Gaspar Tochman Kasper ( Gaspar ) Tochman ( 1797 – December 20 , 1880 ) was Polish - born American lawyer and soldier who formed the Polish Brigade ( 14th and 15th Louisiana regiments ) of Johnson ' s Division . Early life . Tochman was born in Łętownia in 1797 . He studied Law and Administration at Warsaw University and after graduation worked as an attorney in Warsaw . Vicechairman of the Polish Patriotic Society , he was a good friend of the Commander - in - Chief of the November Uprising Jan Zygmunt Skrzynecki as well as Joachim Lelewel and Maurycy Mochnacki . A renowned speaker and writer he acted in the Society for Upbringing Orphans after the Fallen Polish Knights ( Polish : " Towarzystwo Wychowania Dzieci po Poległych Rycerzach Polskich " ) . November Uprising and Emigration . Tochman served as an officer ( lieutenant or even major according to various sources ) during the November Uprising . After the Battle of Białołęka he was awarded Virtuti Militari as a testimony to his bravery . With the defeat of the Insurgents Tochman was forced to flee with gen . Maciej Rybiński ' s Corps . He emigrated to Avignon , France where he served as secretary of the Polish Council and later traveled through France in hopes of gathering more supporters . During that time he joined the " Eagle and Pahonia " freemason lodge . In 1837 Tochman became " persona non grata " for the French government and decided to emigrate to United States . He worked as French teacher in New York until 1840 when he was granted citizenship and began studying American civil law - this enabled him to acquire attorney licence and start a practice of law in Washington D . C . in 1845 . He was an active member of the Polish diaspora - from 1840 to 1844 he gave over a hundred lectures on the situation of then partitioned Poland . His speeches were published in 1844 in " Lecture on the social , political and literary condition of Poland , and her future prospects " . Tochman tried both to integrate the Polish community - by establishing the Polish - Slavonic Literary Society which gathered also many Americans - as well as sought contact with prominent US officials ; his house in Virginia was visited by Abraham Lincoln , William Seward or Samuel Tilden among others . As an active sympathiser of the Democratic Party he was elected Virginia State Elector . Tochman represented the Kościuszko family during the inheritance court battle between them and the Russian Empire represented by the Russian diplomatic representative Aleksandr Bodisko . Civil War . After the outbreak of the American Civil War Tochman , a pro - slave farm owner organised the 14th and 15th Louisiana Regiments as part of the famous Louisiana Tigers brigade . The " Polish Brigade " fought at Gettysburg as part of 2nd Corps , Johnson ' s Division . On July 2 , it sustained heavy casualties . Despite the fact that Tochman called himself General he was " only " a Colonel . Tochman ' s joining the Confederate Army was criticised by Lelewel and the Polish emigrants close to him . Postbellum . After the defeat of the Confederacy Tochman was nominated Virginia Immigration Commissary gathering people to settle in the state . Tochman died at his farm near Washington on December 20 , 1880 .