Józef Wielhorski (1759–1817) was a Polish

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

. As an officer (

rotmistrz Rittmaster () is usually a commissioned officer military rank used in a few armies, usually equivalent to Captain. Historically it has been used in Germany, Austria-Hungary, Scandinavia, and some other countries. A is typically in charge of a s ...

) he fought in the

Polish–Russian War of 1792 The Polish–Russian War of 1792 (also, War of the Second Partition, and in Polish sources, War in Defence of the Constitution) was fought between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth on one side, and the Targowica Confederation (conservativ ...

and later, as a

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

, in the

Kościuszko Uprising The Kościuszko Uprising, also known as the Polish Uprising of 1794, Second Polish War, Polish Campaign of 1794, and the Polish Revolution of 1794, was an uprising against the Russian and Prussian influence on the Polish–Lithuanian Common ...

Tadeusz Kościuszko Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko (; 4 or 12 February 174615 October 1817) was a Polish Military engineering, military engineer, statesman, and military leader who then became a national hero in Poland, the United States, Lithuania, and ...

sent him to revolutionary France with the goal of obtaining help from the

Committee of Public Safety The Committee of Public Safety () was a committee of the National Convention which formed the provisional government and war cabinet during the Reign of Terror, a violent phase of the French Revolution. Supplementing the Committee of General D ...

, his requests for a French expeditionary corps were however futile. Under

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

, he would become (in 1797) a general in the Polish Legions. He was eventually taken captive at the 1799 Siege of Mantua. As a protest for the French-Austrian peace, he returned to partitioned Poland, but in 1809, with the France again at war with Austria, he would join the pro-French Polish forces and became a general in the

Duchy of Warsaw The Duchy of Warsaw (; ; ), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a First French Empire, French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars. It initially comprised the ethnical ...

, where he also became a deputy minister of war. He remained in the Duchy during

Napoleon's invasion of Russia The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign (), the Second Polish War, and in Russia as the Patriotic War of 1812 (), was initiated by Napoleon with the aim of compelling the Russian Empire to comply with the continent ...

; in its aftermath, in the

Congress Poland Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of 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 was established w ...

, he was a Minister of War and a member of its senate.

References

Bibliography

* H. P Kosk Generalicja polska t. 2 wytd.: Oficyna Wydawnicza "Ajaks" Pruszków 2001 1759 births 1817 deaths People from Volyn Oblast Polish generals People of the Polish–Russian War of 1792 Politicians from the Duchy of Warsaw

Jozef Jozef ( Creole, Dutch, Breton, and Slovak) or Józef ( Polish) are variants of the masculine given name Joseph in several European languages. A selection of people with that name follows. For a comprehensive list, see and . * Józef Beck (1894� ...

Generals of the Polish Legions (Napoleonic period) Polish recipients of the Legion of Honour {{Poland-mil-bio-stub