Włodzimierz Krzyżanowski
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Włodzimierz Bonawentura Krzyżanowski (Wladimir Krzyzanowski) (July 8, 1824 – January 31, 1887) was a Polish military leader and a Union general in the American Civil War.
Krzyżanowski was born in Rożnowo, Poland. His father and both uncles fought for Polish independence under the banners of Napoleon, and his brother fought in the November Uprising in 1830. He was a first cousin to Frédéric Chopin. He took part in the 1848 Polish Uprising against Prussia and fled Poland to avoid arrest. He went to Hamburg, Germany, and sailed from there to New York.
Krzyżanowski worked as an engineer and surveyor in Virginia and was instrumental in pushing America's railroads westward. In Washington, D.C., he enlisted as a private two days after President Abraham Lincoln called for volunteers. He recruited a company of Polish immigrants, which became one of the first companies of Union soldiers. Krzyżanowski then moved his company to New York and enlisted more immigrants and soon became a colonel of the 58th New York Infantry regiment, listed in the official Army Register as the "Polish Legion".
Krzyżanowski participated in the Civil War battles of Cross Keys in the Shenandoah Valley, Second Bull Run, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and Knoxville. President Lincoln promoted him to brigadier general on March 2, 1865; previous temporary promotions to general in 1862 and 1863 were rejected by the U.S. Senate.
After the war Krzyżanowski was given governing duties in Alabama[1] He later served as the appointed governor of several Southern states (Florida, Georgia, and Virginia.)[1] He also served as the first American administrator of Alaska. This posting was a reward for his performance as the personal representative of Secretary Seward during the negotiations for the Purchase of Alaska.[2]
Krzyżanowski died in New York City. On October 13, 1937, the 50th anniversary of his death, his remains were transferred with military honors from Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York, to Arlington National Cemetery. President Franklin D. Roosevelt broadcast his tribute to the nation via radio, and Poland's President, Ignacy Mościcki, transmitted his esteem from Warsaw.
[edit] References
- Eicher, John H., & Eicher, David J., Civil War High Commands, Stanford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b Gen Włodzimierz Krzyżanowski: Memoirs from the stay in America of Gen Włodzimierz Krzyżanowski during the War 1861-1864, page 43, Polish Museum of America, Chicago, 1963 (In Polish).
- ^ Web page of Świat Polonii (World of Poles living outside of Poland).
