Ignatius Constantine Romuald Szymanski Vandernoot or Ignacy Szymański or Ignatius Szymanski (1806–1874), nicknamed ''Colonel Ski'' or ''Old Ski'', was a Polish war hero and American soldier. He served in the
Confederate States Army during the
American Civil War. Son of Simon Szymanski and Francisca Vandernoot
Early life
As a Polish General, he fought in the Ulan Division along with Prince Adam Woronecki in the
November Uprising
The November Uprising (1830–31), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution,
was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in W ...
(1830–1831 uprising) against the Russians. His father had fought in 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 ...
(1794), so he came from a long list of Polish freedom fighters. After the Polish army was defeated, some of the soldiers went to France looking for
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 ...
´s help. Later, some of them were remembered as France´s war heroes, such as the Prince
Józef Poniatowski.
Not convinced about Napoleon´s support to recover Poland, not for the French aid
helping some of his soldiers who were still looking for evacuation in the
Austro-Hungarian Empire
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
, hidden from the Russians, he went to
England and later to the
United States, seeking help. He was very active helping soldiers and other Polish immigrants in the U.S., as was described by Victor Labeski, one of his officers who arrived in New York on the ship ''Adria'' in 1835, from the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
In 1835, Szymański moved to
New Orleans, where he married Charlotte Hortense Lacoste. He became a well-known man, evidenced by his being mentioned many times in the New Orleans
newspapers between 1835 and 1875. His friends in the
South
South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...
were other Poles who had been living in the area, notably
Gaspar Tochman
Kasper (Gaspar) Tochman (1797 – December 20, 1880) was Polish-born American lawyer and soldier who formed the Polish Brigade (14th and 15th Louisiana regiments) of Johnson's Division.
Early life
Tochman was born in Łętownia in 1797. He ...
,
Valery Sulakowski
The French name Valery () is a male given name or surname of Germanic origin ''Walaric'' (see Walric of Leuconay), that has often been confused in modern times with the Latin name ''Valerius''—that explains the variant spelling Valéry (). The S ...
, and
Hypolite Oladowski.
Civil War
When the Civil War began, Szymański was recruited as a
colonel for the
Chalmette Regiment
The Chalmette Regiment was a regiment of the Louisiana Militia consisting of foreign volunteers called into Confederate service in the American Civil War for 90 days March 1, 1862. Mustered out in May 1862, the regiment was again called into serv ...
,
Scandinavian soldiers in the Confederate Forces - "Scandinavian Guards of New Orleans"
/ref> formed mainly by Scandinavian immigrants from the Louisiana State Militia. Later, he served as the agent for the exchange of prisoners in the Trans-Mississippi Department.
After the war he came back to his plantation, ''Summer Hill Farm'', and his cotton and sugar cane field called ''Sebastopol''. He accumulated goods and real estate sufficient to be considered a rich man. He even owned racing horses and a yacht.
Family
He had no descendants with Charlotte Hortense Lacoste, who was already aged 50 at the time of their marriage. Previously, Col. Szymanski had a long plaçage relationship with Mrs. Eliza Romain, a free woman of color. They had three children: Jean Guillaume (1846), Constance Françoise (1847) and Ignace François (1850). Constance was later known as Mrs. Constance Cavelier after her marriage to the French immigrant, Mr. Jules Bernard Cavelier.
In the meantime, Jean worked for his father in the Sebastopol Plantation until his early 20s. In his late 20s, he moved to Mexico and finally settled down at the port of Tampico (Eureka community) along with his uncle, Aristide Romain. Jean was also known as "John" in Louisiana and later as "Juan" in Tampico where, along with his uncle, he worked as a tailor for the wide foreign community which had settled in Tampico due to the oil boom. Jean married Mrs. Carmen Castelló Caimares
''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...
, cousin of Carmen Romero Rubio Castelló, wife of the Mexican President Porfirio Díaz
José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori ( or ; ; 15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915), known as Porfirio Díaz, was a Mexican general and politician who served seven terms as President of Mexico, a total of 31 years, from 28 November 1876 to 6 Decem ...
. Because of the untimely death of his youngest brother, Ignace François, aged one year old, Jean decided to extend the Ignatius line, so his first son was named Ignacio Francisco (1877–1933). After him came Juan Melquiades, Julio Fructuoso (father of Mons. Arturo Szymanski, Bishop of Tampico and Honorary Archbishop of San Luis Potosí), Jose Amado and Jose Ramon Blas. Jean and Carmen also had twins but they did not survive. Jose Amado drowned at the age of 19 during Regatta festival. Jean's grandson, the son of Ignacio Francisco, Ignacio Sabás Szymanski Rodríguez (1905–1998) lived in San Antonio, Texas, until he was 21. After graduation from the La Salle Brothers College as a book keeper, he returned to Mexico to work for the Sinclair Oil Corporation
Sinclair Oil Corporation was an American petroleum corporation, founded by Harry F. Sinclair on May 1, 1916, the Sinclair Oil and Refining Corporation combined, amalgamated, the assets of 11 small petroleum companies. Originally a New York cor ...
and, after World War II, he worked for Mexicana de Aviación as supplies director as well as president of the Airlines Association of the Americas until his retirement. Today, the Ignatius name continues with Ignacio Francisco Szymanski Morales (1935), Ignacio Alejandro Szymanski Chávez (1961) and Ignacio Francisco Szymanski Garbuno (2000).
Today, a drama about the Szymanski family is still performed at the Sebastopol Residence in Chalmette, Louisiana. The main roles are played by local actors, who play the parts of Ignatius S. Szymanski and his son Jean.
References
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Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Szymanski, Ignacy
Polish emigrants to the United States
People of Louisiana in the American Civil War
Confederate States Army officers
1806 births
Foreign Confederate military personnel
1874 deaths