392 LIVES OF THE POLISH HEROES. 



both slavery and shipwreck, he arrived safe and sound at Leghorn. 

 On his arrival at Pesaro, he was introduced to General Dombrowski, 

 who appointed him adjutant-major of the second Polish legion. From 

 this period until the downfall of Napoleon, Sierawski continued to 

 serve France. In 1812, he was promoted by the Emperor to the rank 

 of General de Brigade, and received for his bravery, at the battles of 

 Gobel and Leipsig, the cross of officer of the Legion of Honour. 



In 1814, when the French capital fell into the hands of the allies, 

 Sierawski took the route of Poland with the mutilated wreck of the 

 Polish army. From 1815 to 1817, he was charged with the instruction 

 of the Model battalions. He afterwards commanded the foot guard, 

 and was appointed, by the Emperor Alexander, knight of the grand 

 order of Stanislaus, and colonel in chief of a regiment of grenadiers, 

 with which was incorporated a regiment of chasseurs. In this post, 

 Sierawski drew down upon him the suspicion of the Grand Duke Con- 

 stantine. The attachment of the soldier to his general always excited 

 the distrust of this pro-consul, when he did not find in theofficer that ser- 

 vilism and corruption which he wished to introduce into the Polish ranks. 

 Persecuted for this honourable motive, Sierawski several times during 

 the year 1818 offered to resign, and applied for leave of absence and a 

 passport for the United States. But the Emperor, doubtless with a 

 view of punishing this brave officer, for preferring his honour to the 

 rank of general in the guards, instead of acceding to his wishes, ap- 

 pointed him commandant of the fortress of Modlin, which at that period, 

 demolished and abandoned, was considered as the Siberia of Poland. 

 Here Sierawski resisted the orders of the Grand Duke, by treating his 

 prisoners with humanity, and by substituting the articles of the military 

 penal code, for the arbitrary and " bon plaisir regime" of the brutal 

 Constantine. He was, in consequence, recalled to Warsaw, where he 

 remained till the revolution broke out, exposed to all kinds of vexations, 

 and strictly watched by the police. 



When the revolution broke out, Sierawski was on horseback, but 

 stopped by a Russian detachment, he was indebted for his liberty to the 

 precipitation with which they evacuated the city. Joining the 4th regi- 

 ment of the line, he was received with cries of enthusiasm. He was 

 then called to the administrative council. He demonstrated the neces- 

 sity of organizing the revolution, by placing a chief at its head ; and, 

 sacrificing his own self-love, was the first to propose Chlopecki as the 

 most ancient in grade. Sierawski took upon himself the internal defence 

 of the capital. Despatched, afterwards, to take the command of the 

 fortress of Zamosc, he first set at liberty 1,400 victims of Russian des- 

 potism, and then, in a very few days, he placed the city in a complete 

 posture of defence, and forwarded to Warsaw twenty-seven pieces of 

 cannon, of various calibres. 



He was still at Zamosck, when the Russian General Kreutz sent in a 

 flag of truce, to summon the place to surrender. On reading the des- 

 patch, Sierawski assembled his staff, in order to read in their presence 

 a confidential letter from the enemy's general. In this letter, Kreutz, 

 after making the most brilliant promises, told Sierawski that the Polish 

 revolution had been effected by young heads. At this passage, Sie- 

 rawski, turning round to the officer commanding the flag of truce, said 

 to him, " Take back, as an answer to your general, that you have seen 

 these gray hairs, and that I shall not betray the national cause." At a 



