CHAPTER XII

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Operations of the corps of general Dwernicki against the Russian corps under the prince of Wirtemberg, in the Palatinate of Lublin.--Battle of Pulawy, and defeat of Wirtemberg.--Atrocities of that prince at Pulawy.--Pursuit of the enemy.--Battle of Kurow, and annihilation of Wirtemberg's corps.--Operations of colonel Valentin, between Modlin and Pultusk.--A detachment of the enemy is surprised at Nasielsk.--Transports of provisions for the enemy from Prussia taken.--Successful skirmishes.--Marshal Diebitsch demands the capitulation of the fortress of Modlin. Reply of colonel Leduchowski.--A detachment from the garrison of Modlin attacks and defeats a Russian force at Serock.--General Skrzynecki makes an offer of pacification on the basis of the concessions originally demanded by the Poles.--This proposition is rejected and hostilities are recommenced.--Reconnoissance upon the right bank of the Vistula under Jankowski and Gielgud.--A Russian corps under general Witt is sent against Dwernicki.--General Uminski is sent against the Russian guard.--First encounter.--The Russian guard is compelled to leave their position for Ostrolenka.--The guard evacuates Ostrolenka to join the grand army.

On the day after the battle of Grochow, colonel Lagowski fought with success at Pulawy, at the head of a detachment from the corps of general Dwernicki. The details of that combat are as follows:

COMBAT OF PULAWA. [_See Plan_ XIII.]

The prince of Wirtemberg, having been beaten, as the reader has seen, by general Dwernicki at Swierza and Nowawies, was forced to retreat rapidly in the direction of Pulawy, and to repass the Vistula, opposite that place. The ice of the river was, fortunately for him, still strong enough to admit of a passage upon its surface; but notwithstanding this advantage, he had been pursued by Dwernicki so closely, through the whole of his line of retreat, that he daily lost great numbers of prisoners. It was on the night of the 23d of February, that this passage was made by the Russians, and Pulawy occupied by them. As the position of that place was strong and commanding, general Dwernicki did not think it expedient to attack the enemy in front, who, although beaten, were still superior in force. He conceived the plan of passing the Vistula, at a point at some distance below Pulawy, and of making an attack upon the Russian right wing. On the evening of the 26th, the brave colonel Lagowski, with 500 infantry and two squadrons of cavalry, passed the Vistula (_p_). On reaching the opposite side of the river, he threw himself into the forests which surround Pulawy. The position of Lagowski would have been critical, if the Russians had obtained intelligence of this manoeuvre; but they had no suspicions of it. Colonel Lagowski, expecting that general Dwernicki would soon make a demonstration in front, left the forest, and approached the town, keeping up a brisk fire of skirmishers (_a_). The Russians, surprised by this attack, directed against it as strong a fire of artillery (_f_) and infantry (_d_) as its suddenness would allow; but our light troops succeeded in approaching the town, and getting possession of several houses, keeping up a continued fire. The two squadrons of cavalry (_b_) which had been sent to attack the enemy in his rear, threw themselves upon him at the same time, with great impetuosity. The consternation of the Russians became general, the greatest disorder soon followed, and a retreat was commenced, which was attended with the loss of several hundred men and horses, and four pieces of artillery. The enemy, in evacuating the town, set it on fire, to complete the barbarities which they had been practising. Pulawy, a spot one of the most favored of nature, and perhaps presenting one of the finest scenes in Europe, was soon a mass of ruins, the sight of which filled the bosom of every Pole with regret and horror. Those ruins, such indeed as the whole country is now filled with, evidences of the horrible barbarity of the Russians, in recalling to the minds of the Poles the lost beauty and magnificence of their country, will be a pledge of their eternal hatred of the despotism which authorized those ravages.

[Illustration:

XIV. _p.180_.]

[Illustration:

_Pulawy_ XIII. _p.178_.]

