Polish Uprising
After two previous failed uprisings, namely the Kościuszko Uprising of 1794 and the November Uprising of 1830, the role of peasants began to be considered, as there was a desire to utilize them in national uprisings. In exchange for their help in this uprising, the National Government of the Republic of Krakow promised to grant them land as their property, which, in other words, meant they wanted to carry out an enfranchisement reform for them. However, the attempt to attract peasants to the uprising failed. Many of them did not understand the uprising’s objectives.
Polish National Government
In January 1846, the exact composition of the National Government was determined. It included great patriots such as Karol Libelt, Ludwik Gorzowski, and Jan Tyssowski. In February, Count Henryk Koniński, a traitor to his Homeland and compatriots, learning of the plans for the uprising, denounced the entire insurgent apparatus to the Prussian police, and thus about seventy people were arrested. Among those arrested was Ludwik Mierosławski, who became the first dictator of the January Uprising, which took place in 1863.
In Krakow
On February 18, 1846, when a small Austrian detachment entered Krakow, the authorities of the progressively developing uprising decided to postpone its outbreak. However, upon learning of the so-called “rabacja” or “Galician slaughter” carried out by the peasants, the original date of its outbreak was maintained. The Galician slaughter consisted of a complete misunderstanding of the intentions of the “insurgent dictate,” which ordered the peasants to “beat the lord,” referring to the partitioner, i.e., in this case, the Emperor of Austria and specifically his envoys exercising power in Poland. Simple peasants considered Polish magnates, whom they served and for whom they performed serfdom, to be their lords. The leader of the peasants during this rebellion was Jakub Szela, a man naturally hated by Polish patriots, commonly called the “Polish King.” He, however, enjoyed great respect and support from the Austrian army.
Special Appeal
On February 20, 1846, in the Krosno apartment of Marceli Myczkowski, a merchant, the commander of one of the insurgent units, Franciszek Wolański, announced an appeal for the outbreak of the aforementioned national uprising during the upcoming night. At the appointed time, Polish insurgents began intense shelling of Austrian units and patrol positions. On the same day, the Polish National Government announced to the compatriots the fact that Jan Tyssowski had assumed dictatorial power over the uprising. He worked together with the great Polish revolutionary Edward Dembowski. Over six thousand volunteers quickly joined the insurgent units. However, only half of them were equipped with weapons. The only battle, which was, of course, fought during this uprising, took place on February 26, near Gdów. Colonel Ludwig von Benedek of the Austrian army, marching on Krakow, quite quickly defeated the Polish insurgent unit.
According to Dembowski
Seeing the lack of reaction from Polish peasants, who, despite a series of promises, did not participate in the uprising, Edward Dembowski persuaded people, who, holding crosses in their hands, went to rural cottages, earnestly begging the peasants to join the uprising. However, he was quickly fired upon by the stationed Austrians on February 27, 1846. Edward Dembowski, of course, died, and Jan Tyssowski managed to quickly leave Krakow. Meanwhile, the Austrians entered Krakow and put an end to the Republic of Krakow and all Polish hopes for a swift regaining of independence.
