Vas ...

(9 March) and Drążdżewo (12 March). It is in this area, near Radzanów, the commander of the insurgents hid Zygmunt Padlewski with his division after Padlewski’s defeat at Myszyniec. Russian czarist troops, on 21 March, then moved into the area, and a battle near Radzanów was fought which resulted in Padlewski losing the conflict with 50 of his insurgents killed in action or drowned while escaping.

Capture and execution

Padlewski was ordered to return to Warsaw after this defeat, and, while en route, on 21 April, he was stopped by a czarist Cossack sentry at the small village of Bożymin and ordered to show his passport. Unfortunately, he showed the sentry an incorrect document, which resulted in the sentry searching his carriage and finding incriminating documents, as well as his insurgent uniform. He was promptly arrested and placed in jail in Płock. Padlewski, who was only 27 years old, was court marshaled by Russian authorities and sentenced to death by firing squad. On May 15, 1863, he was transported through the streets of Płock to the execution place. The Polish population who lined the street watched and “''women threw bouquets of flowers from the windows, so that the whole road was strewn with roses and violets''.”

Remembrance

Various monuments in Poland commemorate Padlewski. A school in

Płock Płock (pronounced ) is a city in central Poland, on the Vistula river, in the Masovian Voivodeship. According to the data provided by GUS on 31 December 2021, there were 116,962 inhabitants in the city. Its full ceremonial name, according to th ...

has been named after him, as well as street in the city. There are several other schools and streets across Poland named in his honor.

References