Józef Poniatowski
nephew of King of Poland Stanislaus II; Marshal of France (1763-1813)
Prince Józef Antoni Poniatowski (Polish pronunciation: [ˈjuzɛf anˈtɔɲi pɔɲaˈtɔfskʲi]; 7 May 1763 – 19 October 1813) was a Polish military officer and politician who served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.
A nephew of King Stanislaus Augustus, Poniatowski began his military career in 1780 in the Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Emperor, where he attained the rank of colonel. In 1789, after leaving the Imperial Army, he joined the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Army at the request of his uncle. Poniatowski, now at the rank of major general and commander of the Royal Guards, took part in the Polish–Russian War of 1792, leading the Polish army to victory at the Battle of Zieleńce. After the king's support for the Targowica Confederation of 1792, Poniatowski felt compelled to resign. In 1794 he participated in the Kościuszko Uprising against Russia and oversaw the unsuccessful defence of Warsaw, for which Russian authorities exiled him from Poland until 1798.
In 1807, after the First French Empire established the client Duchy of Warsaw, Poniatowski was appointed the duchy's minister of war. He commanded a 16,000-strong army during the Austro-Polish War in 1809 and fought a larger Austrian force in the Battle of Raszyn. There followed a Polish advance into the territory of Galicia. The conflict ended with a Polish victory, which allowed the Duchy of Warsaw to recover some of the lands lost in the Partitions of Poland.
“Józef Poniatowski” enters the record as nephew of King of Poland Stanislaus II; Marshal of France (1763-1813). Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Józef, Poniatowski and nephew can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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