Włodzimierz Krzyżanowski

Infobox Military Person
name= Włodzimierz B. Krzyżanowski
born= July 8, 1824
died= January 31, 1887


caption=Włodzimierz Krzyżanowski
nickname=
placeofbirth= Rożnowo, Grand Duchy of Posen
placeofdeath= New York City
allegiance= United States of America
branch=
branch= Union Army
serviceyears= 1861–65
rank= Colonel
unit= Army of the Potomac
Army of the Cumberland
commands= Krzyżanowski's Brigade, XI Corps
battles= 1848 Polish Uprising
American Civil War
*Battle of Cross Keys
*Second Battle of Manassas
*Battle of Chancellorsville
*Battle of Gettysburg
*Third Battle of Chattanooga
*Franklin-Nashville Campaign
awards=
relations= cousin to Frédéric Chopin
laterwork= civil engineer, military territorial administrator, Treasury Department clerk, customs agent

Włodzimierz Bonawentura Krzyżanowski (IPA| [IPA-pl|w|ł|o|dzi|i|m|i|e|sz|-IPA-pl|k|sz|y|ż|a|n|o|f|s|k|iIPA|] ) (Wladimir Krzyzanowski) (July 8, 1824 – January 31, 1887) was a Polish military leader and a brigade commander in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He played a role in the July 1863 Battle of Gettysburg in helping push back an evening assault by the famed Louisiana Tigers on the Union defenses on top of East Cemetery Hill.

Early life

Krzyżanowski was born in Rożnowo, Grand Duchy of Posen, into an old Polish noble family that bore the Świnka coat of arms, and whose roots reached back to the 14th century and ownership of the village of Krzyżanowo near Kościan. Krzyżanowski's father and both uncles had fought for Polish independence under Napoleon's banners, and his brother fought in the November 1830 Uprising.

Krzyżanowski was a cousin to Frédéric Chopin, whose mother Justyna Krzyżanowska's brother was Włodzimierz Krzyżanowski's father. Krzyżanowski took part in the against Prussia and fled from Poland to avoid arrest. He went to Hamburg, Germany, and sailed from there to New York Harbor.

Krzyżanowski worked as a civil engineer and surveyor in Virginia and was instrumental in pushing America's railroads westward.

Civil War service

In Washington, D.C., Krzyżanowski enlisted as a private two days after President Abraham Lincoln called for volunteers in early 1861. 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 City and enlisted more immigrants and soon became colonel of the 58th New York Infantry regiment, listed in the official Army Register as the "Polish Legion".Warner, p. 274.] Eicher, p. 337.]

Krzyżanowski participated in the battles of Cross Keys in the Shenandoah Valley, Second Bull Run, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg in the Eastern Theater. At Gettysburg on July 1, 1863, his men were pushed back through the town as the Union XI Corps retreated. However, Krzyżanowski led a counterattack on July 2 on Cemetery Hill that helped stabilize the faltering Union line.

Later in the year, the XI Corps was sent to the Western Theater to help relieve the Confederate siege of Chattanooga. Krzyżanowski played a role in the Battle of Wauhatchie, where he followed Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker's orders very literally; and he was present at the Third Battle of Chattanooga.

When the XI Corps was dissolved, much of it being added to XX Corps, Krzyżanowski was assigned to command at Bridgeport, Alabama, to guard the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, and later to Stevenson, Alabama, both commands within the Department of the Cumberland. Krzyżanowski also commanded a brigade in the First Sub District of Middle Tennessee, reporting to Maj. Gen. Robert H. Milroy, during the Franklin-Nashville Campaign.

President Lincoln promoted him to brevet brigadier general on March 2, 1865; previous temporary promotions to general in 1862 and 1863 were rejected by the U.S. Senate.

Postbellum

After the war, Krzyżanowski was given governing duties in Alabama.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 pl icon.] He later served as the appointed governor of several Southern states (Florida, Georgia, and Virginia.) Supposedly, he also served as the first American administrator of the Alaska Territory. However, the "Anchorage Daily News" was unable to find any conclusive information to support or disprove this claim. [cite journal | author = Ruskin, Liz|date = December 17, 2002 | title = Poland honors second 'ski' to lead Alaska | journal = Anchorage Daily News] This posting was a reward for his performance as the personal representative of Secretary Seward during the negotiations for the Purchase of Alaska. [ [http://www.wspolnota-polska.org.pl/index.php?id=pwko05 Web page of Świat Polonii (World of Poles living outside of Poland)] .]

He served in Treasury Department and later in the customs service in Panama and New York.

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.

ee also

*List of American Civil War generals

Notes

References

* Eicher, John H., and Eicher, David J., "Civil War High Commands", Stanford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.
* Krzyzanowski, Wladimir, "The Memoirs of Wladimir Krzyzanowski", translated by James S. Pula, San Francisco, R&E Research Associates, 1978, ISBN 0882474928.
* Tagg, Larry, [http://www.rocemabra.com/~roger/tagg/generals/ "The Generals of Gettysburg"] , Savas Publishing, 1998, ISBN 1-882810-30-9.
* Warner, Ezra J., "Generals in Blue: Lives of the Union Commanders", Louisiana State University Press, 1964, ISBN 0-8071-0822-7.

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