Jan Kanty Julian Sierawski

Jan Kanty Julian Sierawski (13 February 1777 – 29 June 1849) was a Polish brigadier general.

Early life to Kościuszko uprising

Jan Kanty Julian Sierawski was born on 13 February 1777 to Antoniego and Marianna Kośmińskich in Kraków in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. From 1786-1793 he studied in Kraków, On the day Kościuszko took the oath of office he entered military service and fought in the Kościuszko Uprising, under the orders of Joachim Denisko himself, in the uprising Sierawski defeated Russian troops along the Dniester river but he almost lost his life in the Battle of Debronowice on 30 June 1797 where he soon fled to Bucharest and then to Istanbul with the help of Claude Carra Saint-Cyr.

On 3 February 1813, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general. On 28 October 1813, he received the Legion of Honour. From 1815, he served in the army of Congress Poland. Among other things, he was commander of the Modlin Fortress from 1818 until 1820.

In March 1831, Sierawski twice received a letter from the inept Commander-in-Chief of the uprising, Jan Skrzynecki, urging him to be more active and ‘disturb’ Russian General Cyprian Belzig von Kreutz. Skrzynecki thus wanted to shrug off his responsibility for the impasse at the front and hide his lack of ideas for further military steps. Sierawski felt these letters as undeserved criticism and, affected, allowed himself to be ambitious. He advanced eastwards with his corps composed of freshly formed units. He crossed the Vistula river successfully on 14 April and that was the end of his successes. After Kreutz had concentrated his army both their armies faced off at the battle of Wronowo on 17 April, which he lost but inflicted heavy losses on Kreutz army and retreated with his army in good condition. The defeat of his armies at Kazimierz Dolny on 18 April put an end to his offensive and may have determined his defeat on the south-eastern front.

From 5 June to 18 September 1831, he was commander of the 5th Infantry Division during the November Uprising.

Personal life

After the defeat of the uprising, he went into exile and in 1832 arrived in Besançon in France.

Sierawski also took part in Napoelons funeral on 15 December 1840 where he marched with Polish soldiers who fought with/alongside Napoleon Bonaparte.

Legacy

Many of Sierawskis memoirs, military writings, poems and letters are held in the Polish Library in Paris.