Józef Zeydlitz

Who was Józef Zeydlitz?

Józef Zeydlitz was a Polish military commander and a Colonel of the Polish Army.

Zeydlitz was born March 19, 1755 in Chłapów near Kalisz, to Jan Zeydlitz and Kunegunda née Białoskórska. On September 1, 1770 he joined the Cadet Corps of the Polish Army and in 1776 he became a chorąży in the Rydzyna Regiment of August Sułkowski. He quickly rose through the ranks, partially thanks to his family's wealth. In 1786 he held the rank of Staff Captain. In 1791 he was involved in a conflict between his superior and a foreigner, which resulted in Zeydlitz being arrested and imprisoned for half a year for falsely accusing the foreigner. However, soon after his term ended he returned to his unit and took part in the Polish-Russian War of 1792.

In 1793 he joined the Revolutionary Association and promoted its aims among his fellow officers. After the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising of 1794 he led his regiment in the city fights, and formally replaced the former commander Filip Hauman soon afterwards. On May 20 he was promoted to the rank of Colonel and became the commander of his regiment. With it he took part in the Kościuszko's Uprising, fighting in the ranks of the Corps of Gen. Józef Zajączek. After the battle of Chełm his regiment shielded the retreat of the Polish units towards Warsaw. In the battle of Maciejowice Zeydlitz's regiment fought valiantly against the numerically-superior Russian forces and held its positions, but at the expense of tremendous losses. The regiment practically ceased to exist, and Zeydlitz was taken prisoner.