Antoni Paweł Sułkowski
Encyclopedia
Prince Antoni Paweł Sułkowski (born December 31, 1785 in Leszno
, died April 13, 1836 in Rydzyna
), of the Sułkowski family, was a Polish
division general
(who also spent time in French service) and later overall commander of the armed forces of the Duchy of Warsaw
.
Legion), and took the command of the unit. He took part in the Napoleonic wars
and specifically, the first Polish campaign (1806–1807), where he fought with the French at the Siege of Gdańsk (Danzig) and Siege of Kołobrzeg (Kolberg). Between 1808 and 1809 he fought in Spain
, including at the Battle of Almonacid
and Battle of Ocana
. He was appointed as the governor of Malaga
, and in 1810 was promoted to Brigadier General
.
In the 1812 War against Russia
(which Napoleon referred to as his "Second Polish Campaign") he commanded a cavalry
brigade in the 5th Corps
of Count Józef Poniatowski. The Polish poet and playwright Aleksander Fredro
, who served under him, recalled that while Sułkowski was courageous and honorable, he had trouble acquiring the full confidence of his men, partly because he tended to use infantry tactics (Sułkowski's previous command) when in charge of a cavalry unit.
In the War of the Sixth Coalition
he was a division general and led the 4th Cavalry Corps of Michał Sokolnicki. After the death of Poniatowski on October 19, 1813, Sułkowski was briefly the main commander of the Polish Corps, even though he was only twenty eight years old at the time. Sułkowski however, did not wish to fight outside of Poland again, and acting on behalf of his unit's sentiment, vowed that Polish troops would not cross the Rhine. After Napoleon made a personal appeal to Polish soldiers they became willing to follow the emperor which put Sułkowski in a difficult position; if he continued to lead his troops he would have to break the oath he made earlier. As a result he submitted his resignation which was accepted by Napoleon and returned to Poland. The remaining Polish forces from then on were commanded by Jan Henryk Dąbrowski
.
Antoni supported Congress Poland
(saying that it was a "small and poor version of Poland but Poland nonetheless, and it had that holy name") and Tsar Alexander I of Russia
, even becoming his aide-de-camp
in September 1815. However, by 1818 he became disillusioned with the political situation, lack of real autonomy or independence for the quasi-Polish state, and the tsar's refusal to join lands of the Russian partition
to Congress Poland. As a result he resigned his official posts and began focusing on personal matters.
In 1818 he settled permanently in Rydzyna (part of the Prussian partition of Poland
) and became active in politics. Sułkowski was made a member of the Prussian House of Lords
, by King Frederick William
and later was a Marshall of the Great Sejm
of the Grand Duchy of Poznan
and participated in the two founding sejms of the duchy in 1827 and 1830. As a prominent politician in the Duchy he tried to protect the use of Polish language
and Polish education against forced Germanization and discrimination by the Prussian authorities.
During the November Uprising
against Russia in Congress Poland
in 1830, Sułkowski considered joining the insurrection but made a condition of his involvement that he be given his own separate military unit to command. However, personal and family considerations precluded him from following through on this commitment. Nonetheless after the uprising was suppressed he actively campaigned against repression of the insurrectionists and advocated for a general amnesty.
He received the Cavalier's Cross Virtuti Militari
as well as the Officer's Cross of Légion d'honneur
.
Antoni Sułkowski (1735–1796) and Karolina Bubna-Littitz, from a Germanized Czech family. His father was an associate of the Russian general and ambassador, Nicholas Repnin
, who was the de facto ruler of Poland at this time. During the Sejm of the First Partition
, the elder Sułkowski actively supported Russian, Prussian and Austrian partition of Poland and for his service was awarded Order of St. Andrew
by Empress Catherine the Great of Russia. Unlike his parents, however, the younger Sułkowski became a Polish patriot, supposedly after witnessing the Warsaw Uprising of 1794
against Russian rule as an eight year old.
He studied in Wrocław and at the University of Göttingen.
In 1808 he married Ewa Kicka, the daughter of the former Chamberlain
to the last king of Poland, Stanisław August Poniatowski. The couple had three daughters; Helena (married Count Henryk Potocki), Ewa (married Count Władysław Potocki) and Teresa (married Henryka Wodzicki) and one son, Antoni, who married Maria Mycielska (Antoni's wife Ewa died soon after childbirth).
In 1836 he caught scarlet fever
from one of his children and died. He was buried in a family crypt in the Church of Saint Stanisław in Rydzyna.
Leszno
Leszno is a town in central Poland with 63,955 inhabitants . Situated in the southern part of the Greater Poland Voivodeship since 1999, it was previously the capital of the Leszno Voivodeship . The town has county status.-History:...
, died April 13, 1836 in Rydzyna
Rydzyna
Rydzyna is a Polish town that was the seat of king Stanisław Leszczyński during Leszczyński's first short reign from 1704-1709. Rydzyna is known as "the pearl of the Polish baroque"....
), of the Sułkowski family, was a Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
division general
Division General
Division General was a military rank in the Bosnian army from 1992 to 1998.See also: Divisional General...
