Stanisław Klicki

Who was Stanisław Klicki?

Stanisław Klicki of Prus was a Polish military commander, aristocrat and a general of the Polish forces. For his service during the Napoleonic Wars, he was made a baron of the French Empire by Napoleon Bonaparte. During the November Uprising he commanded all Polish forces on the left bank of the Vistula River.

Born to a lesser szlachta family, Klicki started his military career in 1791, joining the ranks of the National Cavalry. He fought with distinction in the War of the Constitution. A skilled cavalryman, during the Kościuszko's Uprising of 1794 he became the governor of National Cavalry under Tadeusz Kościuszko. For his valour shown in the battles of Ostrołęka and Łasia, he was promoted to the rank of Captain of Cavalry. Soon afterwards he was attached to Gen. Zieliński. After the fall of the uprising he was forced to leave the country and settled in Italy.

There in 1797 he joined the Polish Legions in Italy and fought under command of Gen. Jan Henryk Dąbrowski. Klicki took part in the battles of Legnano, Castel Nuovo, Castel Franco and the battle of Naples. During the siege of Nantua in 1799 he was taken prisoner by the Austrians, but was released soon afterwards and returned to his unit. Promoted to the rank of Major, he became a commanding officer of the 5th Battalion. Soon afterwards, in 1800, he left the infantry and was among the first officers to be accepted in the newly formed 1st Uhlans' Regiment of the Legion.