Romuald Traugutt
{{Short description|Polish general, leader of the January Uprising}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Romuald Traugutt
| image = Romuald Traugutt 111.PNG
| office = Dictator of the Polish National Government
| term_start = 17 October 1863
| term_end = 20 April 1864
| predecessor = Franciszek Dobrowolski
| successor = Position abolished
| birth_date = {{birth date|1826|1|16|df=yes}}
| birth_place = {{ill|Shastakova, Kamianiets District, Belarus|lt=Szostakowo|be|Шастакова (Камянецкі раён)}}, Grodno Governorate, Russian Empire (now Shastakova, Belarus)
| death_date = {{death date and age|1864|8|5|1826|1|16|df=yes}}
| death_place = Warsaw, Congress Poland, Russian Empire (now Poland)
| allegiance = {{plainlist|
- {{flag|Russian Empire|1858}}
- {{flagicon image|Flag_of_the_Polish-Lithuanian-Ruthenian_Commonwealth_(January_Uprising).svg}} Polish National Government
}}
| serviceyears = 1842–1862
1863–1864
| rank = Lieutenant colonel (Russian Empire)
General (Polish National Government)
| battles = {{plainlist|
}}
}}
Romuald Traugutt (16 January 1826 – 5 August 1864) was a Polish military officer and politician who served as the last dictator of the January Uprising.
Following a career in the Imperial Russian Army that included service in Hungary and Crimea, Traugutt reluctantly joined the uprising against the Russian Empire 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 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 {{ill|Shastakova, Kamianiets District, Belarus|lt=Szostakowo|be|Шастакова (Камянецкі раён)}}, estate Grodno Governorate in the Russian Empire.(nowadays Shastakova, Kamenets District, Belarus) Son of Ludwik and Alojza (nee Błocka).Marriage certificate, currently stored by the parish of St. John in Warsaw. (1852, act nr. 150) 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.[https://www.tio.by/info/newspaper/18695/ Рамуальд Траўгут на Кобрыншчыне (Romuald Traugutt in the Kobryn area)] (in Belarusian 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) – [https://dzieje.pl/postacie/romuald-traugutt-1826-1864
Military service
Following his graduation from the sapper school in Żelichów with the rank of 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,{{Cite web |title=Urodził się Romuald Traugutt - Muzeum Historii Polski |url=https://muzhp.pl/pl/e/1969/urodzil-sie-romuald-traugutt |access-date=2023-08-27 |website=muzhp.pl |language=pl |quote=W ramach służby brał udział w kampanii rosyjskiej przeciwko powstańcom na Węgrzech oraz w wojnie krymskiej.}} earning a promotion to the rank of lieutenant.{{Cite web |title=Romuald Traugutt: Ostatni dyktator |url=https://www.rp.pl/historia/art10047291-romuald-traugutt-ostatni-dyktator |access-date=2023-08-12 |website=Rzeczpospolita |language=pl |quote=Z wojny wrócił z medalem i stopniem porucznika.}} While serving in Hungary, Traugutt's father Ludwik died.{{Cite web |last=Drążek |first=Aleksandra |title=Romuald Traugutt - pochodzenie, kariera wojskowa, działalność powstańcza, śmierć |url=https://kronikidziejow.pl/porady/romuald-traugutt-pochodzenie-kariera-wojskowa-dzialalnosc-powstancza-smierc/ |access-date=2023-08-27 |website=kronikidziejow.pl |language=pl-PL |quote=W oczekiwaniu na wymarsz batalionu, w czerwcu 1848 r., Romuald Traugutt dowiedział się o śmierci ojca.}}
He married his first wife Anna Emilia Pikiel, daughter of a Warsaw jeweler on 25 July 1852.{{Cite web |last=Kalicka |first=Manula |date=2013 |title=Romuald Traugutt - bohater z przypadku |url=https://www.polityka.pl/tygodnikpolityka/historia/1534001,1,romuald-traugutt---bohater-z-przypadku.read |access-date=2023-08-27 |website=www.polityka.pl |language=pl-PL |quote=W 1852 r. ożenił się z Anną Pikiel, córką jubilera.}}{{Cite web |last=Krzyżak |first=Tomasz |title=Romuald Traugutt: Ostatni dyktator |url=https://www.rp.pl/historia/art10047291-romuald-traugutt-ostatni-dyktator |access-date=2023-08-27 |website=Rzeczpospolita |language=pl |quote=Wkrótce poznał w Warszawie swoją pierwszą żonę – Annę Pikiel (ślub odbył się w stołecznej katedrze 25 lipca 1852 r.).}} Prior to the wedding his soon-to-be wife, a Lutheran, converted to Catholicism. 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.{{Cite web |title=Romuald Traugutt (1826-1864) |url=https://dzieje.pl/postacie/romuald-traugutt-1826-1864 |access-date=2023-08-27 |website=dzieje.pl |language=pl |quote=Za udział w węgierskiej batalii Traugutt otrzymał Order św. Anny, mieszkanie i gratyfikację finansową.}}
