Emilia Plater Emilia Plater ( Broel - Plater ) ( ) ( 13 November 1806 – 23 December 1831 ) was a Polish – Lithuanian noblewoman and revolutionary from the lands of the partitioned Polish – Lithuanian Commonwealth . Raised in a patriotic Polish tradition , she fought in the November 1830 Uprising , during which she raised a small unit , participated in several engagements , and received the rank of captain in the Polish - Lithuanian insurgent forces . Near the end of the Uprising , she fell ill and died . Though she did not participate in any major engagement , her story became widely publicized and inspired a number of works of art and literature . She is a national heroine in Poland , Lithuania and Belarus , all formerly parts of the Polish - Lithuanian Commonwealth . She has been venerated by Polish artists and by the nation at large as a symbol of women fighting for the national cause . Biography . Early life . Emilia Plater was born in Vilnius ( Wilno ) into a noble Polish – Lithuanian Plater family . Her family , of the Plater coat of arms , traced its roots to Westphalia , but was thoroughly Polonized . Much of the family relocated to Livonia during the 15th century and later to Lithuania , of which Vilnius is the capital . She is described as either Polish , Polish - Lithuanian or Lithuanian . Her parents , Franciszek Ksawery Plater and Anna von der Mohl ( Anna z Mohlów ) , divorced when she was nine years old , in 1815 . She was brought up by distant relatives , Michał Plater - Zyberk and Izabela Helena Syberg zu Wischling , in their family ' s manor Līksna near Daugavpils ( Dźwina ) , then Inflanty ( now Latvia ) . Well - educated , Plater was brought up to appreciate the efforts of Tadeusz Kościuszko and the Prince Józef Poniatowski . She was fascinated by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich Schiller , who she could read in the original German language . She was raised in an environment that valued the history of Poland , and her literary heroes included Princess Wanda and Adam Mickiewicz ' s " Grażyna " . She also admired Bouboulina , a woman who became one of the icons of the Greek uprising against the Ottomans , a Polish fighter Anna Dorota Chrzanowska , as well as Joan of Arc . These pursuits were accompanied by an early interest in equestrianism and marksman ship , quite uncommon for early 19th - century girls from aristocratic families . She was also deeply interested in the Ruthenian and Belarusian folk culture . She had contacts and friends in the Filaret Association . In 1823 , one of her cousins was forcibly conscripted into the Imperial Russian Army as a punishment for celebrating the Constitution of 3 May ; this incident is said to be one of the key events in her life , and one that galvanized her pro - Polish and anti - Russian attitude . In 1829 , Plater began a grand tour throughout the historical Polish – Lithuanian Commonwealth , visiting Warsaw and Kraków , and the battlefield of Raszyn . Her mother died a year later ; her father remarried and refused to even meet his daughter . After the outbreak of the November Uprising against Imperial Russia , she became a vocal supporter of the anti - Tsarist sentiments in the lands of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania . She became one of a dozen or so females to join the Uprising , and the most famous of them all . Uprising . A document from 25 March contains her note that joining the uprising was her sole idea , and that she had hoped that such a moment would come her entire life . She cut her hair , prepared a uniform for herself and organized and equipped a group of volunteers , speaking passionately after a mass on 29 March . On 4 April she signed a declaratory document marking her access to the local uprising forces . Her unit was composed of roughly 280 infantry , 60 cavalry and several hundred peasants armed with war scythe s . From the area of Daugavpils she entered Lithuania , where in April 1831 her unit is rumored to have seized the town of Zarasai ( Jeziorosy ) , although the historians are not sure this event really occurred . She planned to take Daugavpils , but after a reconnaissance mission discovered that the city was defended by a strong garrison and was impregnable to attack by such a small force as her own unit , that plan was abandoned . She then returned to Samogitia and headed for Panevėžys ( Poniewież ) , where on 30 April she joined forces with the unit commanded by Karol Załuski . On May 4 , she fought at the battle of Prastavoniai ( Prestowiany ) ; shortly afterwards , with Konstanty Parczewski , she fought at Maišiagala ( Mejszagoła ) . On 5 May , she witnessed General Dezydery Chłapowski entering the area with a large force and taking command over all units fighting in the former Grand Duchy . Chłapowski advised Plater to stand down and return home . She allegedly replied that she had no intention of taking off her uniform until her fatherland was fully liberated . Her decision was accepted and she was made a commanding officer of the 1st company of the Polish – Lithuanian 25th Infantry Regiment . She was promoted to the rank of captain , the highest rank awarded to a woman at that time . She spent some time in Kaunas ( Kowno ) , before the insurgents were forced to retreat in late June . After the Polish units were defeated by the Russians at Šiauliai ( Szawle ) , Gen . Chłapowski decided to cross the border into Prussia and become interned there . Plater vocally criticized that decision , refused to follow orders and instead decided to try to break through to Warsaw and continue the struggle . However , soon after separating from the main force , accompanied by only two others , including her cousin ( or uncle , sources vary ) , Cezary Plater , she became seriously ill . She never recovered , and she died in a manor of the Abłamowicz family in Justinavas ( Justianiów ) on 23 December 1831 . She was buried in the small village of Kapčiamiestis ( Kopciowo ) near Lazdijai ( Łoździeje ) . After the defeat of the uprising , her estate was confiscated by the Russian authorities . Stefan Kieniewicz , in a more critical treatment in the Polish Biographical Dictionary , notes that a lot of her exploits are poorly documented , and it is not always possible to separate legend from facts . He notes it is not certain she ever commanded any unit , and that her role as the commander of the 25th Regiment was more honorary than real ; he also notes that she is known to have fainted on the battlefield , distracting her comrades , and in at least one instance ( at the battle of Šiauliai ) , she was purposefully held behind front lines , as her comrades tried to ensure she would not endanger herself . Legacy . Her death was widely publicised shortly afterwards by the Polish press , which contributed to her growing fame . Plater became one of the symbols of the uprising . The symbol of the fighting girl became quite widespread both in Poland , Lithuania and abroad . Mickiewicz immortalized her in his poem , " Śmierć pułkownika " ( " Death of a Colonel " ) , although the description of her death is a pure poetical fiction and was only loosely based on her real life . Mickiewicz has also idealized her personality and skills , portraying her as the ideal commander , worshiped by her soldiers . That poem has entered the elementary curriculum in the independent Poland . Other literary works based on her life were published , mostly abroad , both by Polish emigres and by foreigners . Among them were Georg Büchner , Konstanty Gaszyński , Wacław Gąsiorowski , Tadeusz Korczyński , Antoni Edward Odyniec and Władysław Buchner . Józef Straszewicz published three successive versions of her biography in French . She also became the theme of paintings by several artists of the epoch , among them Hyppolyte Bellange , Achille Deveria , Philipp Veit , Francois de Villain and Wojciech Kossak . In 1842 , J . K . Salomoński published a short biography of Plater in New York , under the title of " Emily Plater , The Polish Heroine ; Life of the Countess Emily Plater " . A lithograph by F . De Villaine , based on Deveria ' s work , became one of the most recognizable portraits of her , popularizing her image as a delicate and noble female warrior . She was depicted on the Second Polish Republic ' s 20 złoty note . During World War II , a Polish female support unit , Emilia Plater 1st Independent Women ' s Battalion ( " 1 Samodzielny Battalion Kobiecy im . Emilii Plater " ) , a part of the Polish 1st Tadeusz Kościuszko Infantry Division was named in her honor ; its former members founded a village of Platerówka in Lower Silesia . Several streets in Poland are named after her , including one in Warsaw . In 1959 , the MS " Emilia Plater " , a Polish Merchant Navy bulk carrier , was named after her . Her life has also been a subject to studies from a feminist perspective , by scholars to point out the significance of her participation in the military conflict as a female going against the stereotype that only males can fight .