Józef Karol Konrad Chełmicki

Józef Karol Konrad Chełmicki (born 19 February 1814 in Warsaw; died 28 June 1890 in Tavira) was a Polish-born Portuguese general.

Early life

As a young cadet Chełmicki participated in the November Uprising (1830–31). After the insurrection started, he volunteered to fight. He took part in numerous battles and skirmishes, and after the capitulation, in 1832, he emigrated to France.

While in Paris he attended military courses and lectures at Sorbonne, studying engineering and drawing, and he also studied several languages at the , all with the aim of participating in an expedition to Egypt.

Military life in Portugal Since the expedition to Egypt was canceled he then decided to participate in the Portuguese Liberal Wars, joining the Dona Maria Polish Legion. Chełmicki appeared in Porto, to which Dom Miguel was laying siege, and was accepted as second lieutenant to an engineering unit. and made him responsible for the drawing and lithography of the maps. Chełmicki took part in the team led by Lewicki and produced some of the most important Portuguese cartography works of that period.

In 1841, Chełmicki was commissioned by the Portuguese Government to author a book on the famous Lisbon aqueduct and at the end of his military career, he published his major works on the issue of Portuguese defense system. He was co-founder of the science-oriented military magazine entitled "Revista Militar", which exists up to this day, and author of numerous publications.

Despite his strong relationship to his new home country of Portugal, Józef Chełmicki did not lose contact with the Polish emigration in France. He authored a very diligently prepared list of books and manuscripts which he encountered in the former Royal Library in Lisbon.

Death and honors Józef Chełmicki died in Tavira, Portugal, on 28 June 1890. In 2006 the city of Tavira honored Józef Chełmicki naming a street after him.

Other Polish military in Portugal Polish military men of all ranks, up to generals, fought for Belgium, France, Spain, Hungary and Turkey. Some of them reached Portugal, where they fought and were decorated for achievements. They did this, however, for their own reasons, on their own initiative, and using ways which remain unknown. Before 1939, colonel Ferreira Lima, Portuguese historian and expert on Polish–Portuguese relations, researched the participation of Polish soldiers in the civil war between Dom Pedro and Dom Miguel, and managed to mention 25 Polish military men, who fought under the banner of Queen Mary. Some of them included: Jan Józef Urbański, who reached the rank of lieutenant-colonel and was awarded the Torre e Espada order, the highest military decoration in Portugal. Franciszek Michałowski, known to have left Portuguese service during the Revolutions of 1848. Alojzy Rola-Dzierżawski, also a colonel, distinguished with the Order of Cavalier’s Cross of Christ, who died in 1851. Norbert Rudzki, who became prominent in Angola in 1854. One hundred years later, in a place where he landed, the memorial chapel was built to celebrate his merits as the founder of Porto Alexandre.

In 1936, in Vila Nova de Gaia, the brave poles that defended the City of Oporto, during the Portuguese Liberal Wars, in the battle of "Serra do Pilar", were honored with a street being named after them: "Rua dos Polacos".

Medals and decorations Knight (CavTE) of the Military Order of the Tower and Sword, of Valour, Loyalty and Merit (Portuguese: Ordem Militar da Torre e Espada do Valor, Lealdade e Mérito), the pinnacle of the Portuguese honours system. Knight of the Military Order of Christ (Portugal), former Knights Templar order in Portugal Knight of the Order of Isabella the Catholic.

List of published works

Chelmicki, José Carlos Conrado - “Relatório Sobre o Traçado de um Caminho de Ferro pela Beira” in Boletim do Ministério das Obras Públicas Comércio e Indústria, nº 1, Janeiro, 1860, Lisboa, Imprensa Nacional, 1860, pp. 71–74;