(who also spent time in French service) and later overall commander of the armed forces of the Duchy of Warsaw
Duchy of Warsaw
The Duchy of Warsaw was a Polish state established by Napoleon I in 1807 from the Polish lands ceded by the Kingdom of Prussia under the terms of the Treaties of Tilsit. The duchy was held in personal union by one of Napoleon's allies, King Frederick Augustus I of Saxony...
.
Napoleonic Wars
He began his military service in 1806 during the Wielkopolska Uprising when he personally funded the formation of the first regiment of Legia Poznanska (PoznanPoznan
Poznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...
Legion), and took the command of the unit. He took part in the Napoleonic wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
and specifically, the first Polish campaign (1806–1807), where he fought with the French at the Siege of Gdańsk (Danzig) and Siege of Kołobrzeg (Kolberg). Between 1808 and 1809 he fought in Spain
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...
, including at the Battle of Almonacid
Battle of Almonacid
The Battle of Almonacid was fought on August 11, 1809 during the Peninsular War between Sébastiani's IV Corps of the French Peninsular Army, which had withdrawn from the Battle of Talavera to defend Madrid, and the Spanish Army of La Mancha under General Venegas...
and Battle of Ocana
Battle of Ocana
The Battle of Ocana or Battle of Ocaña was fought on 19 November 1809 between French forces under Marshal Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult and King Joseph Bonaparte and the Spanish army under Juan Carlos de Aréizaga, which suffered its greatest single defeat in the Peninsular War...
. He was appointed as the governor of Malaga
Málaga
Málaga is a city and a municipality in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, Spain. With a population of 568,507 in 2010, it is the second most populous city of Andalusia and the sixth largest in Spain. This is the southernmost large city in Europe...
, and in 1810 was promoted to Brigadier General
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
.
In the 1812 War against Russia
French invasion of Russia
The French invasion of Russia of 1812 was a turning point in the Napoleonic Wars. It reduced the French and allied invasion forces to a tiny fraction of their initial strength and triggered a major shift in European politics as it dramatically weakened French hegemony in Europe...
(which Napoleon referred to as his "Second Polish Campaign") he commanded a cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
brigade in the 5th Corps
Corps
A corps is either a large formation, or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service...
of Count Józef Poniatowski. The Polish poet and playwright Aleksander Fredro
Aleksander Fredro
Aleksander Fredro was a Polish poet, playwright and author.-Life:Count Aleksander Fredro, of the Bończa coat of arms, was born in the village of Surochów near Jarosław, then a crown territory of Austria. A landowner's son, he was educated at home. He entered the Polish army at age 16 and saw...
, who served under him, recalled that while Sułkowski was courageous and honorable, he had trouble acquiring the full confidence of his men, partly because he tended to use infantry tactics (Sułkowski's previous command) when in charge of a cavalry unit.
In the War of the Sixth Coalition
War of the Sixth Coalition
In the War of the Sixth Coalition , a coalition of Austria, Prussia, Russia, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Sweden, Spain and a number of German States finally defeated France and drove Napoleon Bonaparte into exile on Elba. After Napoleon's disastrous invasion of Russia, the continental powers...
he was a division general and led the 4th Cavalry Corps of Michał Sokolnicki. After the death of Poniatowski on October 19, 1813, Sułkowski was briefly the main commander of the Polish Corps, even though he was only twenty eight years old at the time. Sułkowski however, did not wish to fight outside of Poland again, and acting on behalf of his unit's sentiment, vowed that Polish troops would not cross the Rhine. After Napoleon made a personal appeal to Polish soldiers they became willing to follow the emperor which put Sułkowski in a difficult position; if he continued to lead his troops he would have to break the oath he made earlier. As a result he submitted his resignation which was accepted by Napoleon and returned to Poland. The remaining Polish forces from then on were commanded by Jan Henryk Dąbrowski
Jan Henryk Dabrowski
-Biography:Dąbrowski was born to Jan Michal Dąbrowski and Sophie née von Lettow in Pierzchów, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth He grew up in Hoyerswerda, Electorate of Saxony, where his father served as a Colonel in the Saxon army...
.
Political activity in Congress Poland
After the Congress of ViennaCongress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September, 1814 to June, 1815. The objective of the Congress was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars,...
Antoni supported Congress Poland
Congress Poland
The Kingdom of Poland , informally known as Congress Poland , created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, was a personal union of the Russian parcel of Poland with the Russian Empire...
(saying that it was a "small and poor version of Poland but Poland nonetheless, and it had that holy name") and Tsar Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I of Russia , served as Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801 to 1 December 1825 and the first Russian King of Poland from 1815 to 1825. He was also the first Russian Grand Duke of Finland and Lithuania....
, even becoming his aide-de-camp
Aide-de-camp
An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...
in September 1815. However, by 1818 he became disillusioned with the political situation, lack of real autonomy or independence for the quasi-Polish state, and the tsar's refusal to join lands of the Russian partition
Russian partition
The Russian partition was the former territories of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth that were acquired by the Russian Empire in the late-18th-century Partitions of Poland.-Terminology:...
to Congress Poland. As a result he resigned his official posts and began focusing on personal matters.
