Polish American hero who helped US buy Alaska born 193 yrs ago
Saturday marked the 193rd birth anniversary of Wlodzimierz Bonawentura Krzyzanowski, a Polish American engineer, politician and military leader who helped the United States buy Alaska from Russia in 1867, and according to some served as its first governor.
A Polish nobleman, Krzyzanowski (8 July 1824 – 31 January 1887) took part in the country’s 1848 uprising against Prussia and left Poland after the revolt was suppressed.
Krzyzanowski arrived in America at the age of 21, fleeing persecution after his conspiratorial activities during the Spring of Nations were uncovered.
He owed his promotion to the rank of general in the United States to his role in America’s Civil War, where he fought in as a brigadier general in the Union Army, to which position he was appointed on November 26, 1862 by none other than president Abraham Lincoln. Having played a key role in a number of battles, among others, the Battle of Wauhatchie, on 2 March 1865, Lincoln nominated Krzyzanowski for brevet brigadier general of volunteers.
After the war, Krzyzanowski became governor of Alabama, after which he served as the governor of Georgia. He worked in the U.S. Treasury Department and subsequently in the customs service in New York and Panama.
On March 30, 1867, the United States purchased Alaska from Russia for USD 7.2 million. Krzyzanowski took part in negotiations on the deal, and allegedly as a reward for his services as personal representative of Secretary William H during the process, he got the post of the first administrator of Alaska Territory. The evidence to back this information has been scarce, however, it is confirmed Krzyzanowski was sent to Alaska as a rep of the US administration in order to tackle crime in the region.
Wlodzimierz Krzyzanowski died at the age of 62 in New York City (on January 31, 1887). On the 50th anniversary of his death, his remains were transferred with military honors from Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery, New York, to Arlington National Cemetery. A radio tribute by President Franklin D. Roosevelt was broadcast nationwide, with Poland's message from President Ignacy Moscicki having been transmitted staright from Warsaw. (PAP)