After the outbreak of the Crimean War, in December 1853, Traugutt and his troops were sent to the peninsula. 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 then to Kharkiv. 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).{{Cite web |last=Drążek |first=Aleksandra |title=Romuald Traugutt - pochodzenie, kariera wojskowa, działalność powstańcza, śmierć |url=https://kronikidziejow.pl/porady/romuald-traugutt-pochodzenie-kariera-wojskowa-dzialalnosc-powstancza-smierc/ |access-date=2023-08-27 |website=kronikidziejow.pl |language=pl-PL |quote=Najpierw w listopadzie 1859 r. śmierć zabrała Justynę Błocką, miesiąc później – paromiesięczną córeczkę, a 1 stycznia – ukochaną żonę. W maju zmarł syn Traugutta.}} 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. After a brief engagement the couple was wed on 13 June 1860.{{Cite web |date=2021-01-21 |title=Romuald Traugutt • Życiorysy.pl |url=https://zyciorysy.pl/biografia/romuald-traugutt/ |access-date=2023-08-27 |website=Życiorysy.pl |language=pl-PL |quote=Kolejną żoną Romualda została krewna Tadeusza Kościuszki, Antonina Kościuszkówna. Pobrali się 13 czerwca 1860 r.}} 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
{{See also|January Uprising}}
While the January Uprising broke out in January 1863, Traugutt remained reluctant to take part in the insurrection{{Cite web |title=Romuald Traugutt dyktatorem Powstania Styczniowego - Muzeum Historii Polski |url=https://muzhp.pl/pl/e/106/romuald-traugutt-dyktatorem-powstania-styczniowego |access-date=2023-08-12 |website=muzhp.pl |language=pl |quote=Przed objęciem funkcji dyktatora ten były żołnierz armii rosyjskiej z powodzeniem dowodził jednym z oddziałów powstańczych, choć początkowo wcale nie był zwolennikiem walki zbrojnej z zaborcą, zdając sobie sprawę z militarnej przewagi Rosjan.}} 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, hoping to garner support for the Uprising. Following the mission's failure, he returned to Poland and earned the support of the White 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 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 to discuss the abolition of serfdom.
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, for help.
{{See also|Pope Pius IX and Poland}}
Despite his noted religious devotion and correspondence with Pope Pious IX, Traugutt blocked sending funds to Rome, meant for the beatification of Josaphat Kuntsevych.
Arrest and execution
After the failure of the uprising, Traugutt's real identity was revealed by Artur Goldman,{{Cite web |title=Aresztowanie Romualda Traugutta |url=https://polskieradio.pl/art2612_1101947 |access-date=2019-04-19 |website=PolskieRadio.pl |quote=Wydał go urzędnik wydziału skarbowego Rządu Narodowego, Artur Goldman. (He was denounced by an official of the National Government tax department, Artur Goldman.)}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NDtpAAAAMAAJ&q=Artur+Goldman+zeznania|title=Warszawa w powstaniu stycziowym|last=Kieniewicz|first=Stefan|date=1983|publisher=Wiedza Powszechna|isbn=9788321403038|pages=220|language=pl|quote=Artur Goldman.. złożył zeznania obciążają (Artur Goldman .. gave testimony against Traugutt ..)}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9Tbed6iMNLEC&q=artur+goldman+traugutt&pg=PA266|title=God's Playground A History of Poland: Volume II: 1795 to the Present|last=Davies|first=Norman|date=2005-02-24|publisher=OUP Oxford|isbn=9780199253401|language=en}} a participant of the uprising arrested by the Russian police earlier in the month, and arrested in Helena Kirkorowa's apartment{{Cite journal |last=Noiński |first=Emil |date=2017 |title=Opiekunka dyktatora. Losy Heleny Kirkorowej (1828–1900) w Powstaniu Styczniowym i na zesłaniu syberyjskim |url=https://czasopisma.uni.lodz.pl/histspol/article/view/3378 |journal=Studia z Historii Społeczno-Gospodarczej XIX i XX Wieku |language=pl |volume=17 |page=89 |doi=10.18778/2080-8313.17.05 |issn=2450-6796|doi-access=free |hdl=11089/25322 |hdl-access=free }} on the night of 10-11 April 1864.