In 1818 he settled permanently in Rydzyna (part of the Prussian partition of Poland
Prussian partition
The Prussian partition refers to the former territories of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth acquired during the partitions of Poland in the late 18th century by the Kingdom of Prussia.-History:...
) and became active in politics. Sułkowski was made a member of the Prussian House of Lords
Prussian House of Lords
The Prussian House of Lords was the first chamber of the Parliament of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1850-1918. The second chamber was the Prussian House of Representatives . The House of Lords was created on January 31, 1850 with the adoption of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Prussia...
, by King Frederick William
Frederick William III of Prussia
Frederick William III was king of Prussia from 1797 to 1840. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel .-Early life:...
and later was a Marshall of the Great Sejm
Sejm
The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....
of the Grand Duchy of Poznan
Grand Duchy of Poznan
The Grand Duchy of Posen, or the Grand Duchy of Poznań was part of the Kingdom of Prussia, created from territories annexed by Prussia after the Partitions of Poland, and formally established following the Napoleonic Wars in 1815. Per agreements derived at the Congress of Vienna it was to have...
and participated in the two founding sejms of the duchy in 1827 and 1830. As a prominent politician in the Duchy he tried to protect the use of Polish language
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
and Polish education against forced Germanization and discrimination by the Prussian authorities.
During the November Uprising
November Uprising
The November Uprising , Polish–Russian War 1830–31 also known as the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in Warsaw when the young Polish officers from the local Army of the Congress...
against Russia in Congress Poland
Congress Poland
The Kingdom of Poland , informally known as Congress Poland , created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, was a personal union of the Russian parcel of Poland with the Russian Empire...
in 1830, Sułkowski considered joining the insurrection but made a condition of his involvement that he be given his own separate military unit to command. However, personal and family considerations precluded him from following through on this commitment. Nonetheless after the uprising was suppressed he actively campaigned against repression of the insurrectionists and advocated for a general amnesty.
He received the Cavalier's Cross Virtuti Militari
Virtuti Militari
The Order Wojenny Virtuti Militari is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war...
as well as the Officer's Cross of Légion d'honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
.
Personal life
He was the son of Voyevoda of KaliszKalisz
Kalisz is a city in central Poland with 106,857 inhabitants , the capital city of the Kalisz Region. Situated on the Prosna river in the southeastern part of the Greater Poland Voivodeship, the city forms a conurbation with the nearby towns of Ostrów Wielkopolski and Nowe Skalmierzyce...
Antoni Sułkowski (1735–1796) and Karolina Bubna-Littitz, from a Germanized Czech family. His father was an associate of the Russian general and ambassador, Nicholas Repnin
Nicholas Repnin
Prince Nikolai Vasilyevich Repnin was an Imperial Russian statesman and general from the Repnin princely family who played a key role in the dissolution of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.- Rule of Poland :...
, who was the de facto ruler of Poland at this time. During the Sejm of the First Partition
Partition Sejm
The Partition Sejm was a Sejm lasting from 1773 to 1776 in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, convened by its three neighbours in order to legalize their First Partition of Poland. During its first days in session, that Sejm was the site of Tadeusz Rejtan famous gesture of protest...
, the elder Sułkowski actively supported Russian, Prussian and Austrian partition of Poland and for his service was awarded Order of St. Andrew
Order of St. Andrew
The Order of St. Andrew the First-Called is the first and the highest order of chivalry of the Russian Empire.- Russian Empire :The Order was established in 1698 by Tsar Peter the Great, in honour of Saint Andrew, the first apostle of Jesus and patron saint of Russia...
by Empress Catherine the Great of Russia. Unlike his parents, however, the younger Sułkowski became a Polish patriot, supposedly after witnessing the Warsaw Uprising of 1794
Warsaw Uprising (1794)
The Warsaw Uprising of 1794 was an armed Polish insurrection by the city's populace early in the Kościuszko Uprising. Supported by the Polish Army, it aimed to throw off Russian control of the Polish capital city...
against Russian rule as an eight year old.
He studied in Wrocław and at the University of Göttingen.
In 1808 he married Ewa Kicka, the daughter of the former Chamberlain
Chamberlain (office)
A chamberlain is an officer in charge of managing a household. In many countries there are ceremonial posts associated with the household of the sovereign....
to the last king of Poland, Stanisław August Poniatowski. The couple had three daughters; Helena (married Count Henryk Potocki), Ewa (married Count Władysław Potocki) and Teresa (married Henryka Wodzicki) and one son, Antoni, who married Maria Mycielska (Antoni's wife Ewa died soon after childbirth).
In 1836 he caught scarlet fever
Scarlet fever
Scarlet fever is a disease caused by exotoxin released by Streptococcus pyogenes. Once a major cause of death, it is now effectively treated with antibiotics...
from one of his children and died. He was buried in a family crypt in the Church of Saint Stanisław in Rydzyna.