[Illustration:

_Kurow_ XV]

The Russians had gained already a considerable distance from Pulawy, before the corps of general Dwernicki approached it, and, of course, the whole glory of that defeat is due to colonel Lagowski.[45]

The corps of general Dwernicki, after a short repose at Pulawy, renewed the pursuit of the enemy on that night. In every part of their route the enemy's stragglers were continually falling into their hands. This corps overtook the enemy so soon, that in order to save himself from total destruction, he was forced to give battle.

BATTLE OF KUROW. (_See Plans_ XIV _and_ XV.)

General Dwernicki, in his pursuit of Wirtemberg, had the intention of effecting the destruction of this corps before they could reach Lublin. To accomplish this object, he took advantage of the two roads (_g_, _g_) which lead from Pulawy to Lublin (1). Remaining himself with the greater part of his forces (_a_) upon the causeway which leads to Lublin by Konskawola (2), Kurow (3), and Markuszew (4), he sent a small detachment (_b_) with two pieces of cannon by the other and smaller road, which, traversing the forest between Belzyc and Pulawy, presents a shorter and more direct route to Lublin. This road had not been occupied by the enemy. Colonel Lagowski, who commanded this detachment, had instructions to follow out this road, and to keep up a constant communication with the superior force under general Dwernicki. He was ordered to keep himself constantly abreast of the enemy (_d_). At the moment that he should hear the fire of our cannon, he was directed to hasten to the attack of the enemy on his left wing, or on his rear, as circumstances might direct. This manoeuvre was executed with the utmost punctuality. The enemy pressed in upon the causeway by the larger body under Dwernicki, and thus forced to give battle, took a position upon the heights of the town of Kurow, in doing which, his consternation or his inconsiderateness was such, that he neglected the ordinary means of security, and did not occupy the roads which centre at that place, not even that which it was of the utmost importance for him to occupy,--the one which leads from Belzyc to Pulawy; in fact, he had even neglected to send out reconnoissances on any side, supposing that our entire force was before him on the causeway. This battle commenced on the afternoon of the 2d of March, and continued only a few hours.

General Dwernicki, after reconnoitering the enemy's position, which was commanding, and strengthened in its front by sixteen pieces of cannon [(_f_), _Pl._ XV,] thought it expedient to commence with a fire of skirmishers only (_a_), under cover of which he manoeuvred his cavalry (_b_) upon the Russian wings, with the sole purpose of occupying the attention of the enemy until the detachment of colonel Lagowski should make its appearance. The enemy, on the other hand, commenced a warm fire from his artillery, and threw forward his light troops (_d_) in every direction. Some hours passed in this manner, the enemy attempting from time to time to force our position. But the hour of his destruction was approaching. General Dwernicki perceiving, from an elevation of ground, the detachment of Lagowski (A) advancing upon the enemy's rear, instantaneously gave orders for the cavalry to concentrate themselves. The signal for advance was then given, and the cavalry having formed on each side of the main road, pressed forward and fell upon the centre of the enemy. At the same moment, a charge was made by the cavalry of Lagowski upon the enemy's rear. The disorder and consternation of the Russian forces was indescribable. In a moment ten pieces of cannon, a thousand prisoners, some hundreds of horses, with many wagons of ammunition and baggage, fell into our hands. The route was general. The enemy fled pell-mell, and his loss was much increased by a fire of grape from the two pieces of artillery of colonel Lagowski, which he placed by the side of the road from Kurow to Lublin, over which the Russians retreated. This road was literally covered with dead. Nothing but the coming on of night saved the enemy from entire destruction. After this battle, the forces of the prince of Wirtemberg ceased to act as a corps. What remained of them, took the direction of Lublin, where the corps of general Dwernicki arrived the next day, having taken prisoners during the whole route. The prince of Wirtemberg barely escaped from our hands, for he was in quarters in that city when our advanced detachments entered it, and was just able to save himself by flight. Such was the end of this Russian corps, which, when it began to act against Dwernicki with his small force of 3,000 men, and ten pieces of cannon, consisted of 15,000 infantry and 24 pieces of cannon. In the course of eleven days, general Dwernicki gave battle to this corps four separate times, viz. at Swierza, Nowawies, Pulawy, and Kurow; and besides the loss he caused them in killed and wounded, he took 8,000 prisoners, 19 pieces of cannon, besides 1,000 horses, with a great quantity of ammunition, baggage, &c. In all these

## actions the corps of general Dwernicki lost but 500 men, in killed and

wounded. The panic which had began to prevail in the Russian forces, in consequence of these disasters, reached such a degree that, at times, the mere sight of our troops was sufficient to put them to flight. The Russian commander in chief deprived the prince of Wirtemberg of his post, and his name was not heard of during the rest of the war.

