The Sun.
London, England, 1863-09-22 00:00:00

THE POLISH INSURRECTION.

(i'rom the Special Correspondent of the Times.)

CRACOW, Sept. 16.
I have now received a full account of Lelewel's
last campaign from several friends who took part in
it. It appears that Lelewel. when he entered the
kingdom, instead of having 800 men, had scarcely
more than 600. At least only from 600 to 700 got
across the frontier. The detachment went over at
night in sections, composed of from 50 to 100 men
each—with the exception of the section commanded
by Lelewel himself, which numbered 150.
The next morning the sections, which had crossed
at various points, met, without accident, and with-
out having seen a single Russian, at the appointed
rendezvous. Lelewel then spent about a fortnight
in exercising his band, and in the meanwhile was
joined by about 130 insurgents from the towns, vil-
lages, and country houses near which he passed. He
carried spare arms for 300 more, and as volunteers
were constantly arriving would soon have had some
1,100 men under his command had he not been
compelled on the 3d to attack the Russians, who

were already endeavouring to enclose him. No pea-
sants, properly so, called, joined the detachment, but
their attitude was generally favourable. Thus, at
the very villages where my informants in the early
days of the war had seen the inhabitants refuse all
assistance to the insurgents, they now came for-
ward of their own accord with provisions for which,
in many cases, they declined to receive payment.
The longer the insurrection lasts the more clearly
must the peasants understand that it, at least, means
no harm to them; while the outrages committed
by the Russian troops may well have opened their
eyes to the character of their pretended true friends
and protectors.
The battle of the 3d was much more severe than
that of the 6th. The Poles lost upwards of 100
men in killed alone, and two-thirds of the officers
fell. The most remarkable exploit of the day was
a charge of the insurgent cavalry, in which 97 men
started and 22 returned. The charge was directed
against the Russian artillery, and was so far suc-
cessful that the artillerymen were driven from their
guns, and the guns (four pieces) spiked. The Poles,
however, had to pass an ambuscade of sharpshooters

before reaching their destination ; they had to meet
Cossacks on the other side, and they were charged
by Cossacks in flank as they were returning. It may
be said that the insurgent cavalry was entirely de-
stroyed in this heroic attack, for of the 22 men who
rejoined the detachment, some were wounded, some
unhorsed, and scarcely a dozen were in a fit state
to continue their service. On the other hand, the
enemy's artillery was completely silenced. It
appears that the precise preconceived aim of the
charge undertaken at such terrible risk was not
merely to spike, but to capture the guns. Lelewel
had 14 experienced gunners with him, and not
being able to reach a spot where artillery of his
own awaited him, resolved to try whether he could
not furnish himself with a battery at the expense of
the enemy.
The action of the 3d was terminated by the retreat
of the Russians. The insurgents pursued them for
a distance of five English miles and then halted.
On the 4th the Russians appeared at a new point,
'out no fighting took place. There were several skir-
mishes on the afternoon of the sth, and on the 6th
Lelewel found himself surrounded, and had to attack
the enemy in order to light his way out of the circle
which was gradually closing upon him.
The insurgents were drawn up in a wood, and on
issuing from it marched against the body of Rus-
sians which stood between them and the Galician
frontier, distant about 40 English miles. Lelewel
broke through the intercepting force, and then, be-
fore he, could commence his retreat, had to do battle
with the whole of the Russian army which had been
menacing his position, and which now bore down
upon him from both sides of the wood.
Lelewel, after being wcunded in the left arm at
the very beginning of the battle, received two shots
in the body as tie was leading his infantry to the
charge, the action having at that time lasted for
about half an hour. The unequal contest was
maintained for another hour, and the insurgents
had then nothing to do but retire as best they could,
'Tee loss of life was comparatively small, but a great
many prisoners were taken. Although the detach-
ment was dispersed, yet the insurgents kept to-
gether in groups, and contrived to bury the spare
arms which they had carried with them throughout-
It was a horrible rout, and every survivor who did
not fall into the hands of the Russians remained
armed until he reached the Galician frontier, when
many were taken by the Austrians. The fate of in-
surgents made prisoners by the Austrians is known.
If they belong to Galicia they simply have a bad
mark put against their name in the police books,
and are set at liberty. Such, at least, is the gene-
ral rule. If they are Russian subjects they are
invariably confined is a prison or fortress.
During the battle Lelewel's detachment was
thrice " reinforced," but under such circumstances
that the " reinforcements" had better have kept
away. Gregowicz came up with 60 men, and with
a host of Russians at their tail. A hundred men
from Swek's detachment (still acting in the palati-
nate of Lublin) were the heralds of three times that
number of the enemy. I forget to which of the
Lublin corps the third " reinforcement" belonged;
but, like the previous ones, it had only the effect
of enfeebling Lelewel's little band. One more such
reinforcement might have paralysed it, and it is
calculated that when only three had arrived it
found itself with two additional battalions of Rus-
sians on its hands.
The Russians must have been in great force in the
" Lubelski," on the morning of the 6th. They had
apparently resolved to clear the whole Palatinate of
insurgents, and the estimate of the Poles that at the
end of the battle there were 6,000 Russians engaged
or in reserve, is, probably, not at all over the
mark.
I was in error in saying that Nyarri (or " Count"
Nyarri) was killed in the action of the 6th. He fell in
the cavalry charge of the 3d. Another Hungarian,
acting as chief of the staff, named Walisch (or
" Baron" Walisch)—but the Poles are polite enough
to gives titles to all foreign gentlemen who join the
insurrection—was struck down immediately after
Lelewel, on the 6th. It is said to have been owing
Llthe loss of the chief of the staff, immediately
Attar that of the commander, that the detachment
was
ultimately obliged to cross the frontier into
Galicia.
A.
woundee. third Hungarian officer was badly
Lelewere
• body was not recognised by the Rus-
sians. After their retirement it was taken up by
one of the proprietors
of the district, and buried in
the neighbourhood of the field of battle. An
Englishman who made this
short,. severe, but by no
campaign means decisive little as an amateur and
looker-on, has not
since
turned up, but he is not
reported either killed or wounded. I may here
mention for the benefit of enterprising English tra-
vellers that to make any such
campaign as a looker-
onseems to be considered a mistake.
None of the
officers or men look on, and the Staff
officers gene-
rally get killed. Accordingly, on individual sight-
seer is likely to find himself either in a very dan-
gerous or a very
dull position, without having the
satisfaction of doing good or harm to any one.
But insurgent camps may be visited without ranch
trouble, and, sympathy apart, there are few ecenes
at the present time that could interest an English..
man in search of novelty and excitement more than
a camp of Polish insurgents; while, on the other
hand, nothing is more advantageous to the Poles
than that their detachments, after they have once
been fairly organised, should be seen by foreigners.
In Spite of the recent losses, the palatinate of
Lublin is still full of insurgents, and the various
is t
hands acting there are about to be reinforced, and
thi
s time, it is said, reinforced in earnest. It seems
next to impossible to pass the Galician frontier as it
is at present guarded. But Leto .5-el made no diffi-
culty about it. After the defeat of his first detach-
ment, formed at the very beginning of the insurrec-
tion, he forced his passage from G-tlicia, and remained
in the kingdom of Poland for three months. After
his second and last entry he remained in the enemy's
country two weeks and a half, and his men are con-
fident that had he lived through the day of the 6th
he would have managed to avoid the Russians with-
out retiring into Austrian territory. His expedi.
lions were not "armed demonstrations," and his