Barbara Bronisława Czarnowska
Barbara Bronisława Czarnowska | |
|---|---|
Portrait of Czarnowska taken around 1875 by Jan Mieczkowski | |
| Born | 4 December 1810 Strugi, Duchy of Warsaw, First French Empire |
| Died | 23 October 1891 (aged 80) Warsaw, Congress Poland |
| Buried | Powązki Cemetery, Warsaw, Congress Poland |
| Allegiance | Poland |
| Rank | Cadet |
| Unit | 1st Augustów Cavalry Regiment |
| Known for | Disguising herself as a man to fight in the November Uprising |
| Conflicts | Battle of Warsaw (1831) |
| Awards | Virtuti Militari Star of Perseverance |
| Spouses | Kazimierz Zakrzewski (m. 1836, d. 1841) Stanisław Żbikowski |
Barbara Bronisława Czarnowska (4 December 1810 – 23 October 1891) was a Polish noblewoman, independence fighter and soldier. She disguised herself as a man to serve as a cadet in the Polish Army and was decorated with the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari.
Biography
Czarnowska was born on 4 December 1810 in the village of Strugi, near Warsaw (then in the Duchy of Warsaw, First French Empire).[1] She was from a noble but impoverished family who leased a small farm.[2] Her father was Klemens Czarnowski and her mother was Ewa Czarnowska (née Stokowska).[2]
After the outbreak of the November Uprising between Imperial Russia and Congress Poland, Czarnowska nursed wounded soldiers in Warsaw.[1][3]
On 18 April 1831, she disguised herself as a man to serve as a cadet in the Polish Army, enlisting with the 1st Augustów Cavalry Regiment [pl] (Polish: 1 Pułk Jazdy Augustowskiej) at a military camp in Praga.[3][4] She had dressed in a military uniform and cut her long hair after her first attempt to enlist was refused.[1]
On 6 and 7 September 1831, Czarnowska fought at the Battle of Warsaw.[5] Her regiment formed a battle line between the Jerusalem and Wola tollgates.[2] Following a cavalry clash, she was found under her beaten mount and was pulled from under the injured horse by fellow soldiers.[6]
Czarnowska was decorated with the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari.[7] She was the third woman in Polish history to be honoured with this distinction.[6][8] She was also awarded the Star of Perseverance (Polish: Zacroczymska).[2][9]
In 1836, Czarnowska married widower Kazimierz Zakrzewski, the owner of an estate in the village of Żaby pod Błonie. He died in 1841 and she remarried to Stanisław Żbikowski. She lived with her second husband in Warsaw,[2] where she became known as “Miss Lieutenant,” raised her children and engaged in charitable works.[10]
Czarnowska died on 23 October 1891 in Warsaw, aged 80. Her funeral was held at St. John's Archcathedral, Warsaw,[2] and she was buried at Powązki Cemetery in Warsaw (plot 29, row 3).[3]
A biography of Czarnowska's life was published in 1902 by Michał Eustachy Brensztejn.[3] Czarnowska is commemorated alongside Emily Plater and Józefa Rostkowska on a boulder plaque to the heroines of the November Uprising. She was also included on a plaque in memory of the "November Insurgents" which was unveiled on Piastowska Street in Sierpc on 27 November 2010.[11] In 2010, a primary school was named in her honour.[12]
Czarnowska's great-granddaughter became a democracy activist and leader in the National Organization for Women.[13]
References
- ^ a b c "Barbara Bronisława Czarnowska". CKZiU Mrągowo (in Polish). 4 December 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
- ^ a b c d e f g Gębalska, Beata (22 January 2009). "Kobieta Kawaler Barbara Bronisława Czarnowska". Fundacja Promocji m. st. Warszawy (in Polish). Archived from the original on 5 March 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
- ^ a b c d Brensztejn, Michał Eustachy (1902). Barbara Bronisława Czarnowska, kadet 1-go pułku jazdy augustowskiej w 1831 roku : sylwetka biograficzna (in Polish). Kraków: Druk Literacka.
- ^ Barańska, Anna (1998). Kobiety w powstaniu listopadowym 1830-1831 (in Polish). Tow. Nauk. Katolickiego Uniwersytetu Lubelskiego. ISBN 978-83-87703-11-0.
- ^ Dmitrieva, Marina; Karl, Lars (11 July 2016). Das Jahr 1813, Ostmitteleuropa und Leipzig: Die Völkerschlacht als (trans)nationaler Erinnerungsort (in German). Böhlau Verlag Köln Weimar. p. 55. ISBN 978-3-412-50399-4.
- ^ a b "Wykład o odzyskaniu przez Polskę niepodległości i walce o granice w Szkole Nr 221 im. Barbary Czarnowskiej". Muzeum Wojska Polskiego w Warszawie (in Polish). Retrieved 6 March 2026.
- ^ Wawrzykowska-Wierciochowa, Dioniza (1982). Sercem i orężem Ojczyźnie służyły: Emilia Plater i inne uczestniczki powstania listopadowego, 1830-1831 (in Polish). Wydawn. Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej. p. 115. ISBN 978-83-11-06734-9.
- ^ "Barbara Bronisława Czarnowska - Profil". Pamiętaj Skąd Jesteś (in Polish). Retrieved 6 March 2026.
- ^ Wesolowski, Zdzislaw P. (1986). Polish Orders, Medals, Badges and Insignia: Military and Civilian Decorations, 1705-1985. Print. Services. p. 7. ISBN 978-0-937527-00-9.
- ^ Makowska, Monika. (2013) "The January Uprising (1863) in Song: Boże coś Polskę, Dąbrowski’s Mazurka and New Patriotic Songs of the January Insurrection." Sowiniec 24.43 : 11-18. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
- ^ Staniszewska, Magdalena (27 November 2010). "Uroczystość odsłonięcia tablicy ku pamięci Powstańców Listopadowych". Newsy Sierpc (in Polish). Retrieved 6 March 2026.
- ^ "Inscenizacja historyczna na Woli". Urząd Dzielnica Wola m.st. Warszawy. 20 October 2010. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Mysiakowska-Muszyńska, Jolanta. (2017) "Kobiety niepokorne, czyli o liderkach Narodowej Organizacji Kobiet. Szkic do portretu zbiorowego działaczek Narodowej Demokracji (1919–1929)." Polish Biographical Studies 5.1 : 7-32. Retrieved 6 March 2026.