On 31 August 1812, at the beginning of Napoleon's invasion of Russia, Dirk van Hogendorp appointed Franciszek Niesiołowski as General Inspector of the Lithuanian Infantry in the Military Committee of the Provisional Government of Lithuania. Although nominally a general, this entailed no field command responsibilities; instead he served in the 1813 Campaign as a soldier in the four-company-strong Polish Guards of Honour, commanded by , which consisted of surplus officers from the Duchy of Warsaw's Army (there was a disproportionate ratio of officers to men, in favour of officers, due to heavy losses incurred during the invasion).