Five years after the fall of the November Uprising, Adam Mickiewicz wrote the poem "Death of the Colonel" about Emilia Plater, a heroic woman commanding an insurgent unit. The real Emilia was not a colonel and did not die from her wounds in a forest hut. In fact, however, she took part in the uprising, and even received the honorary rank of captain. She bravely endured the hardships of warfare, although she was fragile and in poor health.
We know about Platerówna that she was raised by her mother and uncle on an estate near Dynenburg, in today's Latvia. However, she was born in Vilnius on November 13, 1806. Her father was Count Franciszek Ksawery, and her mother was Anna von der Mohl. The father was a hooligan, a loser and a gambler, the mother a steady woman, with her intellect superior to her husband. Eventually, in 1815, Anna left her husband. She and her daughter left for relatives.
Romantic soul
Emilia received an education typical of maidens from the court, i.e. home education. In order to understand the later attitude of Platerówna, it is worth paying attention to the atmosphere of the era in which she was brought up. Emilia was soaking up romanticism.
Emilia Plater headed the scythe in 1831
On the one hand, it manifested itself in a return to the folk culture, rural rituals, their mysteriousness and mystery. Emilia collected them and wrote them down. The romantics were mainly interested in the customs of the people, but not the people themselves, their situation and their misery.
On the other hand, it was a tradition of romantic heroes fighting for freedom, suffering conspirators. For Emilia, the heroines with whom she identified and wanted to imitate were Joanna D'Arc (a French national heroine who won several important victories in the Hundred Years' War in the 15th century) and Bubulina (during the Greek Uprising, she donated her fortune to insurgents and took part in the fighting herself).
Dressed in a male outfit with a dagger and a pistol, at the side of her companion she set off to look for a place among the insurgents.
Emilia never got married. Almost nothing is known about her love life. Legend has it that a rich Russian tried to win her hand. The same legend adds that Miss Plater rejected proposals made by the representative of the occupant nation.
Polish Joanna d'Arc
The image of Platerówna, as we know from drawings or paintings, shows a slender young girl with flowing hair. Iwona Kienzler, author of the book "Women warriors", quotes Emilia's description made by her friend, Ignacy Domeyka:
Pale, not beautiful, but round, nice, nice face, blue eyes, shapely but not strong build; she was serious, more strict than engaging in handling, she was silent and with a look, she ordered due consideration for herself and decency.
Emilia Plater at the head of the Lancers
On November 29, 1830, the November Uprising broke out. Emilia's dream of becoming a Polish Joanna D'Arc is within reach. Relatives did not stand in her way. On the contrary - her cousins, who also started the uprising, supported her in this decision.
Dressed in a male outfit with a dagger and a pistol, at the side of her companion, she set out to look for a place among the insurgents. In Lithuania and Samogitia, small, poorly armed and untrained noble groups called parties entered the fight. They were engaged in guerrilla warfare because they had no possibility of opposing the Russians in an open fight. Emilia Plater was in such an insurgent party.
Legend of the November Uprising
It is known from reports that Platerówna was heavily involved in recruiting volunteers for the uprising. Further on, the legend is slightly different from the facts. It is doubtful that Emilia formed her own branch of nearly 300 people and won a number of significant victories at its head. Where would Emilia have military skills, especially commanding skills? It is unlikely that she would command any military units . Historical sources also do not confirm the battles recorded in the legend.
We do know, however, that Emilia bravely endured the hardships of a soldier's life. Kienzler writes:
Emilia was fragile and seriously unwell. Both her commanders and comrades-in-arms would like to get her out of the squad because she was causing them a lot of trouble - too often she had to be covered or even rescued when she fell off a horse or even passed out.
Her fortitude and stubbornness were all the more admirable. She never gave up, even when her squad was broken up, she struggled to another.
Regular units of the Polish Army under the command of General Dezydery Chłapowski set out to help the weakening uprising in Lithuania. Emilia Plater immediately reported to the general. Chłapowski appointed the brave soldier an honorary captain, but also ordered her to return home, which ... she did not do.
Let's go!
She experienced great disappointment when - due to the hopeless situation - Chłapowski's corps crossed the border with Prussia. The uprising in Lithuania was dying down, but Warsaw was still free and Emilia still wanted to fight . With two companions of the soldier's misery in peasant disguise, she set off for the capital.
On the way, however, she became seriously ill. She found shelter in one of the mansions, but despite the care she did not recover. She died on December 23, 1831. She was buried in the village cemetery in Kopciów, and her grave has been preserved to this day.
The ineffectiveness of Polish commanders led to the defeat of the Polish army in the Battle of Ostrołęka, which became the turning point of the uprising, the beginning of its end
Legends often break away from their real characters and live their own lives. They arise to serve something. In the case of Platerówna - maintaining the national spirit during the struggle for independence. Her figure was always remembered when it was necessary to take up arms, her name was taken by the women's battalion of the Polish Army, formed in the USSR. It was remembered in the times of the Polish People's Republic, and now seems to have been forgotten. Maybe this is a sign of normalcy? It's time to discover the real Emilia Plater.
Bibliography:
- Iwona Kienzler, Women Warriors , pub. Bellona.