Piotr Ożarowski (; 1725 – 9 May 1794 in Warsaw) was a Polish noble (

szlachcic The ''szlachta'' (; ; ) were the noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Depending on the definition, they were either a warrior "caste" or a social class, a ...

), politic and military commander. Member of the infamous Confederation of Targowica, he reached the offices of Great Crown Hetman and

castellan A castellan, or constable, was the governor of a castle in medieval Europe. Its surrounding territory was referred to as the castellany. The word stems from . A castellan was almost always male, but could occasionally be female, as when, in 1 ...

of Wojnice. Early supporter of king

Stanisław August Poniatowski Stanisław II August (born Stanisław Antoni Poniatowski; 17 January 1732 – 12 February 1798), known also by his regnal Latin name Stanislaus II Augustus, and as Stanisław August Poniatowski (), was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuani ...

, he disapproved of his more liberal policies and threw his lot with the pro-Russian conservative faction. From 1789 he was recruited by Russian ambassador to Poland, Otto Magnus von Stackelberg. From Stackelberg he received a yearly pension from Russia (2000

ducat The ducat ( ) coin was used as a trade coin in Europe from the later Middle Ages to the 19th century. Its most familiar version, the gold ducat or sequin containing around of 98.6% fine gold, originated in Venice in 1284 and gained wide inter ...

s). He joined the Confederation of Targowica which was opposed to the reforms of the

Great Sejm The Great Sejm, also known as the Four-Year Sejm (Polish language, Polish: ''Sejm Wielki'' or ''Sejm Czteroletni''; Lithuanian language, Lithuanian: ''Didysis seimas'' or ''Ketverių metų seimas'') was a Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwea ...

(particularly the Constitution of the 3 May). In 1792 he became the commander of the Warsaw's

garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

as well as of the

Lesser Poland Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name ''Małopolska'' (; ), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a separate cult ...

division. At the

Grodno Sejm Grodno Sejm (; ) was the last Sejm (session of parliament) of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Grodno Sejm, held in autumn 1793 in Grodno, Grand Duchy of Lithuania (now Grodno, Belarus) is infamous because its deputies, bribed or coe ...

he supported the

Second Partition of Poland The 1793 Second Partition of Poland was the second of partitions of Poland, three partitions (or partial annexations) that ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The second partition (politics), partition occurred i ...

and in 1793 he was nominated to the rank of Great Crown Hetman and commander of

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

. He acted as the messenger between

Stanisław Szczęsny Potocki Count Stanisław Szczęsny Feliks Potocki (; 1751–1805), of the Piława coat of arms, known as Szczęsny PotockiE. Rostworowski, Potocki Stanisław Szczęsny (Feliks) herbu Pilawa, n:Polski Słownik Biograficzny, t. XXVIII, Wrocław–Wars ...

and king Poniatowski. In the aftermath of the 1794

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising (; ), sometimes referred to as the August Uprising (), or the Battle of Warsaw, was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from ...

, part of

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 ...

which was aimed against the Russian domination over Poland, he was captured by the insurrectionists, accused of treason, and sentenced to

hanging Hanging is killing a person by suspending them from the neck with a noose or ligature strangulation, ligature. Hanging has been a standard method of capital punishment since the Middle Ages, and has been the primary execution method in numerou ...

by the revolutionary court; the sentence was carried out on 9 May on Warsaw Square, amidst the cheering crowds encouraged by the

Polish Jacobins Polish Jacobins (or Huguenots) was the name given to a group of late 18th-century radical Polish politicians by their opponents. The group formed during the Great Sejm as an offshoot of the Kołłątaj's Forge, Forge of Hugo Kołłątaj (, and hen ...

. Together with him, several other supporters of Targowica and

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

were executed: Józef Ankwicz, bishop Józef Kossakowski and hetman Józef Zabiełło. His son Adam Ożarowski made a career in the Russian military service.

References

* PWN Encyklopedia
Piotr Ożarowski
*

WIEM Encyklopedia WIEM Encyklopedia (full name in - "Great Interactive Multimedia Encyclopedia"; in Polish, ''wiem'' also means 'I know') is a Polish Internet encyclopedia. The encyclopedia was based on the first printed edition was released in mid-1990s (with Vo ...

Piotr Ożarowski
*

Generals of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth 1725 births 1794 deaths Great Crown Hetmans Polish nobility Targowica confederates People executed for treason against Poland Executed Polish people People executed by the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Members of the Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth People executed by Poland by hanging {{Poland-noble-stub