Ludwik Adam Mierosławski (; January 17, 1814 – November 22, 1878) was a Polish general, writer, poet, historian and political activist. Mierosławski took part 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 Russian Partition, the heartland of Partitions of Poland, partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. ...

of the 1830s, and after its failure he emigrated to France, where he taught Slavic history and military theory. Chosen as a commander for the Greater Poland Uprising of 1846, he was taken prisoner early but amnestied during the Spring of Nations. In 1848 and 1849 he fought for the insurgents in

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Ba ...

and in the

Electorate of the Palatinate The Electoral Palatinate was a Imperial State, constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire until it was annexed by the Electorate of Baden in 1803. From the end of the 13th century, its ruler was one of the Prince-electors who elected the Holy ...

. Afterwards he returned to France; he also had contacts with Italian activists like

Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as (). In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as () or (). 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, revolutionary and republican. H ...

. He also took part in the

January Uprising The January Uprising was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at putting an end to Russian occupation of part of Poland and regaining independence. It began on 22 January 1863 and continued until the last i ...

in the 1860s, as the first of four dictators of the Uprising.

Biography

Mierosławski was born on 17 January 1814 in Nemours, France, as a son of Colonel Adam Kasper Mierosławski (1785–1837), an officer of 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 ...

and Polish Legions of the Napoleonic period) and aide to French general Louis Nicolas Davout, who became Mierosławski's godfather. His mother was of French origin, Camille Notté de Vaupleux. His brother was Adam Mierosławski, an engineer and naval captain. His family moved to 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 ...

in 1820. Mierosławski attended schools in

Łomża Łomża () is a city in north-eastern Poland, approximately to the north-east of Warsaw and west of Białystok. It is situated alongside the Narew river as part of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the capital of Łomża County and has been the se ...

and Kalisz, and at the age of 15 he became a '' podchorąży'' (officer cadet) in the 5th Infantry Pułk. During the

, when Poles rose against the Russian forces in Congress Poland, he was a lieutenant serving under General Samuel Różycki. With him he fought and eventually retreated to Galicia, and later emigrated to France, where he became an active member of various Polish emigree organizations, particularly Polish Democratic Society and carbonari Young Poland. In 1839–1840 he gave lectures on the history of Slavic people in French Historical Institute in Paris; he was also considered by many among the Polish emigrants as a knowledgeable tactician and military strategist after the publication of a history of the November Uprising in Poland, ''Histoire de la revolution de Pologne'' (Paris, 1836–38). He also published several poems, but they were not considered very significant. He was chosen as the leader of Greater Poland Uprising of 1846, but the leaders of the Polish Wielkopolska (Greater Poland) underground, including Mierosławski, were arrested by Prussian authorities. He was sentenced to death in December 1847 but was amnestied by

Frederick William IV of Prussia Frederick William IV (; 15 October 1795 – 2 January 1861), the eldest son and successor of Frederick William III of Prussia, was King of Prussia from 7 June 1840 until his death on 2 January 1861. Also referred to as the "romanticist on the th ...

during the Spring of Nations in March 1848. In the next few years, he would act as the commander of the Greater Poland Uprising of 1848, chief of staff of the revolutionary Italian army in

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

(

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

) fighting against Bourbons (December 1848 – April 1849) and then commander of German insurgent units in

and in the Electorate of the Palatinate during the revolutions of 1848 in the German states. Eventually after most of the insurgent forces were defeated, he returned to Paris in 1849. He vocally opposed the peaceful positivist movement, and supported the idea of another uprising in Poland. In 1860

nominated him for the commander of the International Legion in the Expedition of the Thousand which brought him back to

. In 1861 Mierosławski became a commander of Polish-Italian military school in

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

. In 1863 he returned to Poland to join the

, where he became the first dictator of the Uprising. Eventually after suffering two defeats ( battle of Krzywosądz and battle of Nowa Wieś), and political conflict with Marian Langiewicz, Mierosławski resigned as the dictator and returned to Paris. He would be a vocal critic of the preparation and organization of the January Uprising. He continued to take part in politics of Polish emigrants, but he lost popularity. After the changed political climate of

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

, due to his age as well as significant opposition and criticism from other emigree leaders, he retired from any active engagement in politics. He died on 22 November 1878 in Paris.

Works

* (1841, an autobiography published under his mother's name as L. Notté de Vaupleux) * poems (various, particularly from the 1830s to 1840s) * (Critical deconstruction of the campaign of 1831) - his most well known work, a military theory analysis of the November Uprising He has also written other works of military nature, and published a diary in the 1860s.

Notes

References

Biography and collections of links and documents

Biography

Works

See also

Notes

References

External links

Further reading