Prominent Poles
Stefan Czarniecki, military man, Field Hetman of the Crown, Polish national hero.
Born: 1599, Czarnca, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Died: February 16, 1665, Sokolowka near Brody, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (presently Ukraine)
Summary. He was an outstanding military commander who gained a fame of a national hero. His prominent status in Polish history is acknowledged by a mention of his name in the Polish national anthem.
Early days. Born in the family estate of Czarnca in southern Poland. His father Stanislaw Krzysztof (Coat odf Arms �Lodzia�) fought at Byczyna under Jan Zamoyski, and at Kircholm under Chodkiewicz. His mother was Krzystyna Rzeszowska. Of Czarniecki�s nine brothers, five were military men.
Military education and practice. Stefan Czarniecki first served in the legendary light cavalry of Aleksander Lisowski (1580-1616), where he perfected the art of partisan warfare. In 1621 he fought at Chocim, where the Polish army under Chodkiewicz repulsed a 100,000 strong Turkish and Tartar army. He learnt the art of war under Stanislaw Koniecpolski, Field Crown Hetman (later Grand Crown Hetman), in the campaigns (1626-1629) against Gustavus Adolphus (Gustaf II Adolf Vasa, King of Sweden 1611-1632), part of the Polish-Swedish War, and under Wladyslaw IV Waza, (Ladislaus IV) King of Poland,1632-1648, in the Smolensk War against Muscovy in 1633-1634. In 1637 he became a Lieutenant in the Hussar Banner of Hetman Stanislaw Lubomirski, Voivode of Ruthenia. In the same year, under leading this banner
Hetman Stanislaw Koniecpolski, he disrupted a Cossack wagon train at Kumejkias, the first one to achieve such a feat. The Cossacks lost 1500 men. On May 16, 1648 he was one of the many noble Polish prisoners who fell into the hands of Bohdan Chmielnicki at the battle of Yellow Waters and was sent in chains to the Crimea; he was ransomed in 1649. Czarniecki took an active part in all the subsequent wars with the Cossacks and received more disfiguring wounds than any other commander. He fought at Beresteczko in 1651. In 1652 at Batoh his brother was murdered together with many other Polish prisoners, among them Marek Sobieski the brother of future King Jan III Sobieski. The retaliatory Polish excursion was allegedly so cruel that frightened even the Cossacks. Czarniecki married Katarzyna Kobierzycka ; they had two daughters: Katarzyna married Jan Klemens Branicki, Crown Court Marshall and Konstancja who married Waclaw Leszczynski Voivide of Podlasie.
War against the Swedes (Charles X) When Charles X (Karl X Gustaf , King of Sweden 1654-1660), invaded Poland in 1655, Czarniecki distinguished himself by his heroic defense of Cracow, which he only surrendered under the most honorable conditions. He played a major role during the Swedish deluge of 1655-1656 by organizing irregular volunteer detachments. His energy and ability as a leader of guerillas hampered Charles X at every step, and though frequently worsted, he from time to time inflicted serious defeats upon the Swedes, notably at Jaroslaw and at Kozienice in 1656. It was he who brought Jan Kazimierz (John Casimir), King of Poland 1648-1668, back from exile and enabled him to regain his reign. In 1656 he defeated the Swedes at Warka, occupied Bydgoszcz and Tuchola, and liberated Warsaw. In 1657 he forced Sweden�s ally Gyorgy II Rakoczy, the Duke of Transylvania, 1621-1660, to capitulate at Czarny Ostrow and Miedzyboz. He defended Cracow against Maximilian Habsburg . After the retirement of the Swedes from Cracow and Warsaw, and the conclusion of the treaty of Copenhagen with the Danes, he commanded the army corps sent to drive the troops of Charles X out of Jutland and greatly contributed to the ultimate success of the Allies. In the autumn of 1658 Polish, Austrian and Brandenburg troops led by Czarniecki set off to assist Denmark in her war against Sweden. Here Czarniecki led his cavalry in a famous swim across sea straits to attack the Swedes at the island of Als (14 December 1658) and on the 25th his dismounted forces captured Kolding castle. In 1659 a two pronged offensive by the Swedes in Pomerania was crushed and the Poles went on the attack with some 54,000 regular forces, recapturing many Swedish occupied towns. At the conclusion of the Peace of Oliwa, 5 May 1660, between Poland and Sweden, Czarniecki was transferred to the eastern frontier where the war with Russia was still raging.
War against Russia. Rewards, honors. In the campaign of 1660 he won the victories of Po�onka and Lachowicze and penetrated to the heart of the enemy's country. The diet (Sejm) of 1661 publicly thanked him for his services; the king heaped honors and riches upon him. Among others he became in 1657 the Voivode of Ruthenia and got the title of �generalis locumtenens�(General lieutenant) and in 1665 he was appointed Field Crown Hetman of Poland, but died soon after receiving this supreme distinction. He owned two villages Czarnca and Tykocin. Czarniecki is rightly regarded as one of the most famous of Poland's great captains, and to him belongs the chief merit of extricating her from the difficulties which threatened to overwhelm her during the disastrous reign of Jan Kazimierz. He is interred in the tomb chapel of the church founded by him in Czarnca.
Source:
This article uses, among others, material from the Wikipedia article "Stefan Czarniecki" licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. :
Wikipedia
Supplemented by other sources:
Historia Polski, (in Polish) Szymon Bidula
The Czarniecki Division
Polish Renaissance Conflict, S.A. Jasinski
Powiat Wloszczowski (in Polish)
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