A November Night

Wojciech Kossak (1857-1942) A NOVEMBER NIGHT, 1898, oil on canvas, Private Collection.

195 years ago tonight, Polish cadets from the Congress Kingdom’s Military Academy revolted and attacked the Belweder Palace, the seat of the Russian Grand Duke Governor. In Kossak’s painting, the statue of King Jan Sobieski almost appears to be leading the cadets.

Russia sent 180,000 troops to oppose the 70,000 Poles and Lithuanians who took up arms to defend their Independence. Despite the enormous disparity of numbers and resources, the fighting went on for eleven months and the Polish forces won several major battles before the uprising was suppressed.

Chopin commemorated the November Insurrection with his “Insurrectionary Étude Op. 10, No. 12 in C minor”.