page_title: Stefan Czarniecki
section_title: Struggles against the Cossacks
hierarchical_section_title: Stefan Czarniecki / Biography / Struggles against the Cossacks
context_page_description: Stefan Czarniecki of the Łodzia coat of arms was a Polish nobleman, general and military commander. In his career, he rose from a petty nobleman to a magnate holding one of the highest offices in the Commonwealth, something that was unprecedented in the Commonwealth history. On 22 July 1664 he received the office of the voivode of Kiev and on 2 January 1665, a few weeks before his death, he was given the office of Field Hetman of the Crown of the Polish Kingdom. He is remembered as an accomplished military commander, and regarded as a Polish national hero. His status in Polish history is acknowledged by a mention of his name in the Polish national anthem.
  Czarniecki made significant contributions fighting the Khmelnytsky Uprising, during the Russo-Polish War, and the Polish–Swedish war. His use of guerrilla warfare against Swedes is credited as one of the main reasons for the eventual Polish victory in this war.
context_section_description: For the next several years he would serve on the hostility-plagued south-eastern border, where he made his home in the city of Illńce. In 1644 under Koniecpolski he took part in the battle of Ochmatów where Commonwealth forces dealt a crushing defeat to Toğay bey's (Tuhaj Bej) Tatars. He served as one of seven pułkowniks in Koniecpolski's army, and once again his cavalry unit charge proved to be a decisive moment of the battle, bringing him much fame. That year he also became a regimentarz in his own light cavalry unit, but he still held the rank of a porucznik of hussars.
  He took an active part in the battles against the Cossacks in the Khmelnytsky Uprising. On 16 May 1648 he was one of the many noble Polish prisoners who fell into the hands of Bohdan Khmelnytsky at the battle of Zhovti Vody, but he was quickly ransomed. He participated in the defense of the Kudak Fortress, which surrendered on 26 September; he was once again captured and not released until the autumn of 1649, in the aftermath of the Treaty of Zborov. He served as a porucznik in the hussar chorągiew of hetman Mikołaj Potocki, a military judge deputized by the hetman, and a member of his staff, meeting with the new king of Poland, John Casimir Vasa. He was part of the fighting at the battle of Berestechko and battle of Bila Tserkva in 1651. He received the title of chorąży of Sandomierz, and was elected the military deputy for the Sejm in January 1652. According to Nagielski, Czarniecki, while returning from the Sejm, witnessed the massacre of Polish prisoners in the aftermath of the battle of Batoh; This scene made him reject the notions that a compromise with the enemies of the Commonwealth was a likely or desired outcome. Podhorodecki however notes that another historian, Wojciech Jacek Długołęcki, questions Czarniecki's presence there, and concludes that we have no conclusive proof whether Czarniecki was present at Batoh, The massacre further escalated the hostilities and the surrounding hatred; illustrating that is a letter Czariecki wrote soon after the battle, in which he promised that if enough military forces are gathered and given to him, he will leave few Ruthenians alive.
  Later that year Czarniecki received territories from the king, along with the office of Crown oboźny. In 1653 he led a unit to Ukraine, ransacking much of the Cossack-held lands, although the attrition among the troops was high. During that campaign Czarniecki was wounded at Monastyryska. He continued his suppression campaign in 1654, and the following January took part in the battle of Okhmativ. In May 1655 he was called from Ukraine to Warsaw, as the king John Casimir Vasa, respected his experience and requested his presence at a new war council, convened to discuss the looming thread of the war with Sweden. At that time his reputation was significant; Sejm often passed resolutions applauding him for his efforts to reclaim Ukraine, and he was even held in much consideration by the Ottomans, then temporarily allied with the Commonwealth. On 14 May 1655 he received the office of the castellan of Kiev, a position that made him a member of the Senate of Poland.
caption: Stefan Czarniecki
exif: {}