Jan Konopka (1777 in Skołodycze near

Słonim Slonim is a town in Grodno Region, in western Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Slonim District. It is located at the junction of the Shchara and Isa rivers, southeast of Grodno. As of 2025, it has a population of 48,402. ...

– 12 December 1814 in

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 ...

) was a lieutenant in the

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 ...

, captain of the Polish Legions in Italy, regiment commander in the

Legion of the Vistula The Legion of the Vistula () was a combined arms legion of the French Imperial Army which served in the Napoleonic Wars. Raised in 1807, the legion served in the Peninsular War, French invasion of Russia and War of the Sixth Coalition before be ...

, as well as general of the French Army and the

Duchy of Warsaw The Duchy of Warsaw (; ; ), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a First French Empire, French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars. It initially comprised the ethnical ...

. Konopka has been described as "a brave man with cold mind in combat."

Biography

Konopka was the son of Anna, a distant relative of the Princes of Conde, Miłosz Korczyk, "Jan Konopka (1775-1814)"

/ref> and Franciszek Konopka, a major in Lithuanian army of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

.Dariusz Nawrot, "Litwa i Napoleon w 1812 roku" (Lithuania and Napoleon in the year 1812), Uniwersytet Slaski, 2008, pg. 30, 299, 62

/ref> From 1792 he was a Second Lieutenant in the Ukrainska Brygada Kawalerii Narodowej (''National Ukrainian Cavalry Brigade'') and took part in the

Polish–Russian War of 1792 The Polish–Russian War of 1792 (also, War of the Second Partition, and in Polish sources, War in Defence of the Constitution) was fought between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth on one side, and the Targowica Confederation (conservativ ...

(in Poland known as ''War in Defence of the Constitution''). He fought in the

Battle of Zieleńce The Battle of Zieleńce was a battle in the Polish–Russian War of 1792, in defence of the Polish Constitution of 3 May 1791. The battle took place on 18 June 1792, between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Army of Józef Poniatowski and an ...

and was decorated. During the

he fought as a lieutenant at

Battle of Maciejowice The Battle of Maciejowice was fought on 10 October 1794, between Poland and the Russian Empire during the Polish Uprising of 1794. The Poles were led by Tadeusz Kościuszko. Kościuszko with 6,200 men, who planned to prevent the linking of thr ...

, was wounded, and decorated again. After the failure of the insurrection he emigrated to France and volunteered for the

French army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

. In 1797 Konopka joined the Polish Legions in Italy with a rank of captain and took part in all of the Legion's campaigns. After the dissolution of the Legion, he returned to service in France as a Major. He was soon made a regiment commander in the

. He fought in the

War of the Fourth Coalition The War of the Fourth Coalition () was a war spanning 1806–1807 that saw a multinational coalition fight against Napoleon's First French Empire, French Empire, subsequently being defeated. The main coalition partners were Kingdom of Prussia, ...

and for his part in the

Battle of Friedland The Battle of Friedland (14 June 1807) was a major engagement of the Napoleonic Wars between the armies of the French Empire commanded by Napoleon I and the armies of the Russian Empire led by General Levin August von Bennigsen. Napoleon and t ...

was decorated with the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

. Subsequently he fought as part of Napoleon's forces in the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

where he experienced further successes (for example, at the Battle of Ciudad-Real) as well as failures (at the Battle of Yevenes). In 1811 he was made a general of the French army after the

Battle of Albuera The Battle of Albuera (16 May 1811) was a battle during the Peninsular War. A mixed British, Spanish and Portuguese corps engaged elements of the French armée du Midi (Army of the South) at the small Spanish village of Albuera, about sou ...

and later of,

, and a Baron of the French Empire. During Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812 he was made the commander of the 3rd Regiment of Lithuanian Guards. Due to an absent minded mistake he allowed himself to be surprised and attacked by General Eufemiusz Czaplic. Some sources report that he quartered in

Slonim Slonim is a town in Grodno Region, in western Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Slonim District. It is located at the junction of the Shchara and Isa (river), Isa rivers, southeast of Grodno. As of 2025, it has a population of ...

too long, hoping to train newly recruited volunteers and throwing banquets, while others state that he decided to attack a numerically superior force.Marian Kukiel, Dzieje oręża polskiego w epoce napoleońskiej (History of Polish Forces in the Napoleonic Period), Poznań 1912/repr. 1998, p. 358, Most of his unit was captured, the rest scattered (only the

Lipka Tatar The Lipka Tatars are a Turkic ethnic group and minority in Poland, Lithuania, and Belarus who originally settled in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania at the beginning of the 14th century. The first Tatar settlers tried to preserve their Pagan tradi ...

units that were out on patrol escaped) and he himself was wounded and taken prisoner. Konopka was interned in

Cherson Cherson (or Kherson) may refer to the following places and jurisdictions : * Kherson, a city in southern Ukraine, the administrative center of the Kherson Oblast (province) * Chersonesus Taurica, an ancient Greek colony founded approximately 2,500 ...

. After being released from prison in 1814 he was offered the command of the 1st Cavalry Brigade of

Congress Poland Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It was established w ...

but he declined. Exhausted by wounds, prison, and fatigue he died the same year in Warsaw.

References

"Polish Vistula Uhlans (Lancers)"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Konopka, Jan Kościuszko insurgents 1777 births 1814 deaths Polish commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Polish legionnaires (Napoleonic period) Polish military personnel killed in action Military personnel killed in the Napoleonic Wars