General Dwernicki, by his victories over this corps, had completely freed the department of Lublin from the presence of the enemy. On arriving at Lublin, he restored the authority of the National Government in that place, and the region about. He made the necessary arrangements for reinforcing his corps, and left for Krasny-taw, in the environs of Zamosc.

While these successful operations of general Dwernicki, in the southern part of the kingdom, were in progress, and by this series of victories, he was approaching the frontiers of Wolhynia and Podolia, our arms were not less successful in the North.

The brave colonel Valentin, with a small detachment of partizans, fought the enemy with success between Modlin and Pultusk. This detachment was thrown into that region, (acting, however, more

## particularly between the rivers Wkra and Orsyca,) in order to hold in

check the operations of the enemy upon Plock. This detachment was to obtain succor, in case of necessity, from the garrisons of Modlin. It was especially destined to intercept the transports which were to come from Prussia upon the road to Mlara, for the relief of the Russian army.

Colonel Valentin was occupying with his detachment the forest near the town of Nasielsk, when he was apprised that a small body of Russian troops, under the order of colonel Schindler, consisting of two regiments of cavalry, a battalion of infantry, and two pieces of cannon, had arrived on the 3d of March, at that town. This detachment had been sent to protect a transport which was to pass there. Colonel Valentin immediately formed a plan to attack it. During the night of the 3d and 4th of March, he approached the town, invested it, and ordered an attack, in which the detachment surprised the enemy, and forced him to quit the city, leaving his two pieces of artillery, and a number of prisoners. Colonel Valentin, thinking that the Russians might possibly return with a superior force, evacuated the city, and took his prisoners to Modlin, in order, by disembarrasing himself of them, to hasten his march and reach the environs of Pultusk, in time to intercept the transport. On the 5th, he took this transport, consisting of eighty vehicles loaded with various kinds of provision, together with twelve loads of equipage, &c, for the Russian generals, which he sent to Warsaw. The detachment of colonel Valentin continued to manoeuvre for a long while in those environs without any support.

In the vicinity of Warsaw, along the banks of the Vistula, both above and below the city, small skirmishes almost daily occurred. On the fourth of March, the brave lieutenant Berowski, passing the Vistula opposite Jablonna with his platoon, surprised a squadron of cossacks, and took a hundred prisoners and as many horses. The battalion of volunteer chasseurs of colonel Grotus, posted in the environs of the villages Siekierki, and Wilanow, brought in, almost every day, parties of Russian prisoners, by surprising the different detachments of the enemy placed upon the island of Saxe, opposite to the above mentioned places. This same battalion burnt two batteaux, in which were a party of Russian troops, who were sent during the night with combustibles to burn the bridge between Warsaw and Praga. These boats were sunk, and the Russians who escaped drowning, were taken prisoners. In the environs of the small town of Gora, about twenty miles from Warsaw, a considerable body of workmen who were sent by the enemy to prepare the materials for building a bridge, were surprised by a battalion of the 2d regiment of light infantry. A hundred pioneers and sappers were taken prisoners, and many hundred male and female peasants set at liberty, who had been forced to work for the enemy.

At about the 8th of March, marshal Diebitsch demanded the capitulation of the fortress of Modlin, for which object he despatched colonel Kil. This officer was entrusted with a letter to the count Leduchowski, written by the marshal's own hand. His proposition was rejected.[46]

Some days after this answer, a part of the garrison of this fortress, sent as a reinforcement to colonel Valentin, surprised the Russians in the town of Serock. They had passed the river Bug, and the Narew opposite that town, to make requisitions of forage in the country around. By a prompt arrangement, the batteaux of the enemy were taken by our troops; and his forces, suddenly attacked and defeated, were compelled to evacuate their position, leaving a thousand prisoners in our hands, which were immediately carried to Modlin, and thence to Warsaw.

