page_title: Casimir Pulaski
section_title: Bar Confederation
hierarchical_section_title: Casimir Pulaski / Military career / Bar Confederation
caption_attribution_description: English: Bar Confederation 1768-1772 ██&#160; Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth &#8201;&#8201;&#160; Major cities &#8201;&#8201;&#160; Other cities and towns ██&#160; Prussia ██&#160; Sweden ██&#160; Saxony ██&#160; Ottoman Empire ██&#160; Habsburg Empire ██&#160; Russia ██&#160; Denmark ██&#160; Area of main activity of Confederation forces &#8201;&#8201;&#160; Confederation headquarters &#8201;&#8201;&#160; Main battles with date and location &#8201;&#8201;&#160; Fortresses seized by Confederates ██&#160; Austrian occupation 1769-1770 Deutsch: Konföderation von Bar 1768-1772 ██&#160; Polen-Litauen &#8201;&#8201;&#160; Größere Städte &#8201;&#8201;&#160; Sonstige Städte ██&#160; Preußen ██&#160; Schweden ██&#160; Sachsen ██&#160; Osmanisches Reich ██&#160; Habsburgerreich ██&#160; Russland ██&#160; Dänemark ██&#160; Hauptoperationsgebiet der konföderierten Truppen &#8201;&#8201;&#160; Hauptquartiere der Konföderation &#8201;&#8201;&#160; Wichtige Schlachten mit Datum und Ort &#8201;&#8201;&#160; Von den Konföderierten eingenommene Festungen ██&#160; Österreichisches Besatzungsgebiet 1769-1770
context_page_description: Kazimierz Michał Władysław Wiktor Pułaski of Ślepowron was a Polish nobleman, soldier and military commander who has been called, together with his counterpart Michael Kovats de Fabriczy, "the father of the American cavalry".
  Born in Warsaw and following in his father's footsteps, he became interested in politics at an early age. He soon became involved in the military and the revolutionary affairs in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Pulaski was one of the leading military commanders for the Bar Confederation and fought against the Commonwealth's Russian domination. When this uprising failed, he was driven into exile. Following a recommendation by Benjamin Franklin, Pulaski travelled to North America to help in the American Revolutionary War. He distinguished himself throughout the revolution, most notably when he saved the life of George Washington. Pulaski became a general in the Continental Army, and he and his friend, Michael Kovats, created the Pulaski Cavalry Legion and reformed the American cavalry as a whole. At the Battle of Savannah, while leading a cavalry charge against British forces, he was fatally wounded by grapeshot and died shortly after that.
context_section_description: He took part in the 1764 election of the new Polish monarch, Stanisław II Augustus, with his family. In December 1767, Pulaski and his father became involved with the Bar Confederation, which saw King Stanisław as a Russian puppet and sought to curtail Russian hegemony over the Commonwealth. The confederation was actively opposed by the Russian forces stationed in Poland. Pulaski recruited a unit and, on February 29, 1768, signed the act of the confederation, thus declaring himself an official supporter of the movement. On March 6, he received a pułkownik (colonel) rank and commanded a chorągiew of cavalry. In March and April, Pulaski agitated among the Polish military, successfully convincing some forces to join the Confederates. He fought his first battle on April 20 near Pohorełe; it was a victory, as was another on April 23 near Starokostiantyniv. An engagement at Kaczanówka on April 28 resulted in a defeat. In early May, he garrisoned Chmielnik but was forced to retreat when allied reinforcements were defeated. He retreated to a monastery in Berdyczów, which he defended during a siege by royalist forces for over two weeks until June 16. Eventually, he was forced to surrender and was taken captive by the Russians. On June 28, he was released in exchange for a pledge that he would not again take up arms with the Confederates, and that he would lobby the Confederates to end hostilities. However, Pulaski considered the assurance to be non-binding and made a public declaration to that effect upon reaching a camp of the Confederates at the end of July. Agreeing to the pledge in the first place weakened his authority and popularity among the Confederates, and his own father considered whether or not he should be court-martialed; some heated debates followed, and Pulaski was reinstated to active-duty only in early September.
  In 1769, Pulaski's unit was again besieged by numerically superior forces, this time in the old fortress of Okopy Świętej Trójcy, which has served as his base of operations since December the previous year. However, after a staunch defence, he was able to break the Russian siege. On April 7, he was made the regimentarz of the Kraków Voivodeship. In May and June he operated near Przemyśl, but failed to take the town. Criticized by some of his fellow Confederates, Pulaski departed to Lithuania with his allies and a force of about 600 men on June 3. There, Pulaski attempted to incite a larger revolt against Russia; despite no decisive military successes, he was able to assemble a 4,000-strong army and deliver it back to a Confederate staging point. This excursion received international notice and gained him a reputation as the most effective military leader in the Bar Confederation. Next, he moved with his unit towards Zamość and — after nearly losing his life to the inferior forces of the future Generalissimo Alexander Suvorov in the disastrous Battle of Orekhowa — on the very next day, September 15, he was again defeated at the Battle of Włodawa with his forces almost completely dispelled. He spent the rest of the year rebuilding his unit in the region of Podkarpacie.
  In February 1770, Pulaski moved near Nowy Targ, and in March, helped to subdue the mutiny of Józef Bierzyński. Based in Izby, he subsequently operated in southern Lesser Poland and on May 13 his force was defeated at the Battle of Dęborzyn. Around June 9–10 in Prešov, in a conference with other Confederate leaders, he met Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, who complimented Pulaski on his actions. On July 3–4, Pulaski's camp was captured by Johann von Drewitz, and he was forced to retreat into Austria. Early in August he met with the French emissary, Charles François Dumouriez. He disregarded an order to take Lanckorona and instead cooperated with Michał Walewski in a raid on Kraków on the night of August 31. He then departed for Częstochowa. On September 10, along with Walewski, he used subterfuge to take control of the Jasna Góra monastery. On September 18 he met Franciszka z Krasińskich, an aristocrat from the Krasiński family and the wife of
caption: Map of the Bar Confederation conflict in Poland between 1768 and 1772, with white areas being controlled by the Confederates
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