Romuald Traugutt (16 January 1826 – 5 August 1864) was a Polish military officer and politician who served as the last

dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute Power (social and political), power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a polity. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to r ...

of the

January Uprising The January Uprising was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at putting an end to Russian occupation of part of Poland and regaining independence. It began on 22 January 1863 and continued until the last i ...

. Following a career in the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

that included service in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

and

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

, Traugutt reluctantly joined the uprising against the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

in March 1863, eventually rising to the position of the last leader of the ill-fated insurrection. Following capture by the Imperial Russian Police, he was tried and

executed Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence (law), sentence ordering that an offender b ...

for his role in the Uprising. Despite the failure of the uprising, Traugutt became a Polish national hero. Following the return of Poland as a sovereign national entity he was recognized for his service, after decades of being censored by Imperial Russian authorities.

Early life

Traugutt was born on the , estate

Grodno Governorate Grodno Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Northwestern Krai of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Grodno. It encompassed in area and consisted of a population of 1,603,409 inhabitants by 1897. Gro ...

in the Russian Empire. Son of Ludwik and Alojza (nee Błocka). Following his mother's death when Traugutt was two, he was raised by his grandmother Justyna Błocka. Following his graduation from the Svislach Gymnasium in 1842, Traugutt joined the

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

. According to some sources, prior to joining the Russian army Traugutt unsuccessfully attempted to gain admission to the Institute of Railway EngineersIn some sources appears as the Institute of Road Engineers ( pol. ''Instytut Inżynierów Dróg Komunikacyjnych'') �
[1
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[2
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[3
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Military service

Following his graduation from the sapper school in Żelichów with the rank of ''Standard-bearer (Eastern Europe), chorąży'', he worked as an instructor before being deployed in Hungary. Serving under Ivan Paskevich, he took part in the Russian intervention in the

Hungarian Revolution of 1848 The Hungarian Revolution of 1848, also known in Hungary as Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence of 1848–1849 () was one of many Revolutions of 1848, European Revolutions of 1848 and was closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in ...

, earning a promotion to the rank of lieutenant. While serving in Hungary, Traugutt's father Ludwik died. He married his first wife Anna Emilia Pikiel, daughter of a

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 ...

jeweler on 25 July 1852. Prior to the wedding his soon-to-be wife, a

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

, converted to

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. The couple lived in Żelechów. During that time Traugutt's military service was rewarded with a house, military pension and the Order of St. Catherine, 2nd Class. After the outbreak of the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

, in December 1853, Traugutt and his troops were sent to the

peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

. They arrived in April of the following year, where Traugutt took part in the defensive efforts during the Siege of Sevastopol. After the war he and his family relocated first to

Odesa Odesa, also spelled Odessa, is the third most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern ...

then to

Kharkiv Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

. There he suffered a mental breakdown following the successive deaths of his family members: his grandmother (November 1859), infant daughter Justyna (December 1859), wife Anna (January 1860) and son Konrad (May 1860). Following his recovery, Traugutt took over the estates of his recently deceased godfather. In 1860 Traugutt became acquainted with Antonina Kościuszkówna, a relative of

Tadeusz Kościuszko Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko (; 4 or 12 February 174615 October 1817) was a Polish Military engineering, military engineer, statesman, and military leader who then became a national hero in Poland, the United States, Lithuania, and ...

. After a brief engagement the couple was wed on 13 June 1860. At the time, he was considering retirement from the army – he was in poor physical condition and rumors of an uprising were already circulating. Traugutt was eventually discharged from the army on 14 June 1862, with the rank of lieutenant colonel, while retaining the right to wear the uniform and earning a pension of 230 rubles. Around that time his two-year-old son Roman died.

January Uprising

While the January Uprising broke out in January 1863, Traugutt remained reluctant to take part in the insurrection until April 1863. Traugutt participated in a few skirmishes, before his unit was destroyed in Battle of Kołodno in July 1863. Routed, he hid in Eliza Orzeszkowa's estate before making his way to Warsaw. There he presented himself to the National Government and was granted the title of General on 15 August. Traugutt embarked on a diplomatic mission to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, hoping to garner support for the Uprising. Following the mission's failure, he returned to Poland and earned the support of the ''

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

'' faction. After the Reds lost power, Traugutt was selected as the dictator of the uprising on 17 October 1863. Traugutt's leadership was secret in nature. Adopting the

nom de guerre A ''nom de guerre'' (, 'war name') is a pseudonym chosen by someone to use when they are involved in a particular activity, especially fighting in a war. In Ancien régime, ''ancien régime'' Kingdom of France, France it would be adopted by each n ...

