28 | 
bassador, demanded the surrender 
of the arsenal; but was resolutely 
refused. He had, in the mean 
time,dispatched general Woronzow, 
with six thousand men, to oppose 
Kosciusko, On the fourth of April, 
1794, they both met, and a despe- 
rate battle was fought, wherein the 
Russians left upwards of a thousand 
men dead on the field, with all their 
cannon and ammunition, besides a 
number of prisoners, among whom 
was the general himself. 
Irritated at this loss, Ingelstrohm 
again required the arsenal to be sur- 
rendered, the Polish military to be 
disarmed, and about,twenty persons 
of rank, whom hé suspected, to be 
taken into custody, and, if found 
guilty of abetting the insurrections, 
to be put to death. The king and 
council refused compliance, and de- 
puted the chancellor of the king. 
dom to remonstrate against his de- 
mands: but he was treated with 
the utmost dignity by the Russian 
ambassador, who attempted the 
next morning, seventeenth of April, 
to take possession of the arsenal. 
But the citizens had anticipated him; 
they armed themselves, drew out 
the cannon, and, joined by the 
Polish garrison, their forces amount- 
ed to more than twenty thousand 
men, ‘They attacked the Russians, 
and expelled them from the city, 
after an obstinate contest of thirty. 
six hours. 
Notwithstanding that the king 
had openly encouraged the people 
to defend the arsenal, they still look- 
ed upon him with a suspicious eye. 
After the expulsion of the Russians, 
they required him solemnly to pro- 
mise, that he would not quit the 
city. The two municipal officers 
still attended him, and all his mo- 
tions were strictly watched, The 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 1795. 
king, solicitous to remove all suspi. 
cions of his sincerity in the cause, 
sent the one half of his plate to the 
mint, and expended the other in re- 
lieving the families of those citi- 
zens who had fallen in the conflict 
with the Russians. He daily ap- 
peared in public, and personally su- 
perintended the repairs of the for- 
tifications round Warsaw. 
In order to unite all parties, and 
convince Europe, that the constitu- 
tion of 1791 was the real object of 
the Polish nation, the provisional 
council of regency, that had been 
established by the patriotic party, at 
the commencement of the insurrec- 
tion, laid down its authority, and a 
national council was appointed, un- 
der the direction of the king. This 
measure took place through the ad- 
vice and influence of Kosciusko, 
and powerfully conduced to cement 
the union and cordiality now sub- 
sisting between all classes of people 
inthe kingdom. These transactions 
happened about the end of May, by 
which time the hopes and expecta. 
tions of the Poles seemed to be coun- 
tenanced by a variety of successful 
and promising events, - The Rus- 
sians had been defeated in many 
skirmishes, and the Polish forces 
were daily becoming more nume. 
rous. Exclusively of the peasantry, 
whose vigour and zeal rendered 
them of most essential utility, and 
who were constantly ready to a&t 
when called upon, the regular mi- 
litary of the patriotic party, pre. 
sented a formidable aspec&t. The 
various bodies under Kosciusko, and 
the other Polish generals, amounted 
altogether to near seventy thousand 
men, well armed, and under good 
discipline. : 
But the evil star of Poland still 
combated these exertions, Russia, 
now 
