Aleksander Korwin Gosiewski ()
''de armis'' Ślepowron (died 1639), was a
Polish nobleman, military
commander
Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...
and
diplomat
A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...
, Lithuanian
Field-Quartermaster since 1630,
Palatine-Governor of
Smolensk from 1625, Lithuanian Great-Quartermaster since 1615,
Speaker of the Parliament in 1613, Great-Secretary of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from 1610 and
District-Governor of Wieliż, Puńsk, Kupise, Biel, and Markowa.
Biography
Youth
He came from the noble family Gosiewski of
Zambrów powiat in the
Łomża Land, a family entitled to use the
coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...
Ślepowron. He was a son of Jan Gosiewski who was married to Ewa (''née'' Pac, the Chamberlain of
Brest’s daughter).
Already in his youth, as
Lew Sapieha’s courtier, he was involved in affairs of state. In 1600, as member of Lew Sapieha's retinue, he played a significant role in the negotiations with the
Tsardom of Russia, editing the planned alliance acts between Poland-Lithuania with the Russian state. In 1602 as District-Governor of Wieliż, he attended the drawing of the border between Poland–Lithuania and Russia and later became famous repelling a Russian attack on his own district. During the wars of
Sigismund III Vasa against his uncle
Charles IX of Sweden, the King of
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
, he served in the Lithuanian army. In 1605, he fought at the
Battle of Kircholm. In 1606, as a member of the retinue of
Mikołaj Oleśnicki, he escorted
Maryna Mniszchówna to Moscow, where he led negotiations for an alliance with
False Dmitriy I.
Military career

He was an ardent supporter of Polish-Lithuanian military intervention in Russia during the
Time of Troubles
The Time of Troubles (), also known as Smuta (), was a period of political crisis in Tsardom of Russia, Russia which began in 1598 with the death of Feodor I of Russia, Feodor I, the last of the Rurikids, House of Rurik, and ended in 1613 wit ...
. In July 1609, he conducted his own expedition to
Velikiye Luki. He became famous for using fire bombs during the
siege of Smolensk. In 1610 he headed a large army to the north of Smolensk, whose objective was to capture
Bely fortress. Subsequently, he reached Moscow, which, after the
battle of Klushino was taken by
Great-Commander Stanisław Żółkiewski. In 1610, he was appointed by Żółkiewski to lead the Polish-Lithuanian garrison in the Moscow
Kremlin. In 1611 the Russians betrayed their Polish patrons, and the ensuing insurrection led to the great fire of Moscow. In the year 1612 he handed over command of the Polish-Lithuanian garrison to
Mikołaj Struś and returned to Lithuania. Residents of the city under the leadership of a merchant
Kuzma Minin and Prince
Dmitry Pozharsky began to besiege the Kremlin. The commander of the Polish-Lithuanian garrison in the Kremlin, Strus, realizing that there would be no relief of the siege coming from the Polish king Sigismund III Vasa, surrendered on 4 November 1612. To commemorate the event tsar
Mikhail Romanov instituted a holiday named ''Day of Moscow’s Liberation from Polish Invaders'' in 1613. In 2004 the public holiday became the
Unity Day, which was first celebrated in 2005.
In 1612, he was the commander at Smolensk which he defended against numerous Russian attacks. In 1615, as Lithuanian Field-Quartermaster, he led a small army to block the new Russian army. In 1617 and 1618, Polish-Lithuanian troops participated in a failed expedition to Moscow led by Prince
Wladyslaw. In 1618, he commanded the garrison during the siege of Smolensk. After the arrival of the king's troops he camped together with the Commander
Jan Karol Chodkiewicz’ troops besieging the city.
Politics
He was the
Marshal of the Sejm which was held 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 ...
from 3 December to 24 December 1613. During the war with Sweden (
1621–1625 war) and the (
war 1626–1629) he fought in
Livonia
Livonia, known in earlier records as Livland, is a historical region on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the Livonians, who lived on the shores of present-day Latvia.
By the end of the 13th century, the name was extende ...
winning against the Swedish army at
Kroppenhof,
Lixna,
Kreutzburg and
Dyneburg. Due to his successes in fighting the Swedes that he was appointed Palatine-Governor of Smolensk region. Seeing the threat from Russia, Gosiewski immediately upon taking the governorate of Smolensk began to renovate the walls of the city. He personally oversaw the construction of Sigismund Fortress, which strengthened the eastern part of the stronghold. He intensively collected supplies of food and ammunition, and developed an intelligence network to gather valuable information about Moscow's war preparations. In the spring of 1632, he reviewed the fortifications in Dorogobuzh and other frontier forts.
During the war with Russia, in the year 1632 and 1634, after a particularly famous defense of Smolensk – for ten months he defended the city against besieging forces led by
Mikhail Shein, repelling all assaults, until the advent of the battle led by Prince Władysław, he fought at
Vitebsk, Alder and Mstislav. He participated as a Commissioner in peace negotiations which concluded on 14 June 1634, in
Treaty of Polanów.
For his services, he received numerous lands in the province of Smolensk. He founded the
Jesuit
The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
s’ College in
Vitebsk and the female Monastery of the
Holy Brigit at
Brest-Litovsk. As Palatine-Governor, he commemorated the death of his longtime client –
Jan Kunowski, who in 1640 wrote a series of poems dedicated to his late patron.
Death
He died on May 23, 1639.
Family
Aleksander Korwin Gosiewski came from the
Ślepowron branch of the family.
He was married to
Ewa Pac. They had one daughter,
Zuzanna
Zuzana is a common female given name in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It is often translated to other languages as Zuzanna (Polish language, Polish), Zsuzsanna (Hungarian), Suzanne (given name), Suzanne, Susan, or Susannah – all commonly deriv ...
, and two sons;
Wincenty and
Krzysztof.
References and sources
- Jan P. Gosiewski,
Fundacje sakralne wojewody smoleńskiego Aleksandra Korwin Gosiewskiego', "Nasza Przeszłość" 139, 2023, p. 129-163.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gosiewski, Aleksander Korwin
16th-century births
1639 deaths
17th-century Polish nobility
Diplomats of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
Aleksander
Polish people of the Polish–Russian War (1609–1618)
Polish people of the Smolensk War
Secular senators of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
Military personnel of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
Voivodes of Smolensk