A young Polish woman, Marianna Kossakowska, married a Russian officer with Hungarian roots – Trofim Pawłowicz Pustowojtow. Although this marriage did not please the bride’s family, who cultivated patriotic patterns and did not even have a gram of trust in the partitioning powers, the initial years were successful. The couple had three children: Aleksander, Julia and Anna Henryka.
Their youngest daughter was born on July 26, 1838 in the village of Stare Wierzchowiska near Lublin. She was given the names of Anna Henryka. Her father’s family called her using the Russian diminutives of the first name. For my maternal grandmother, Brygida Kossakowska, it was Henryka.
Everyone knew that although he had Russian roots, he was declaring his Polish identity and willingness to fight against Russia
In a Polish-Russian family at that time, young people had to adopt one point of view. Therefore, the eldest Alexander, who was the closest to his father, considered himself Russian. His sisters, who spent more time with their mother’s family, stood on the Polish side, especially the youngest.
Although according to the law in force at that time, children from the Catholic-Orthodox union should accept their father’s faith (Trofim as a Russian was Orthodox), there are theories that Brygida Kossakowska, Marianna’s mother, led to Henryka’s baptism in the Catholic rite, secretly from her daughter and son-in-law. . Some do not believe it, although it is true that Henry considered herself a Catholic.
The girl studied at the Women’s College of the Congregation of Visitation Sisters in Lublin and at the Institute of Upbringing Maidens in Puławy.
The family idyll did not last long, however. Trofim was a difficult and dry man. He rarely stayed at home and put pressure on the children to go to church. At one point, he moved away from his family and settled in St. Petersburg. Some time later he died.
After completing her education, she began to participate in patriotic demonstrations and later organize them. Her parents wanted to marry her off to a Russian, but Henryka had neither the time nor the desire to do so.
The authorities noticed that the daughter of a high-ranking officer in the Russian army was involved in pro-Polish activities. Henry was famous in the area. Everyone knew that although he had Russian roots, he was declaring his Polish identity and willingness to fight against Russia. It was decided to punish her. There was an idea to send her to a Russian monastery. It was expected to be humble there. However, the plan failed.
On the way to Moscow, the girl fell ill with pneumonia. The officers who were to escort her to the convent faced a difficult decision. Ultimately, they decided that Henryka must return to Żytomierz, where her mother lived after her separation from her father.
When Henryka finally recovered from her illness, she began to engage in opposition activities again. The Russians did not know what to do with it, so Tsar Alexander II himself was asked what steps to take. The ruler wanted the girl to end up in a monastery in Moscow.
However, it did not work again, because the young woman ran away from Żytomierz.
Michal Smok
Henryka fled to Moldova, where the Poles were preparing their troops to fight the enemy. Finally, she decided to return to the Kingdom of Poland and join the fights in the uprising that broke out on January 22, 1963. The young woman was less than 25 years old then.
In February, Henryka reached Staszów, where the unit of General Marian Langiewicz was stationed.
From then on, she was Michał Dragon. She had her hair cut and she was wearing men’s clothes. However, it wasn’t hard to see that she was a woman. This sight was unusual for Polish soldiers. However, Henry turned out to be doing well on the battlefield.
The girl, who was of Russian origin and knew Russian very well, also translated correspondence and interrogations into Polish.
Despite the fact that she was the only woman in the army, no one dared to question her authority. She could be firm and quickly gained respect among other soldiers. The news that there was a woman in the Polish unit fighting the Russians spread quickly throughout Europe. Henryka became a heroine for many women and Poles living in exile.
The young woman greatly appreciated General Langiewicz and was his trusted associate. She accompanied him in every battle. There have even been rumors of their alleged romance, however, it seems that there was no grain of truth in it. Soldiers probably bThey lived jealous of the fact that the woman had gained the trust of the commander. Although they were afraid to comment it out loud, baseless rumors were invented.
Arrest
On the March night of 1863, General Langiewicz and Henryka Pustowójtówna tried to get to Galicia. They were sailing on a canoe on the Vistula River. Unfortunately, they were noticed by the Austrians, who arrested them with a smile.
They were taken to the post located in Ujście Jezuicki. Pustowójtówna and Langiewicz were lucky because they found a Hungarian who, although he served in the Austrian army, was positive towards Poles.
They were taken to the Czech Republic and interrogated. Eventually they were released, but they had to commit to ceasing their activities.
Decision to emigrate
Henry did not want to fulfill the complex declaration, but she did not have much opportunity to resume her activities. She stayed in Prague for some time. She wanted to return to the Kingdom of Poland, but was advised against it. She made the difficult decision to go west.
Initially, she lived in Zurich, Switzerland, then moved to Paris.
New life
The beginnings of life in France were not easy, but the woman settled in with time. She started working as a florist and later opened her own studio, but that was not her only job.
After Henryk’s participation in the January Uprising, she could not stop fighting. She knew she could not return to Poland and fight the Russian regime. Away from the Kingdom of Poland, she decided to support the French in their fights.
She became involved in the Franco-Prussian war (July 1870 – May 1871) as a nurse. French authorities awarded her for helping the wounded in this armed conflict.
Henry also took the side of the revolutionaries of the Paris Commune (1871). One of the commanders of this uprising was a Pole – Jarosław Dąbrowski.
Private life
She met Stanisław Loewenhardt during the January Uprising. Back then, all she thought about was a fight. She met a doctor again in Paris. However, this meeting was special.
Henry, for whom the struggle to free Poland from the yoke of the invader, was usually more important, changed the perspective a bit, staying in exile. Earlier, her parents tried to persuade her to marry, but she did not want to hear about it. However, Henry and Stanisław were connected by feeling. In 1873 they got married.
They had four children. Moreover, they took care of the offspring of Stanisław’s sister, who died as a result of a tragic accident.
She never returned to Polish lands. Anna Henryka Pustowójtówna lived almost 44 years. She died on May 2, 1888 in Paris, probably of a heart attack while sleeping. Her body rested in the Montparnasse cemetery. https://www.ofeminin.pl/swiat-kobiet/henryka-pustowojtowna-nie-tylko-mezczyzni-walczyli-w-powstaniu-styczniowym/hcszqw7