On 19 July he was sentenced to death for his role in the uprising.{{Cite web |title=Romuald Traugutt: Ostatni dyktator |url=https://www.rp.pl/historia/art10047291-romuald-traugutt-ostatni-dyktator |access-date=2023-08-12 |website=Rzeczpospolita |language=pl |quote=19 lipca Wojskowy Sąd Polowy skazał generała Romualda Traugutta na karę śmierci.}} Traugutt was hanged at the Warsaw Citadel on 5 August 1864, alongside rebel commanders Rafał Krajewski, Józef Toczyski, Roman Żuliński and Jan Jeziorański.{{Cite web |title=Traugutt Romuald, Encyklopedia PWN: źródło wiarygodnej i rzetelnej wiedzy |url=https://encyklopedia.pwn.pl/haslo/Traugutt-Romuald;3988857.html |access-date=2023-08-12 |website=encyklopedia.pwn.pl |language=pl |quote=Został stracony 5 VIII 1864 na stokach Cytadeli warszawskiej wraz z R. Krajewskim, J. Toczyskim, R. Żulińskim i J. Jeziorańskim.}}
Commemoration
File:10 zlotych 1933 Romuald Traugutt.jpg coin (1933)]]
Following Traugutt's execution a cult of personality began forming around his person,{{Cite web |title=Romuald Traugutt dyktatorem Powstania Styczniowego - Muzeum Historii Polski |url=https://muzhp.pl/pl/e/106/romuald-traugutt-dyktatorem-powstania-styczniowego |access-date=2023-08-12 |website=muzhp.pl |language=pl |quote=Romuald Traugutt powtarzał, że "władza jest u nas aktem poświęcenia, a nie ambicji". Jego honor i miłość ojczyzny wymagały, aby pełnił swą funkcję do końca. Wkrótce potem ostatni przywódca Powstania Styczniowego stał się symbolem wierności i poświęcenia dla ojczyzny, osobą powszechnie darzoną czcią i szacunkiem.}} 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,Brandys, Kazimierz (1984) A Warsaw diary 1978-1981 Chatto & Windus, London, page 16, {{ISBN|0-7011-2903-4}} and in 1925, the area around it was dedicated as Traugutt Park.Chrościcki, Juliusz A. and Rottermund, Andrzej (11978) Atlas of Warsaw's Architecture (translated by Jerzy Dłutek from Atlas Architektury Warszawy) Arkady, Warsaw, page 226, in Wroclaw a street was named after his name.{{OCLC|4402354}}
In 1945, he was honored on the first postage stamp of the newly re-emerged Republic of Poland as part of a three-stamp set honoring national heroes.The stamp was issued with a denomination of 25 groszy and is listed in Scott's Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue as Poland #341. "Poland" Scott, volume 5 (2011) He had been earlier honored on a stamp in the 1938 set for the 20th anniversary of Poland's independence after World War I.The stamp was issued with a denomination of 2 złoty and is listed in Scott's Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue as Poland #331. "Poland" Scott, volume 5 (2011) Poland issued additional stamps in his honor in 1962The stamp was issued with a denomination of 60 groszy and is listed in Scott's Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue as Poland #1062. "Poland" Scott, volume 5 (2011) and 1963.The stamp was issued with a denomination of 60 groszy and is listed in Scott's Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue as Poland #1111. "Poland" Scott, volume 5 (2011) He was also commemorated on the Polish 20 złoty banknote of the 1980s.
The high school in Częstochowa is named after him, and a memorial column to him was erected in 1933 in Ciechocinek.[http://visitkujawsko-pomorskie.pl/ciechocinek,233,2,368.html "History of Ciechocinek"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120530020335/http://visitkujawsko-pomorskie.pl/ciechocinek,233,2,368.html |date=2012-05-30 }} The Official Tourism Website of Kujawsko-Pomorskie Province
There is also a monument to Traugutt in the town of Svislach in Belarus.[https://www.svaboda.org/a/31392986.html Ужо сёньня: Дзень памяці Рамуальда Траўгута і Вячаслава Адамчыка (Today: Remembrance Day of Ramuald Traugutt and Viačaslaǔ Adamčyk)](in Belarusian)
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.Jarzębowski, Józef. Traugutt, nakładem Archidiecezjalnego Instytutu Akcji Katolickiej, Warszawa, 1938. Other biographers include his great-grandson, col. Andrzej Juszkiewicz (1923-2009).{{Cite web |title=Andrzej Januszkiewicz, Warszawa, 16.11.2009 - nekrolog |url=http://nekrologi.wyborcza.pl/0,11,,11197,Andrzej-Januszkiewicz-nekrolog.html |access-date=2023-08-12 |website=nekrologi.wyborcza.pl}}
Notes
{{reflist|group=Notes}}
References
{{Reflist}}
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
{{commons category-inline}}
- [http://www.traugutt.net Romuald Traugutt High School - Częstochowa, Poland]
{{Dictators of the January Uprising}}
{{Heads of the Polish National Government (January Uprising)}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Traugutt, Romuald}}
Category:People from Kamyenyets district
Category:People from Brestsky Uyezd
Category:Members of Polish government (January Uprising)
Category:Polish participants of the January Uprising
Category:Polish people of the Crimean War (Russian side)
Category:Generals of the January Uprising
Category:Polish people executed by the Russian Empire
Category:People executed by the Russian Empire by hanging
Category:Executed Belarusian people