Michał Grabowski of the

Oksza coat of arms Oksza - is a Polish coat of arms. It was used by several szlachta families in the times of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Notable bearers Notable bearers of this coat of arms include: * Jan Kołda * Andrzej Rej (diplomat) *Mikołaj Re ...

(1773 – 17 August 1812) was a

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

of the Army of Duchy of Warsaw.

Early life

He was the natural son of the

King of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electable position in Europe (16t ...

Stanisław August Poniatowski Stanisław II August (born Stanisław Antoni Poniatowski; 17 January 1732 – 12 February 1798), known also by his regnal Latin name Stanislaus II Augustus, was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1764 to 1795, and the last monarch ...

and Elizabeth Grabowska, from the house Szydłowska and brother of Stanislaw Grabowski. He stayed under the care of the King Stanisław August Poniatowski which was on the alert of the course of his army career.

1790s

During the 1792 war with Russia, he was a major of the 5th Regiment of Fusiliers. In 1794, during the

Kościuszko Uprising The Kościuszko Uprising, also known as the Polish Uprising of 1794 and the Second Polish War, was an uprising against the Russian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia led by Tadeusz Kościuszko in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Pr ...

, as the adjutant he stayed in surrounding the king. After the Third Partition he kept which company in

Hrodna Grodno (russian: Гродно, pl, Grodno; lt, Gardinas) or Hrodna ( be, Гродна ), is a city in western Belarus. The city is located on the Neman River, 300 km (186 mi) from Minsk, about 15 km (9 mi) from the Polish b ...

and

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Napoleonic Wars

He participated in the campaign of 1807, commanding the 1st Infantry Regiment in Poniatowski's Division. Appointed brigadier general, became a commanding officer of the fort in

Gdańsk Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...

, and a little bit later became a commanding officer of the

Modlin Fortress Modlin Fortress ( pl, Twierdza Modlin) is one of the largest 19th-century fortresses in Poland. It is located in the town of Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki in district Modlin on the Narew river, approximately 50 kilometers north of Warsaw. It was o ...

, which was still being built. In 1808 he was a commander of the brigade in of 3 Divisions. From 1809-1810 he commanded the Danzig garrison under

Jean Rapp General Count Jean Rapp (27 April 1771 – 8 November 1821) was a French Army officer during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars and twice governor of the Free City of Danzig. He served as Aide-de-camp to French Generals Lou ...

. In 1811 he was sent in a military mission to the

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

. In 1812, during the expedition of Napoleon to Russia, he commanded the 1st Brigade of Kniaziewicz's 18th Division in the

V Corps 5th Corps, Fifth Corps, or V Corps may refer to: France * 5th Army Corps (France) * V Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * V Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Ar ...

. 4 July 1812, in Hrodna, signed the accession to the general confederacy of the

Congress Kingdom of 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. It ...

established in 1815 at the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...

. He was appointed the governor of

Mogilev Mogilev (russian: Могилёв, Mogilyov, ; yi, מאָלעוו, Molev, ) or Mahilyow ( be, Магілёў, Mahilioŭ, ) is a city in eastern Belarus, on the Dnieper River, about from the border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and from the bor ...

. On 17 August 1812, he was killed during the Battle of Smolensk.

External links

Michal Grabowski (1773 - 1812)
Polish {{DEFAULTSORT:Grabowski, Michal 1773 births 1812 deaths Illegitimate children of Polish monarchs Polish military personnel killed in action Polish commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Military personnel killed in the Napoleonic Wars Poniatowski family Szydłowski family Sons of kings