The Paberžė Regiment (; ) was a Lithuanian

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

commanded by

Antanas Mackevičius Antanas Mackevičius (; 26 June 1828 – 28 December 1863) was a Lithuanians, Lithuanian Roman Catholic priest who was one of the leaders and initiators of the January Uprising in Lithuania. Mackevičius was born to a family of Petty nobility, ...

during the

Uprising of 1863 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 in ...

. It was named after the village Paberžė (). The regiment fought mostly in the Kaunas Governorate and ranged in strength from 700 to 1,170 members.

Formation

On March 8, the priest Antanas Mackevičius read out the National Government's manifesto and its decrees during his sermon. After

holy mass The Mass is the central liturgical service of the Eucharist in the Catholic Church, in which bread and wine are consecrated and become the body and blood of Christ. As defined by the Church at the Council of Trent, in the Mass "the same Christ ...

, about 300 people moved to the Krekenava forest, from whom the Paberžė regiment was formed. Their weaponry consisted of scythes and old guns. The uprising's leadership gave the name of Paberžė regiment to Mackevičius' party.

Composition

The unit was mainly made up of local Lithuanian peasants, but there were also representatives of the gentry, mainly the poor, urban youth and students. Germans,

Prussian Lithuanians The Prussian Lithuanians, or Lietuvininkai (singular: ''Lietuvininkas'', plural: ''Lietuvininkai''), are Lithuanians, originally Lithuanian language speakers, who formerly inhabited a territory in northeastern East Prussia called Prussian Lithuan ...

and volunteers from

Mazovia Mazovia or Masovia ( ) is a historical region in mid-north-eastern Poland. It spans the North European Plain, roughly between Łódź and Białystok, with Warsaw being the largest city and Płock being the capital of the region . Throughout the ...

also joined the unit. The officers were mainly fugitives from the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

, as well as cadets from the Polish military school in

Cuneo Cuneo (; ; ; ) is a city and in Piedmont, Italy, the capital of the province of Cuneo, the fourth largest of Italy’s provinces by area. It is located at 550 metres (1,804 ft) in the south-west of Piedmont, at the confluence of the ri ...

. Unit was soon joined by Bolesław Kołyszko as a military instructor.

Flag

His unit used a banner sewn from two parts: the top navy blue and the bottom crimson. It depicted on the main side the White Eagle wearing a crown and the inscription in (the Paberžė Regiment), and motto in Polish: (God, Save Poland). On the other side was an oil painted image of the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

and St. Elisabeth. The regiment also had its own flag, which was entrusted to Juozas Damalakas, who was 16 years old in 1863 and was the regiment's youngest member.

Uniform

The insurgents wore gray knee-length sukmanas girdled with a leather belt, and the officers wore czamaras. On their heads, they wore rogatywka-style hats trimmed with sheep fur (so called krakuska).

References

Sources

* * * {{Cite book , last=Łaniec , first=Stanisław , title=Litwa i Białorus w dobie konspiracji powstania zbrojnego (1861—1864) , year=2002b , location=Olsztyn , language=Polish , trans-title=Lithuania and Belarus in the era of conspiracy and armed uprising (1861-1864) January Uprising Infantry regiments of Lithuania Military units and formations established in 1863 Military units and formations disestablished in 1863 1863 establishments in the Russian Empire 1863 disestablishments in the Russian Empire