Zygmunt Padlewski (1836–1863) was a Polish insurgent who participated in 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 ...

. He was one of the leaders of the "

Red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

" faction among the insurrectionists as a member of the

Central National Committee Central National Committee (Polish: ''Komitet Centralny Narodowy (KCN)'') was the underground coordinating committee of the Polish independence movement in 1860s Congress Poland which was responsible for preparing a general uprising against Tsa ...

(''Komitet Centralny Narodowy'') and the Provisional National Government (''Tymczasowy Rząd Narodowy'').

Early years

Padlewski was born in a mansion in

Czerniawka Mała Czerniawka is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Laszki, within Jarosław County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland. It lies approximately east of Laszki, east of Jarosław, and east of the regional capital Rze ...

, Russian-partitioned Poland (now

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

) on January 1, 1836. His father, Władysław, 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 Russian Partition, the heartland of Partitions of Poland, partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. ...

. His parents assured that he had a good education and, as a youth, he learned to speak Polish, Ukrainian, Russian, and French. His formal education consisted of military training at the Corps of Cadets in Brest on the

Bug River The Bug or Western Bug is a major river in Central Europe that flows through Belarus (border), Poland, and Ukraine, with a total length of .St. Petersburg, Russia. In St. Petersburg he was a member of the underground Polish officer organization, led by general

Zygmunt Sierakowski Zygmunt Erazm Gaspar Józef Sierakowski (, ; 19 May 1826, – 27 June 1863, Vilnius) was a Polish leader of the January Uprising in lands of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Biography Youth and ed ...

. He was quickly promoted to lieutenant after service with the horse guards at

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...

Planning an insurgency

In 1861 he emigrated to France to train anti-czarist Polish exiles. At the Paris Society of Polish Youth (''Towarzystwa Młodzieży Polskiej'') and at the Polish Military School (''Polskiej Szkoły Wojskowej'') he served as a military instructor and taught mathematics, strategy, tactics, artillery, and military history. He was a member of the radical democratic "red" left, and member of the Central National Committee. He was involved in negotiations with Russian revolutionaries, and a major planner of the future uprising. In 1862 he returned to

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 ...

, Poland, and further helped plan the uprising set for spring of 1863. He also pushed for 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 ...

The January Uprising

When the

was set into motion, Padlewski was appointed general and took command of Polish insurgents in Warsaw and in the

Płock Governorate Płock Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of Congress Poland of the Russian Empire. It was created in 1837 from the Płock Voivodship, and had the same borders and capital (Płock) as the voivodship. In 1867 terri ...

. He was a member of the Provisional National Government (''Tymczasowy Rząd Narodowy''). He led his troops into the

Puszczy Zagajnica Puszcza Kurpiowska or Kurpiowska Forest, (, also ''Kurpie Forest'') is the collective name of Poland's two wilderness areas: Puszcza Biała and Puszcza Zielona (White and Green Forests), located in the central basin of Narew and Kurpiowska Plain. ...

forest of

Kurpie Kurpie () is one of a number of ethnic regions in Poland, noted for its unique traditional customs, such as its own types of traditional costume, traditional dance and distinctive type of architecture and livelihoods. Kurpie is also the name of ...

where they skirmished with czarist forces near

Myszyniec Myszyniec is a town in Ostrołęka County, Masovian Voivodeship, northeastern Poland, with 2,950 inhabitants (2010). History Myszyniec was founded in 1654 by the Jesuits, under a royal privilege issued by King John II Casimir Vasa. It was loc ...

(9 March) and Drążdżewo (12 March). It is in this area, near

Radzanów Radzanów may refer to the following places: *Radzanów, Lublin Voivodeship (east Poland) *Radzanów, Białobrzegi County in Masovian Voivodeship (east-central Poland) * Radzanów, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (south-central Poland) *Radzanów, Mła ...

, the commander of the insurgents hid Zygmunt Padlewski with his division after Padlewski’s defeat at Myszyniec. Russian czarist troops, on 21 March, then moved into the area, and a battle near

was fought which resulted in Padlewski losing the conflict with 50 of his insurgents killed in action or drowned while escaping.

Capture and execution

Padlewski was ordered to return to Warsaw after this defeat, and, while en route, on 21 April, he was stopped by a czarist

Cossack The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borders of Ukraine and Rus ...

sentry at the small village of Bożymin and ordered to show his passport. Unfortunately, he showed the sentry an incorrect document, which resulted in the sentry searching his carriage and finding incriminating documents, as well as his insurgent uniform. He was promptly arrested and placed in jail in Płock. Padlewski, who was only 27 years old, was court marshaled by Russian authorities and sentenced to death by firing squad. On May 15, 1863, he was transported through the streets of Płock to the execution place. The Polish population who lined the street watched and “''women threw bouquets of flowers from the windows, so that the whole road was strewn with roses and violets''.”

Remembrance

Various monuments in Poland commemorate Padlewski. A school in

Płock Płock (pronounced ), officially the Ducal Capital City of Płock, is a city in central Poland, on the Vistula river, in the Masovian Voivodeship. According to the data provided by Central Statistical Office (Poland), GUS on 31 December 2021, the ...

has been named after him, as well as street in the city. There are several other schools and streets across Poland named in his honor.

References