The Zamość Fortress in the Grand Duchy of Warsaw (1809-1813)

Abstract

The paper is divided into three parts. The first one presents the output of Polish historiography up to date on the history of Zamość and the Zamość fortress during the Grand Duchy of Warsaw. In this part some archival collections have been shown. They deal with the history of the Zamość fortress in the years 1809-1813, including descriptions of the plans of the fortress made regularly in the years 1809-1815.

The second part presents a genesis and course of the operation in which the fortress was captured from the Austrian hands by the army of Prince Józef Poniatowski in May 1809. Zamość together with its vicinities was joined to the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and the thirty-year-long Austrian rule was thus abolished. In this part the picture of the Zamość fortress is presented immediately after the town-fortress had been joined to the Grand Duchy of Warsaw.

The third part focuses on the military importance of the Zamość fortress in the years 1812-1813, the description of the fortress and its garrison during the heroic defence against the Russian armies in 1813. It concentrates on the three stages of the defence completed with an honorary capitulation almost after ten-month-long defence. The less known episodes of the fortress's defence are discussed here, including the most important heroes of those events, so important for the 19^th century history of Zamość.