Włodzimierz Krzyżanowski
Włodzimierz Krzyżanowski | |
|---|---|
Włodzimierz Krzyżanowski | |
| Birth name | Włodzimierz Bonawentura Krzyżanowski |
| Nickname(s) | Kriz |
| Born | July 8, 1824 Rożnowo, Poznań, Prussia |
| Died | January 31, 1887 (aged 62) New York City, United States |
| Place of burial | |
| Allegiance | United States (Union) |
| Service | United States Army Union Army |
| Years of service | 1861–1865 |
| Rank | Colonel Brevet Brigadier General Brigadier General (temporary) |
| Unit | Army of the Potomac Army of the Cumberland |
| Commands | Polish Legion Krzyżanowski's Brigade, XI Corps |
| Battles / wars | 1846 Polish Uprising American Civil War |
| Relations | cousin of Frédéric Chopin |
| Other work | civil engineer, military territorial administrator, Treasury Department clerk, customs agent |
Włodzimierz Bonawentura Krzyżanowski ([vwɔˈd͡ʑimjɛʂ kʂɨʐaˈnɔfski]; in some sources, misspelled Wladimir Krzyzanowski; 8 July 1824 – 31 January 1887) was a Polish-American engineer, politician, and brigadier general in the Union Army.
A Polish noble, he took part in the 1846 uprising against Prussia and left Poland after the uprising's suppression. During the American Civil War he enlisted in the United States' Union Army, recruited a company of Polish immigrants, and became colonel of the 58th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment, listed in the official Army Register as the "Polish Legion".
In the July 1863 Battle of Gettysburg, Krzyżanowski helped repel an evening assault by the famed Louisiana Tigers on the Union defenses atop East Cemetery Hill.
After the war he held several government posts, though it is disputed whether he was, as has often been stated, the first American administrator of Alaska Territory.