In this state of things, and while circumstances were continually occurring with uniform advantage to the Polish arms, general Skrzynecki, with the most sincere wish to finish a bloody struggle, and anxious to show that the Poles were always ready to hold out the hand of reconciliation, wrote, with the permission of the provisional government, a communication to marshal Diebitsch, with propositions of that purport. But as these offers of conciliation were rejected by the marshal, the contest was recommenced.[47]

On the 10th of March, the operations of the campaign were recommenced. The 2d division, the command of which, after the death of general Zimirski, was given to general Gielgud, and a division of cavalry, under the command of general Jankowski, received orders to make a strong reconnoissance upon the right bank of the Vistula. This division was ordered to pass the bridge in the night, and at break of day to commence the attack upon whatever force of the enemy they might find on the plains of Grochow or Kawenczyn, and, by this manoeuvre, to harass the right wing of the enemy. But general Jankowski arrived late. It was near eight o'clock, A.M. before he approached with his division, at which time the two divisions united left Praga to commence their attack, but this operation being thus retarded, could not be made effective. The enemy, seeing our movement, had time to prepare themselves to counteract it. Our forces having advanced a mile or two upon the main road, commenced a fire of tirailleurs, and the enemy began to retire. As it was designed to act upon Kawenczyn, a battalion was sent to attempt an attack on the forest of elders, well known to the reader; but as the enemy was quite strong at that point, and

## particularly in artillery, a fire from which was immediately opened

upon our force, the attack was not made, and our battalion was ordered to withdraw. The Russians, at about mid-day, began to show a stronger force upon the plains of Wawr. Their artillery, also, opened a fire upon the main road. This fire had continued an hour, when our generals, not perceiving that the artillery was protected by cavalry, decided to make a charge upon them with the regiment of Mazurs, and the 3d regiment of light cavalry. This brigade of cavalry, under the command of the brave colonels Blendowski and Miller, threw themselves with courage upon that artillery, when, at the moment of the charge, two regiments of Attaman Cossacks, which were posted in a wood adjoining, displayed their front, and advanced to charge our cavalry upon the flank and rear. Our attack therefore failed, and it was owing to good fortune alone that by a rapid bending of our flank, this body of cavalry was saved from total ruin. This unfortunate affair cost us a heavy loss of men, and of both of the brave colonels who commanded the attack. At about 2, P.M. as the enemy began to debouch from the great forest with increased forces, it was decided to return to Warsaw, and thus ended this reconnoissance, which had it been executed by more skilful generals, might have had the best success, for all the Russian regiments which had advanced towards Praga, at a considerable distance from their main forces, might have been taken. A reprimand was publicly given to the two generals, Gielgud and Jankowski, for their remissness in executing their instructions. The only advantage which was gained by this reconnoissance, was the taking of a great quantity of fascines and other materials prepared for a storm of Praga, and the collection from off the field of a considerable quantity of arms, which had been left there by the enemy, after the battle of the 25th.[48]

The Russian commander having, as the reader is aware, lost nearly the whole of the corps of the prince Wirtemberg, the remnants of which was dispersed and had wholly ceased active operations, sent against general Dwernicki the corps of general Witt, composed of 8,000 infantry, 2,000 cavalry, and 16 pieces of cannon. This corps arrived on the 11th at Lublin, in which town was a small detachment of Dwernicki's corps, commanded by the colonel Russyian. This small detachment, having only barricaded a few streets, defended with much firmness the passage of the small river Bystrzyca, and left the city at nightfall to rejoin its corps, which was in the environs of Zamosc.

Again the corps of the Russian guard, which had recently arrived, under the command of prince Michael, consisting of 16,000 infantry, 4,000 cavalry, and 36 pieces of cannon, a division of cavalry, with eight pieces of cannon, was sent into the environs of Pultusk, commanded by general Uminski, who was to take under his command the detachment of colonel Valentin, and acting in concert with the garrison of Modlin, he was to occupy the attention of the enemy, in order that our main body should not be disturbed in the offensive operations which general Skrzynecki had decided to adopt.

