Tomasz Łubieński

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Tomasz Łubieński

Tomasz Łubieński, comte de Pomian (24 December 1784, Szczytniki near Kalisz - 27 August 1870, Warsaw) was a brigadier general in the Polish army, senator, landowner in Kalisz and businessman. Hoping to liberate Poland, he fought on the French side in the Napoleonic Wars, fighting at Essling, Wagram, Dresden, Ulm, Leipzig, Hanau and Berezina, for which Napoleon made him a baron de l'Empire. He also later took part in the November Uprising against Russia.

Life

Early life

From an old Polish noble family, Tomasz's parents were Feliks Łubieński, count of Pomian and minister of justice in the Duchy of Warsaw, and Tekla Teresa Łubieńska née Bielińskich, poet and author of historical plays - her main works were Wanda, królowa polska (1806), (Wanda, Queen of Poland), et Karol Wielki i Witykind (1807) (Charlemagne and Witykind). She also translated the works of Jean Racine and Voltaire into Polish. Tomasz was the second of their nine children - his elder sibling was Franciszka, with his younger siblings being Piotra, Jana, Henryka, Tadeusza, Józefa Marie, Paule, Różę.

Aged six, Tomasz entered the Academy of the Cadet Corps of His Majesty and of the Republic of Poland (the military cavalry school) - his first two years there were spent learning foreign languages, artillery science and fencing. He then gained his first rank as Chorazy (standard bearer). The next three years he completed his training in military construction, then undertook his last two years at the academy studying military engineering.

In 1801 he received further education at Vienna before moving to Warsaw to meet his uncle Antoni Protazy Potocki. There he also met count Wincenty Krasiński (1782–1858), a Polish nobleman and political activist who set up a 'society of friends of the fatherland' but who later refused to join the revolt. On 12 December 1805 Tomasz married Konstancją Ossolińską (1783–1868), who brought a major dowry in the form of houses and lands near the town of Chełm. They had one son, who they named Napoleon Leon Łubieński.

1806-1825

In 1806 the French entered Warsaw, where Napoleon was met by a guard of honour made up of major Polish statesmen. Hoping to liberate Poland from Russia, Łubieński and many other Polish officers fought on the French side. In 1807 the army of the Duchy of Warsaw was made up of 31,713 infantrymen, 6,035 cavalrymen and 95 cannon. At the same time the Polish 1st Light Cavalry Regiment of the Imperial Guard formed in the camp at Mir. Its colonel was Wincenty Krasinski and its four squadrons were commanded by Łubieński, Jan Kuzietulski, Ignace Stolowski and Henri Kamienski.

After Pułtusk Łubieński was granted the Légion d’honneur and in 1808 he fought at Somosierra, supporting the final phase of the assault. He and his regiment fought in the Peninsular War before he returned to Paris in January 1809. On 5 April 1809 he received the cross of a Grand Officer of the Légion d’honneur. In the 1809 campaign he fought at Essling on 22 May and Wagram (6 July) and to reward his courage Napoleon made him a baron d'empire with a pension of 4,000 francs, later increased to 6,000 francs. In 1810, after retiring a few months ago to Warsaw, he received the Virtuti Militari order. Disagreeing with the regiment's commander Krasinski, Łubieński was dismissed. At the start of 1811 he was sent to Segan with the Legion of the Vistula (Legia Nadwislanska), one of the largest Polish foreign legions of the Napoleonic era, which was renamed the 8th Uhlan Regiment (8éme régiment de Uhlans). In March 1812 Łubieński led his regiment to Berlin, Grudziadz, Wystruć, and Vilnius to fight in various Polish campaigns.

Remaining in reserve with the regiment commanded by marshal Nicolas Charles Oudinot, Łubieński and his regiment suffered heavy losses safeguarding the crossing of the Berezina by the French army. At the end of 1812, Łubieński returned to Warsaw to rest and in 1813 fought at Dresden, Kulm, Leipzig and Hanau. In January 1814 he was dismissed, becoming commander in chief of the Polish army. In that post Napoleon put him in charge of regulating salaries and subsidies to Polish fighters. He received the Order of Saint Stanislas 2nd class. As he could not agree with Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich of Russia he was dismissed from the role of commander in chief in 1816.

Łubieński and his brothers set up the Łubieński Brothers business, building its first factory in Warsaw in 1827 in the Guzowska Ruda region (now Żyrardów, Masovian Voivodeship), which would become the first industrial factory in a rural area. Between 1825 and 1828 he was a justice of the piece for the chełmskiego district and between 1820 and 1825 a senator in parliament.

November Uprising

On 29 November 1830 the Poles began the November Uprising against the Russian occupiers. On 10 February 1831 Łubieński was made commander of the 2nd Cavalry Corps, made up of 33 battalions and 16 cannon. After the First Battle of Wawer, he and his corps did not give battle despite receiving orders do to so, due to what he felt was the overwhelming numerical superiority of the Russian forces. Józef Chłopicki and Ignacy Prądzyński accused him of treason and ruining the last chance at victory by refusing to obey an order to attack with his cavalry at Olszynka Grochowska. Historians have justified his disobedience as a good decision that there was no way sacrificing his cavalry could have changed the course of the battle.

On 1 June Łubieński was promoted to lieutenant general and chief of staff. This position involving organising and supplying the main Polish towns and cities. On 19 August he put up major resistance to the Russian advance on Warsaw under Ivan Paskevich, successor to marshal Diebitch, field marshal of the Russian army and lieutenant of the kingdom of Poland, who had died of cholera. At Warsaw, Łubieński was put in charge of resupplying the city but never hid the Russians' numerical superiority. The members of the city's Patriotic Association and other political opponents of Łubieński fiercely criticised him and his actions, accusing him of sabotaging the uprising.

Łubieński was diplomatic to his opponents, though on 28 September he got general Maciej Rybiński dismissed on accusations of entering negotiations with Paskevich for a Polish surrender. Three days later Łubieński returned to find Warsaw occupied by the Russians and he and the other Polish generals condemned to exile in Russia. Due to his past exploits and thanks to his foresight as to the Polish political situation, he won an audience with Nicholas I of Russia on 24 November 1831 in Moscow. He then collaborated as a deputy in Saint Petersburg from 1832 to 1834 and looked after the interests of the Łubieńscy Brothers business in the chamber of commerce, mainly working to regain lands and goods confiscated by Polish insurgents.

Businessman

In 1839 he travelled to London to win financial aid for his metallurgical business. In 1840 and 1841 he was director of works on the project to build a route from Warsaw to Vienna, commissioned by the Polish railways. He retired from active life to Warsaw after difficulties with his brother Henryk Łubieński, accused of bank fraud and condemned to 4 years in prison. To save his brother and the family honour, Tomasz covered Henryk's debts to financiers. Tomasz spent his retirement in Warsaw, becoming president of "Resursa Kupieckiej", a member of the Chamber of Agriculture and a Catholic-conservative senator for Stary Sącz.

Honours and decorations

• Virtuti Militari (1810)
• Order of Saint Stanislaus 2nd class (1814)
• Commander of the Légion d'honneur (1858)
• Médaille de Sainte-Hélène (1858)