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General Józef Chłopicki

June 4, 2022

Present/obecni:

Family of General Chłopicki – Robert Wellington Fisher III with wife Ellen, Carol Cheney, Stacy Toth (son Finian Toth, friend Wesley McCarry)

Yannick Tagand – Consul General de France

Pascale Furlong-Thome – Press and Communication Attache, Consulat General de France

Agata Grochowska – Vice Consul of the Republic of Poland

Richard Owsiany – PMA President

James Robaczewski – PMA Chairman of the Board, PRCUA President

Micheline Jaminski – PMA vice-chairman, PRCUA vice president

Matt Sobieszczyk - Polish American Military Association (PAMA)

PMA Staff and Volunteers

Muzeum Polskie w Ameryce (MPA) otrzymało kilka eksponatów dotyczących Generała Chłopickiego, od przedstawiciela spadkobierców generała, Roberta Wellingtona Fishera.

Uroczystość oficjalnego przekazania odbędzie się w Sali Głównej MPA, w piątek 3 czerwca 2022 r. o godz.12

W uroczystości uczestniczyli dumni ze swojego polskiego pochodzenia potomkowie Gen. Chłopickiego. Konsul Generalny Francji oraz przedstawiciel Konsulatu RP w Chicago.

Gen. Józef Chłopicki (1771 - 1854), jako młody oficer walczył w obronie Konstytucji 3 Majowej, w Powstaniu Kościszkowskim, w Legionach, w Hiszpanii i w centralnej Europie. Za udział w walkach w 1812 roku – został uhonorowany i  Jego nazwisko wykute jest na Łuku Triumfalnym „Arc de Triomphe” w Paryżu. Chłopicki walczył również w Powstaniu Listopadowym jako dowódca i zwykły żołnierz.

Przesyłka z darami (w wyniku decyzji członków rodziny po likwidacji domu dziadków) dotarła do MPA jeszcze w marcu 2022 r. Darowi towarzyszy drzewo genealogiczne rozpoczęte w 1414 r., które wskazuje na pokrewieństwo. Informajce o darze i koneksjach rodzinnych pochodzą z korespondencji Roberta Fischera z historykiem MPA Janem Lorysiem, który był inicjatorem uroczystości.

Muzeum otrzymało:

  • Medal Francuskiej Legii Honorowej otrzymany przez Generała w 1852 roku
  • Medal Św. Heleny dla weteranów armii napoelońskiej i ich sojuszników
  • Patki z kołnierza munduru Francuskiej Legii Honorowej
  • Litografię Generała Chłopickiego w dużej, podwójnej ramie.
On June 3, 2022, at the PMA Sabina Logisz Great Hall, an epochal event took place. In the presence of the Consul General of France, Mr. Yannick Tagand; the Vice Consul of the Republic of Poland, Ms. Agata Grochowska; General Józef Chłopicki family members; and Polish-American Historical Association members, the PMA historical treasury was enriched with priceless artifacts.
Not one, but two medals issued to General Józef Chłopicki, a Polish and French officer from the Revolutionary periods in Poland and France, were presented. One is the National Order of the Legion of Honor, the highest French order of merit, est. May 19, 1802, by Napoleon Bonaparte. This order comes with an attached collar from the uniform worn by the Legion distinguished members. The second decoration is the Order of St. Helena, an island perhaps best known for Napoleon's exile after his final defeat in 1815. In addition, a lithograph picture of General Chłopicki was generously gifted to the PMA.
Who are the gracious donors of these very important historical treasures? They are members of the Chłopicki Family: Mr. Robert Wellington Fisher III and Mrs. Ellen Fischer of Michigan, Ms. Carol Cheney, and Ms. Stacy Toth with son Finian Toth and friend Wesley McCarry from Washington D.C. and Virginia.
Who was the famous general whose memory and legacy we celebrated today? Józef Grzegorz Chłopicki (b. March 14, 1771 in Volhynia, Poland; d. Sept. 30, 1854 in Kraków) was a master military mind and foremost Polish patriot. In 1785, Chłopicki ran away to join the Polish Army at age 14 as a volunteer. His service under the command of General Tadeusz Kościuszko—hero of the Kościuszko Uprising against the Russian Empire—earned Chłopicki the rank of Captain. After 3 years with the Polish Legion in Italy (incl. the Battle of Trebbia in June 1799) as commander of the Legion of the Vistula, Chłopicki fought in Spain. Promoted to général de brigade (brigadier general) after the first siege of Saragossa in 1808, Chłopicki was triumphant in, among others, the 1812 Siege of Valencia. General Chłopicki returned to France in 1812. In March of 1812, Chłopicki served in the Russian Campaign under Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte as commander of the Claperede 1st Brigade. Seriously wounded at Mojajsk, Chlopicki returned to Poland in 1814. By 1830—during the Polish November Insurrection—Józef Chłopicki was appointed one of the leaders of that great Polish military operation to drive Russian occupiers out of Eastern Poland. His injuries during the Battle of Olszynka Grochowska in 1831 forced Chłopicki to retire from active duty.
If you're visiting Paris one of these days, be sure to see the French inscription of General Chłopicki's name—Klopisky—on column 37 of the Arc de Triomphe. But you don't have to go to France to see our newest PMA benefaction—the General Józef Chłopicki collection is waiting for you right here in Chicago!
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