General Uminski arriving with his corps, met an advanced detachment of the Russian guard in the environs of Makow, composed of two regiments of hussars and eight pieces of cannon, who were sent forward as a party of observation in that vicinity. This was the first encounter with this celebrated guard. Our cavalry waited impatiently for the moment to try their strength with them. Two young regiments, one a regiment of Krakus of Podlasia, and the other the 5th Hulans, entreated their general to be permitted to make the charge. General Uminski observing that there was no stronger force near, ordered an immediate attack.

Our cavalry, on receiving the order, did not even give the enemy time to display his front, or to make use of his artillery; but rushed upon him with an impetuous charge, under which he was at once borne down. Of one regiment of those hussars nearly a squadron were taken prisoners. This Russian cavalry, which were in full rout, were pursued as far as the environs of Magnuszewo. The enemy was not permitted to take position, and the pursuit was pressed with such rapidity, that they had not time to destroy the bridge which crosses the river Orsyca, but were followed even to the environs of Rozany, where they reached the position of their main body. General Uminski, in order not to expose his force to the observation of the enemy, halted in an advantageous position in the forests near Rozany, and from this position he continued to hold the enemy in check. In fact, by harassing and wearying the enemy with continual attacks, he at length forced the prince Michael to quit Rozany, taking the direction of Ostrolenka. General Uminski sent in pursuit of the enemy the brigade of cavalry under the command of colonel Dembinski. This brigade, opposite Ostrolenka upon the Narew, had on the 26th of March an advantageous affair with the advanced guard of the enemy, in which forty prisoners were taken. By closely observing the enemy in this manner, it was ascertained that the Russian guard, after destroying the bridge, had completely evacuated Ostrolenka. It was evident that the design of prince Michael, in this sudden evacuation of Ostrolenka, was to join himself to the grand army. General Uminski immediately sent an officer to inform the commander in chief of this movement, continuing in the mean time in the position which he had taken before Ostrolenka.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 45: General Dwernicki, on arriving at Pulawy, regarded it as his first duty to repair to the palace of the princess Czartoriski, the estimable lady of the president of the National Senate, to offer his services to her, and to assure her of safety. On entering the court, the venerable Dwernicki and the officers who accompanied him, could not restrain their tears at the sight of the ruins of that edifice, so uselessly destroyed, to gratify the brutality of the prince of Wirtemberg, who pushed his fury to such a degree, as to have directed a fire of artillery against the central division of the palace, occupied at that moment by the princess and her attendants. General Dwernicki and his officers, struck by the melancholy scene before them, feared to advance another step, in the dread of meeting even more horrible traces of barbarity,--to find perhaps the princess and her suite the victims of Russian cruelty. But what was their astonishment, when, on entering the porch of the edifice, they were accosted by the princess, who with a cheerful air exclaimed: 'Brave general, and officers! how happy am I, that God has allowed me to greet my brave countrymen once more, before my death.' Then giving her hand to general Dwernicki, and presenting to him and his officers the ladies who were her attendants during the whole of these horrible scenes, she continued, 'General, do not be astonished to see us accoutred in the best garments which the Russians have left to us; we have arrayed ourselves in our funeral attire,'--and pointing to the holes with which the enemy's artillery had pierced the walls, she added, 'Those marks will explain my language.' General Dwernicki, struck with the heroism of the princess and her companions, addressed her in the following terms:--'Madam, permit me, in the name of the whole nation, to make to you the homage of my high admiration. Brave indeed ought Poles to be, with mothers and sisters such as these!' He then urged upon the princess the expediency of leaving Pulawa, which might still be the scene of distressing events, and upon this suggestion she departed under an escort furnished by general Dwernicki, for her estates in Galicia.]

