Description
Stefan Czarniecki, of the Łodzia coat of arms, was
most likely born in the family estate of Czarnca in
the Chęciny County in 1599. The exact date of his birth
is not known. This is not surprising as the future field
hetman of the Polish Crown, victor of the Muscovites
and the Swedes, came from the so-called middle
nobility. His family was not significant enough for
the birth of the subsequent children to capture
the attention of its contemporaries. As a result
Czarniecki had to earn his place in the history books
on his own.
Stefan Czarniecki chose a career in the army early on,
and starting from 1626 he fought against the Swedes,
the Russians and the Cossacks. His military talent was
recognized − in 1651 he was already commanding
a hetman’s regiment, and a year later he was
promoted to the position of the crown camp leader.
In the subsequent years, he was entrusted with
the command of independent army divisions that
were sent to Ukraine to fight against the Cossacks.
However, he gained real fame during the Swedish
Deluge. As the only higher-ranked Crown commander,
he remained loyal to King John Casimir Vasa, for
whom he bravely defended Kraków in the autumn
of 1655. After the king returned to the country,
Czarniecki was appointed an army commander in
the rank of army leader.
He successfully waged war against the Swedes,
employing “hit and run” tactics, and in 1657 he
defeated the army of George II Rákóczi, the prince
of Transylvania who was allied with the Swedes.
He achieved further victories one year later, when
he was sent to Denmark as the commander of
reinforcements for the anti-Swedish coalition.
After returning to Poland, he led the campaign
against the Russians in Lithuania, defeating them in
the battle of Połonka, and forcing them to retreat to
the country’s eastern frontiers (1660). One year later, he
crushed the Russians again in the battle of Kuszliki.
During the period of military confederations (1661-1663),
he remained loyal to the king, supporting the planned
election reforms and fighting against the pro-Muscovite
Cossacks. In recognition of his merit, near the end of
his life he was promoted to the office of the field crown
hetman (1665). He was also a senator as the castellan of
Kiev (1655), and then the voivode of Ruthenia (1657) and
of Kiev (1664). For the subsequent generations he became
a symbol of a soldier and a patriot whose name was
immortalized in Dąbrowski’s Mazurka.
Dariusz Milewski
Obverse
On the obverse there is
a fragment of the mantling (a vegetal ornament)
of the heraldic shield of the Hetman Stefan
Czarniecki’s family line - Łodzia.
Reverse
The reverse of the silver coin carries the image
of hetman Stefan Czarniecki, with the hetman’s
sign in the background.
|
