Tomasz Egidiusz Kuszłejko (; 1821 – 1894) was a participant of 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 ...

Early life

Kuszłejko came from the

Lithuanian noble Lithuanian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Lithuania, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe ** Lithuanian language ** Lithuanians, a Baltic ethnic group, native to Lithuania and the immediate geographical region ** L ...

, he was born in in

Samogitia Samogitia, often known by its Lithuanian language, Lithuanian name ''Žemaitija'' (Samogitian language, Samogitian: ''Žemaitėjė''; see Samogitia#Etymology and alternative names, below for alternative and historical names) is one of the five ...

. He was an officer of 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 ...

. He went into reserve and lived in the

Bartkūniškiai Bartkūniškiai is a village in Kėdainiai district municipality, in Kaunas County, central Lithuania. It is located 3 km from Kėdainiai, by the Smilga and Klamputis rivers. According to the 2011 census, the village has a population of 71 people. ...

manor near

Kėdainiai Kėdainiai () is one of the oldest List of cities in Lithuania, cities in Lithuania. It is located north of Lithuania's second largest city Kaunas on the banks of the Nevėžis River. Kėdainiai were first mentioned in the 1372 Livonian Chronicle ...

. Tomasz Kuszłejko was the owner of the Bartkūniškis manor.

Uprising of 1863

In March 1863, he was mobilised by Bolesław Dłuski to form a unit in the

Krakės Krakės (formerly ''Krakiai'' ) is a small town in Kėdainiai district, central Lithuania. It is located on the Smilgaitis River. In the town, there are the Catholic church of St. Matthew the Evangelist (built in 1907), Mikalojus Katkus gymnasi ...

forests, near his manor. His unit of about 800 rebels, mostly peasants, concentrated in the Krakiai forest near Kuszłejko's manor, chose him as commander. This unit was called the Nevėžis Regiment (). In addition to organising the unit, Kuszłejko enfranchised the peasants of his manor. The regiment fought between

and Lenčiai close to

Ažytėnai Ažytėnai (formerly , ) is a village in Kėdainiai district municipality, in Kaunas County, in central Lithuania. According to the 2011 census, the village had a population of 239 people. It is located from Krakės, by the Ažytė river and its t ...

, then in near , and finally near and near

Viekšniai Viekšniai ( Samogitian language, Samogitian: ''Vėikšnē'', ''Vekshne'', ) is a list of cities in Lithuania, town in the Mažeikiai district municipality, Lithuania. It is located south-east of Mažeikiai. The etymology of the town's name pro ...

(9 June 1863). Kuszłejko recruited new rebels through the regiment's fighters, inciting the public against Russian occupation. Among the recruiters was

Adomas Bitė Adomas Bitė (; 1836–1884) was a participant of the January Uprising and a peasant. Biography Bitė was born in 1836 in Belazariškiai (Białozoryszki), his father died two years later, leaving Adomas, his mother Barbara and his eight sibli ...

, who was very trusted by the local peasants. The regiment was later divided into smaller independent groups.

In emigration

In autumn 1863, he emigrated and lived in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. He took an active part in the political life of emigration. He was a member of the , as head of the

Montparnasse Montparnasse () is an area in the south of Paris, France, on the left bank of the river Seine, centred at the crossroads of the Boulevard du Montparnasse and the Rue de Rennes, between the Rue de Rennes and boulevard Raspail. It is split betwee ...

commune, and a member of the Lithuanian Delegation, set up to settle the so-called "Lithuanian sums". In 1867, he was one of the initiators of the split and the formation of the right-wing so-called "Ogół" Organisation.

Last years

Probably after 1868 he returned from emigration and settled in Galicia, mostly

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

, from 1868. For several years he was involved in a court dispute over part of his estate, which the Kaniewski brothers were trying to seize. He died from a heart attack in

Zamarstyniv Zamarstyniv (, ) is one of the boroughs of the city of Lviv in western Ukraine. It is notable as the main site of the infamous Lemberg Ghetto. The name of the modern borough comes from the original village that was founded there in 1423 on Ger ...

in 1894.

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kusleika, Tomas 1821 births 1894 deaths 19th-century Lithuanian nobility Lithuanian participants of the January Uprising