Władysław Franciszek Jabłonowski (25 October 1769 – 29 September 1802) was a Polish military officer who served in the

French Revolutionary Army The French Revolutionary Army () was the French land force that fought the French Revolutionary Wars from 1792 to 1802. In the beginning, the French armies were characterised by their revolutionary fervour, their poor equipment and their great nu ...

during the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

. He is the first known Polish general of

African descent Black is a racial classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid- to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin and often additional phenotypical ...

. After joining the French army, he died of yellow fever in 1802 in

Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colonization of the Americas, French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1803. The name derives from the Spanish main city on the isl ...

, after being sent there as part of the

Saint-Domingue expedition The Saint-Domingue expedition was a large French military invasion sent by Napoleon Bonaparte, then French Consulate, First Consul, under his brother-in-law Charles Leclerc (general, born 1772), Charles Victor Emmanuel Leclerc in an attempt to ...

, which saw Polish troops fighting alongside the French to restore slavery in the colony. After the French and Polish suffered heavily from yellow fever, they withdrew their surviving forces from Saint-Domingue. Some of Polish soldiers sent to Saint-Domingue deserted and joined the Haitian rebels in their quest for independence, and about 400 settled on the island after the war. They were granted full citizenship by

Jean-Jacques Dessalines Jean-Jacques Dessalines (Haitian Creole: ''Jan-Jak Desalin''; ; 20 September 1758 – 17 October 1806) was the first Haitian Emperor, leader of the Haitian Revolution, and the first ruler of an independent First Empire of Haiti, Haiti under th ...

, who led the country.

Early life

Of mixed ancestry, Władysław was the illegitimate child of Maria Dealire, a British aristocrat, and married into the Polish aristocracy, and an unidentified man of African descent. He acquired the nickname " Murzynek". Dealire's husband, Polish nobleman Konstanty Jabłonowski, accepted the boy as his son and gave him his family name, so he was considered Polish. On 25 February 1783, Jabłonowski as a youth was admitted to the French military academy at Paris

École Militaire École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * Éco ...

. There he was a schoolmate of

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 ...

Bonaparte and Louis Nicolas D'avout. In a climate of bullying, he was subjected to racist taunts, including from Napoleon. Upon graduation on 20 February 1786, he joined the Régiment de Royal-Allemand with the rank of second lieutenant. He achieved the rank of lieutenant colonel within 8 years.

Military career

In 1794 Jabłonowski fought in

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 ...

's uprising against Tsarist Russia. He participated in battles of

Szczekociny Szczekociny () () is a town on the Pilica (river), Pilica river, in Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland, with 3,612 inhabitants (2019). Even though Szczekociny administratively belongs to the Silesian Voivodeship, it is part of the historic r ...

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 ...

, Maciejowice, and at

Praga Praga is a district of Warsaw, Poland. It is on the east bank of the river Vistula. First mentioned in 1432, until 1791 it formed a separate town with its own city charter. History The historical Praga was a small settlement located at the e ...

. A member of the Polish insurrectionist group Centralizacja Lwowska, he was sent to the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

to gain the support of the Ottoman and French governments for the creation a Polish army to antagonize Russia. Another opportunity for this later appeared with the French fighting in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. He was appointed brigade chief in the French army on 4 January 1798. In 1799, he was under the command of General Jan Henryk Dąbrowski. In 1799 he was made ''General of Brigade'' of the Polish legions (the

Dąbrowski Dąbrowski (; feminine Dąbrowska, plural Dąbrowscy) or Dabrowski is the 11th List of most common surnames in Europe, most common Polish name, surname in Poland (87,304 people in 2009);Citation: Zawadzki, 2002 this is down from an apparent rank ...

Legion). He became provisional brigade general in the Army of Italy on 20 May 1800 after being nominated by General André Massena. However, his French superiors would not approve this rank. He distinguished himself in the battle of Bosco and Pasturana and commanded a legion in the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

. On 24 July 1801, he was again nominated to the rank of brigade general in the Polish legions by General

Joachim Murat Joachim Murat ( , also ; ; ; 25 March 1767 – 13 October 1815) was a French Army officer and statesman who served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Under the French Empire he received the military titles of Marshal of the ...

, an appointment that was confirmed on 21 December 1801 by the

First Consul The Consulate () was the top-level government of the First French Republic from the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire on 9 November 1799 until the start of the French Empire on 18 May 1804. During this period, Napoleon Bonap ...

. In May 1801, he was appointed as the commander of the Danube Legion, which was renamed the 3rd Polish Half-Brigade on 21 December. He was subsequently given the option of serving in Louisiana or

. He was sent at his own request to Saint-Domingue in May 1802 along with the 3rd Polish Half-Brigade and accompanied by his common-law wife Anne Penot. There he fought against Black rebels who had revolted against French rule in mid-1802. Jabłonowski died from yellow fever on 29 September 1802 in

Jérémie Jérémie (; ) is a commune and capital city of the Grand'Anse department in Haiti. It had a population of about 134,317 at the 2015 census. It is relatively isolated from the rest of the country. The Grande-Anse River flows near the city. ...

. The disease caused many deaths among French-led forces in the colony, killing more than those who died because of warfare. Approximately 400 men of the 3rd Polish Half-Brigade (renamed the 113th Line Infantry Half-Brigade on 2 September), out of 5,280 men of the unit, deserted the French and joined the rebels.Rypson (2008), ''Being Poloné in Haiti'' They settled in what became Haiti, where their descendants are known as Polish Haitians.

In Polish culture

Jabłonowski is mentioned in

Adam Mickiewicz Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (24 December 179826 November 1855) was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. He also largely influenced Ukra ...

's notable epic poem ''

Pan Tadeusz ''Pan Tadeusz'' (full title: ''Sir Thaddeus, or the Last Foray in Lithuania: A Nobility's Tale of the Years 1811–1812, in Twelve Books of Verse'') is an epic poem by the Polish people, Polish poet, writer, translator and philosopher Adam Micki ...

'', in the context of a veteran of the Polish legions recounting what he had seen: ::''how Jabłonowski had reached the land where the pepper grows'' ::''and where sugar is produced, and where in eternal spring' ::''bloom fragrant woods: with the legion of the Danube there'' ::''the Polish general smites the Negroes'' Murzyns''">' Murzyns''', but sighs for his native soil''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jablonowski, Wladyslaw Franciszek 1769 births 1802 deaths Deaths from yellow fever Kościuszko insurgents Polish commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Polish generals Wladyslaw Franciszek Infectious disease deaths in Haiti Polish people of African descent Polish people of English descent Generals of the Polish Legions (Napoleonic period) Haitian commanders of the Napoleonic Wars 18th-century Polish–Lithuanian military personnel

Early life

Military career

In Polish culture

See also

References