The Skirmish at Białaszewo was a skirmish fought on the 31 March 1863 at Białaszewo, Congress Poland, between Józef Konstanty Ramotowski's ‘Wawra’ unit and Cossack Russian troops during the January Uprising.
Background Ramotowski began his march into the forests of the Augustów Primeval Forest on 25 March from the village of Komorowo near Ostrołęka. Using undercover transport and marching around the clock through the forests of Czerwony Bór, Chomentowo, Szczepankowo and Chojny, he bypassed Łomża and, with the Cossack group already behind him, arrived in Nowogród at dawn. To gain a certain advantage, he burned the bridge over the Narew River behind him and headed for Morgowniki, where he began dismantling the bridge over the Pisa River. However, the Russians, having captured Nowogród, began firing at the unit. Ramotowski, fearing that the attacker might try to cross the Narew River, changed the direction of his march and headed through Dębniki and Zbójna to Osowiec. Here the unit rested for a few hours, but with the Cossacks only 1-2 kilometres behind them, they set off through Laski and Gawrychy. After dismantling the bridge on the Pisa River, he set off through Żelazna Ruda and Rakowo to Korzeniste near Poryte, where he arrived on Sunday, 29 March, at around 11 p.m.
He ordered another few hours of rest and, supplied with food, footwear and firearms by the owner of the estate, Witold Kisielnicki, and having increased the ranks of his unit by a dozen or so volunteers, he set off at dawn, changing the direction of his march and passing through Piardy, Orlikowo, and Niecki, stopping in the evening in Przytuły. Almost simultaneously, Cossacks appeared on the surrounding hills near the village, who were the advance guard of Esau Matveyev, sent from Łomża with one company of the Sofia regiment, 80 Cossacks and horsemen in pursuit of Wawer. Avoiding combat, he continued his march through Kubra, Konopki, Brodowo and Karwowo Wissa, where he ordered another stop, and then, still pursued by Matveyev, marched through Mścichy and Klimaszewnica.
Józef Ramotowski unit arrived at the Białaszewo farmstead on Tuesday, 31 March, at around half past eight in the morning. The insurgents, exhausted by several days of forced marching, searched around the manor, village buildings and the inn in search of shelter and food. After setting up pickets, the unit decided to stay in the manor house. Welcomed by the owners of the estate, Kalikst and Wiktoria Świderski.
The skirmish Just an hour after the Ramotowski unit had arrived at Białaszewo, Russian troops appeared and opened fire on the insurgent positions. The size of the tsarist army is difficult to estimate. It was most likely the vanguard of Matveyev's unit, commanded by Baron Rosen, reinforced by a dozen or so horsemen from Szczuczyn. The Russians, not having their full forces at their disposal and not knowing the size of the insurgent forces, were afraid to storm the buildings for a long time and hid behind the forest wall firing at the Polish garrison. Józef Ramotowski was in a similar situation. Aware that his men were, hungry, cold, and exhausted by the strenuous march, were unable to engage in battle, he gave the order for the party to immediately march towards the ferry crossing in Osowiec, instructing a volunteer rifle unit, which had been ordered to hide in the manor buildings, to take on the attack.
The farmstead, surrounded by a wooden fence, was located on the southern edge of the village. The entrance to the estate's courtyard was through a gate between two wooden buildings, which were occupied by the main forces of the riflemen. With the exception of a few individuals who had previously served in other units, most of them were soldiers without any training and, worse still, armed mainly with hunting weapons. The shots, although quite frequent, were fired from poor-quality weapons and, it seems, only served to scare off the attackers. Time passed and the defenders ran out of ammunition. There were several dead and wounded. After about an hour of exchange of fire, the insurgents decided to leave the farm and, under the cover of buildings, began to retreat to a forest about 30–40 metres away. Seeing that the defensive fire was weakening, the Russians launched an attack.
This is how Józef Karpowicz, one of the participants, described the skirmish:
The details of the retreat of the riflemen from the Białaszewo estate are unknown. Most likely, it was quite chaotic. Some of them, as can be seen in the example of Karpowicz and his young friends, were surprised by the invading Russians. However, as there were people in the unit who knew the local forest and could serve as guides, it can be assumed that thanks to them, a large group – travelling through the forests to Osowiec – reached the ferry crossing and joined Wawer's main forces. According to tradition, after leaving the farm, the group of riflemen retreated into the forests of Ruda and marched north, where they joined Ramotowski's unit a few days later. Karpowicz himself, as he further describes, after crossing the fence, hid with some of the unit in a field furrow. They then retreated into the forest and, after wandering for several hours, reached the hut of a forest ranger. Who gave them shelter and at dawn took them to Biebrza, where they found only the remains of the farmstead destroyed the previous day.
Aftermath After the riflemen left the farm, some of the Russians attacked the manor house. After showering the building with bullets, a group of soldiers broke in. Kalikst Świderski's eldest daughter, Aspazja, who stood in the way of one of the soldiers was killed with two bayonet thrusts. Kalikst and Wiktoria were severely beaten, their son-in-law Gustaw Świętosławski was wounded by two shots, and the women and children were robbed. Facing a threat to their lives, the whole family took refuge in the garden. Aspazja's death was described as follows by the diarist Izydor Bielicki:
The Russian troops looted the manor house and outbuildings eventually burning them down after. According to Świderski's account, the soldiers' lawlessness lasted about an hour.
The murders and looting committed by Russian troops on Kalikst Świderski's estate caused a stir in the Augustów Governorate and in the foreign press. They also had certain legal consequences. Świderski submitted a report on the events of 31 March to the civil governor Józef Korytkowski. The latter added his own comments to the letter and forwarded it to the Director-General of Internal Affairs in Warsaw with a request for an explanation and compensation for the losses suffered by Kalikst Świderski where he was awarded the first part of the compensation (2/3 of the insurance amount) for the burnt buildings.
Casualties from the skirmish number two dead and 8 wounded for the insurgents while the Russian casualties are unknown.
Legacy In 1933, a stone obelisk commemorating the tragic events of 1863 and their victims was erected in the former manor courtyard.
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