[Footnote 46: The reader will perhaps be gratified with a short topographical description of this fortress, and some details of this affair. The fortress of Modlin, which is in a pentagonal form, is situated sixteen miles from Warsaw, upon the right bank of the Vistula, at the junction of the Narew with the former river. Not far from this fortress, the small river Wkra also joins the Narew. The fortress is thus situated between three rivers. In addition to this peculiarity of its situation in regard to the rivers, its commanding elevation makes it a point of great strength. Opposite to it is the small town of Nowy-dwor, but this town is so low that it is commanded by the fortress, and it is besides too distant for the erection of batteries by which the latter could be bombarded with success. This post is very important in regard to tactics, and it is a key of position, to protect, or to act upon, all operations between the Narew and the Vistula. Marshal Diebitsch considering these circumstances, and seeing that an open attack was scarcely possible, was led to attempt negotiation. The letter sent by the marshal, was full of flattering language in regard to the heroism of the Polish army. He permitted himself, however, to say that it was to be regretted that such a degree of heroism was not exhibited in a better cause--that the brave Polish army was made a sacrifice of, by some ambitious and opinionated men, who had forgotten their duties to their monarch, and their oaths of fidelity. From such men as those, he wished to distinguish the count Leduchowski, for whom he had the highest esteem, and who, he was convinced, had no desire to continue a useless expenditure of blood, and would willingly surrender the fortress to the troops of his legitimate monarch. To all this, marshal Diebitsch added the assurance that the fortress should be garrisoned by equal bodies of Russian and Polish troops. Colonel Leduchowski made a reply to this complimentary communication in nearly the following terms:--'Marshal, to your letter, in which you have chosen to flatter the valor of my countrymen, and in which you have honored me, in particular, with your attentions, I have the honor to answer, that I cannot better deserve your good opinion, than in defending, with my compatriots, our beloved country to the last drop of my blood. This is the course which the honor of each brave Pole dictates to him.']

[Footnote 47: This letter, written at the moment when our army was victorious, and when a revolution, ready to break out in all the Polish provinces attached to Russia, made the position of the Russian army extremely dangerous, was couched in most conciliatory terms, having for its sole object the termination of a fraternal struggle. In this letter, the generalissimo sought to convince marshal Diebitsch, that this was not a war undertaken on our part at the instigation of a few individuals, but that it was espoused by the whole nation, and that the people were forced to take up arms by the enormity of those acts of tyranny, which were not perhaps even known to the monarch. He urged him to consider the amount of blood which had been already shed, and the indefinite prolongation to which such a struggle might be extended. He urged him also, to make known these representations to the monarch, and to invite him to lay aside all enmity, to visit and hear in person the complaints of the nation, who would receive him with sincerity, and who demanded of him only the confirmation and observance of the rights granted by the constitution, and the extension of the same rights to our brethren in the Russo-Polish provinces. What an opportunity was here presented to the Emperor Nicholas to act with magnanimity, and to extend a conciliatory hand to the Polish nation! Those letters will be an eternal testimony, that the Poles attempted every amicable means, to establish upon an equal basis their own happiness and civilization, and that of the whole north, and that all the responsibility of the bloody struggle which was continued, rests on the side of despotism.]

[Footnote 48: The following particulars will demonstrate to the reader how much even the enemy appreciated Polish courage and devotedness. After this affair, our generalissimo, regretting much the loss of the brave colonel Blendowski, who had fallen in his wounded state into the enemy's hands, sent a flag to general Giesmar, the commander of the Russian advanced guard, to propose an exchange, if colonel Blendowski was still living, and if dead, to request that his body might be given up. At the moment that the officer bearing the flag, with a party of lancers, arrived at the Russian quarters, he saw a body of Russians with general Giesmar, and his suite at their side, bearing a wounded officer, and advancing towards them. Our officer, as they approached, recognized colonel Blendowski in the wounded officer, and announced to general Giesmar that it was to obtain him that he had been sent. On receiving this communication, general Giesmar replied, 'You see, sir, that I had anticipated your object. Make my intentions known to your commander, and let him know how much I honor Polish heroism.' This general took part, with his own hand, in all the arrangements for transferring the wounded officer, and two of his suite were among those who bore his body.]

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