''Michał Czarnecki,'' he led the uprising from his apartment at Smolna Street 3 and pretended to be a merchant from Galicia to further obscure his identity. As dictator, Traugutt attempted to reform guerrilla units into a professional army and – on 23 December 1863 – summoned representatives from

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 ...

to discuss the abolition of

serfdom Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery. It developed du ...

. Recognizing the difficult financial situation of the uprising, Traugutt attempted to take loans from domestic and foreign banks, with no success. After failing to garner foreign states' support for a military intervention, he turned to revolutionaries, such as

Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as (). In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as () or (). 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, revolutionary and republican. H ...

, for help. Despite his noted religious devotion and correspondence with Pope Pious IX, Traugutt blocked sending funds to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, meant for the

beatification Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the p ...

of Josaphat Kuntsevych.

Arrest and execution

After the failure of the uprising, Traugutt's real identity was revealed by Artur Goldman, a participant of the uprising arrested by the Russian police earlier in the month, and arrested in Helena Kirkorowa's apartment on the night of 10-11 April 1864. On 19 July he was sentenced to death for his role in the uprising. Traugutt was hanged at the

Warsaw Citadel Warsaw Citadel (Polish language, Polish: Cytadela Warszawska) is a 19th-century fortress in Warsaw, Poland. It was built by order of Tsar Nikolay I of Russia, Nicholas I after the suppression of the 1830 November Uprising in order to bolster im ...

on 5 August 1864, alongside rebel commanders Rafał Krajewski, Józef Toczyski, Roman Żuliński and Jan Jeziorański.

Commemoration

Following Traugutt's execution a

cult of personality A cult of personality, or a cult of the leader,Cas Mudde, Mudde, Cas and Kaltwasser, Cristóbal Rovira (2017) ''Populism: A Very Short Introduction''. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 63. is the result of an effort which is made to create ...

began forming around his person, with some sources likening his sacrifice to the martyrdom of Christ. In 1916, a monument was raised in Warsaw at the site of his execution, and in 1925, the area around it was dedicated as Traugutt Park. In 1945, he was honored on the first postage stamp of the newly re-emerged

Republic of Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

as part of a three-stamp set honoring national heroes. He had been earlier honored on a stamp in the 1938 set for the 20th anniversary of Poland's independence after

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Poland issued additional stamps in his honor in 1962 and 1963. He was also commemorated on the Polish 20 złoty banknote of the 1980s. The high school in

Częstochowa Częstochowa ( , ) is a city in southern Poland on the Warta with 214,342 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship. However, Częstochowa is historically part of Lesser Poland, not Si ...

is named after him, and a memorial column to him was erected in 1933 in Ciechocinek. There is also a monument to Traugutt in the town of Svislach in Belarus. One of Traugutt's early biographers has been the Marian Father, Józef Jarzębowski (1897-1964), who devoted three volumes to Traugutt's life and work. Other biographers include his great-grandson, col. Andrzej Juszkiewicz (1923-2009).

Notes

References

Bibliography

* Józef Jarzębowski. ''Traugutt'', nakładem Archidiecezjalnego Instytutu Akcji Katolickiej, Warszawa, 1938. * Józef Jarzębowski. ''Węgierska polityka Traugutta: na podstawie znanych i nieznanych dokumentów''. Warszawa 1939. ("Traugutt's Hungarian policies"). * Józef Jarzębowski. ''Traugutt: dokumenty, listy, wspomnienia, wypisy''. Londyn: Veritas, 1970.

External links

Romuald Traugutt High School - Częstochowa, Poland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Traugutt, Romuald 1826 births 1864 deaths People from Kamyenyets district People from Brestsky Uyezd Members of Polish government (January Uprising) Polish participants of the January Uprising Polish generals Polish people of the Crimean War (Russian side) Generals of the January Uprising Polish people executed by the Russian Empire People executed by the Russian Empire by hanging Executed Belarusian people Executed military leaders Polish Servants of God