Ludwik Adam Mierosławski (; January 17, 1814 in Nemours, Seine-et-Marne – November 22, 1878 in Paris) was a Polish general, writer, poet, historian and political activist. Took part in the

November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or 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 W ...

of the 1830s, after its fall he emigrated to France, where he taught Slavic history and military theory. Chosen as a commander for the Greater Poland Uprising of 1846, he was taken prisoner early but amnestied during the Spring of Nations. In 1848 and 1849 he fought for the insurgents in

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden i ...

and in the

Electorate of the Palatinate The Electoral Palatinate (german: Kurpfalz) or the Palatinate (), officially the Electorate of the Palatinate (), was a state that was part of the Holy Roman Empire. The electorate had its origins under the rulership of the Counts Palatine o ...

. Afterwards he returned to France; he also had contacts with Italian activists like

Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, pa ...

. He also took part in the

January Uprising The January Uprising ( pl, powstanie styczniowe; lt, 1863 metų sukilimas; ua, Січневе повстання; russian: Польское восстание; ) was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at ...

in the 1860s, as the first of four

dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in time ...

s of the Uprising.

Biography

Mierosławski was born on 17 January 1814 in Nemours, France, as a son of Colonel Adam Kasper Mierosławski (1785–1837), an officer of the

Duchy of Warsaw The Duchy of Warsaw ( pl, Księstwo Warszawskie, french: Duché de Varsovie, german: Herzogtum Warschau), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during ...

and Polish Legions of the Napoleonic period) and aide to French general

Louis Nicolas Davout Louis-Nicolas d'Avout (10 May 1770 – 1 June 1823), better known as Davout, 1st Duke of Auerstaedt, 1st Prince of Eckmühl, was a French military commander and Marshal of the Empire who served during both the French Revolutionary Wars and t ...

, who became Mierosławski's godfather. His mother was of French origin, Camille Notté de Vaupleux. His brother was Adam Mierosławski, an engineer and naval captain. His family moved to the

Congress Poland Congress Poland, Congress Kingdom of Poland, or Russian 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. I ...

in 1820. Mierosławski attended schools in

Łomża Łomża (), in English known as Lomza, is a city in north-eastern Poland, approximately 150 kilometers (90 miles) to the north-east of Warsaw and west of Białystok. It is situated alongside the Narew river as part of the Podlaskie Voivodeship ...

and

Kalisz (The oldest city of Poland) , image_skyline = , image_caption = ''Top:'' Town Hall, Former "Calisia" Piano Factory''Middle:'' Courthouse, "Gołębnik" tenement''Bottom:'' Aerial view of the Kalisz Old Town , image_flag = POL Kalisz flag.svg ...

, and at the age of 15 he became a podchorąży (officer cadet) in the 5th Infantry Pułk. During the

, when Poles rose against the Russian forces in Congress Poland, he was a lieutenant serving under General Samuel Różycki. With him he fought and eventually retreated to

Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallaecia, a Roman province ** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia ** The medieval King ...

, and later emigrated to France, where he became an active member of various Polish emigree organizations, particularly

Polish Democratic Society The Polish Democratic Society ( pl, Towarzystwo Demokratyczne Polskie or TDP) was a radical constitutionalist political organization established in Paris by émigrés from the Kingdom of Poland in 1832. While not explicitly socialist with respec ...

and

carbonari The Carbonari () was an informal network of secret revolutionary societies active in Italy from about 1800 to 1831. The Italian Carbonari may have further influenced other revolutionary groups in France, Portugal, Spain, Brazil, Uruguay and Ru ...

Young Poland. In 1839–1840 he gave lectures on the history of Slavic people in French Historical Institute in Paris; he was also considered by many among the Polish emigrants as a knowledgeable tactician and military strategist after the publication of a history of the November Uprising in Poland, ''Histoire de la revolution de Pologne'' (Paris, 1836–38). He also published several poems, but they were not considered very significant. He was chosen as the leader of Greater Poland Uprising of 1846, but the leaders of the Polish

Wielkopolska Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; german: Großpolen, sv, Storpolen, la, Polonia Maior), is a historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed by Kalisz, the oldest city ...

(Greater Poland) underground, including Mierosławski, were arrested by

Prussian Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

authorities. He was sentenced to death in December 1847 but was amnestied by

Frederick William IV of Prussia Frederick William IV (german: Friedrich Wilhelm IV.; 15 October 17952 January 1861), the eldest son and successor of Frederick William III of Prussia, reigned as King of Prussia from 7 June 1840 to his death on 2 January 1861. Also referred to ...

during the Spring of Nations in March 1848. In the next few years, he would act as the commander of the Greater Poland Uprising of 1848, chief of staff of the revolutionary Italian army in

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The city is noted for its ...

(

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

) fighting against

Bourbons The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spani ...

(December 1848 – April 1849) and then commander of German insurgent units in

and in the Electorate of the Palatinate during the

revolutions of 1848 in the German states In political science, a revolution ( Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically d ...

. Eventually after most of the insurgent forces were defeated, he returned to Paris in 1849. He vocally opposed the peaceful positivist movement, and supported the idea of another uprising in Poland. In 1860

nominated him for the commander of the

International Legion The International Legion was created in Italy by Giuseppe Garibaldi, on October 5, 1860 – in the immediate aftermath of the Battle of Volturnus, where the forces of the Bourbon Kingdom of the Two Sicilies were decisively broken. It had been t ...

in the Expedition of the Thousand which brought him back to

. In 1861 Mierosławski became a commander of Polish-Italian military school in

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

. In 1863 he returned to Poland to join the

, where he became the first

of the Uprising. Eventually after suffering two defeats ( battle of Krzywosądz and battle of Nowa Wieś), and political conflict with

Marian Langiewicz Marian Langiewicz, full name Marian Antoni Melchior Langiewicz (; 5 August 1827, Krotoszyn – 11 May 1887, Istanbul), was a Polish patriot notable as a military leader of the January Uprising in 1863. Biography He was born in the province o ...

, Mierosławski resigned as the dictator and returned to Paris. He would be a vocal critic of the preparation and organization of the January Uprising. He continued to take part in politics of Polish emigrants, but he lost popularity. After the changed political climate of Franco-Prussian War, due to his age as well as significant opposition and criticism from other emigree leaders, he retired from any active engagement in politics. He died on 22 November 1878 in Paris.

Works

* Autobiography (1841, under his mother's name) * poems (various, particularly from the 1830s to 1840s) * ''Rozbiór krytyczny kampanii 1831 roku'' (Critical deconstruction of the campaign of 1831) - his most well known work, a military theory analysis of the November Uprising He has also written other works of military nature, and published a diary in the 1860s.

Notes

References

Biography and collections of links and documents

Biography

Works

See also

Notes

References

External links

Further reading