Józef Zeydlitz
Józef Zeydlitz was a Polish military commander and a Colonel of the Polish Army.
Early life
Zeydlitz was born on 19 March 1755 in Chłapów near Kalisz, to Jan Zeydlitz and Kunegunda née Białoskórska.Kingdom of Poland
On 1 September 1770, he joined the Cadet Corps of the Crown Army. In 1776, he became a chorąży in 's 10th Regiment of Foot. 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 War of 1792.In 1793, he joined the Revolutionary Association and promoted its aims among his fellow officers.
Kościuszko Uprising
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 regiment's commander. With it he took part in the Kościuszko 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.Polish Legions
Set free in 1797, he returned to Russia and was then settled in Volhynia, where he founded a secret resistance association, aiming at the removal of Russian forces occupying most of Poland in the aftermath of the partitions. However, the Russians discovered the plot and Zeydlitz had to flee for Saxony, together with Cyprian Godebski. In Dresden he became one of the associates of Gen. Romualdas Giedraitis, who recommended him for service in the Polish Legions in Italy. On 20 May 1798. Gen. Jan Henryk Dąbrowski nominated him to the post of the commanding officer of the 1st Legion's 3rd Battalion. He took part in French operations in Italy but was dismissed on May 18 of the following year, after his soldiers refused to fight against Italian freedom fighters.Dispatched to the newly formed Danube Legion under Gen. Karol Kniaziewicz, Zeydlitz became the commander of the 3rd Battalion of that unit, formally attached to the French 5th Military Division. However, as the Legion was never fully formed and was disbanded in 1801, Zeydlitz was attached to a cavalry regiment of Col. Rożniecki. With that unit, he returned to Italy, where he took part in the War of the Third Coalition.