This project will group Polish participants and leaders who for their participation in the 1830 November Insurrection were forces into exile. Many were forced to leave for America (or given an option to return to Russia). They chose America. Some ended up in other European countries.

Over 100,000 of participants were sent to Siberia on the orders of the Tsar Nicholas I following the uprising. This project does not deal with those sent to Siberia.

"The body of exiles contained some the nation's most illustrious men in the field of statesmanship, learning and art. The big problems faced by these brave people were the poverty and distress of the homeless, the uncertain legal status of political refugees and the difficulty of leading a normal life of self-respecting work in a foreign country."

The first two ships containing 234 men and one woman arrived in New York on March 28, 1834. More exiles followed on other ships later until about 425 made the trip to America. The goal of this project is to capture the names and biographies of all 425 exiles.

Source and quote from: "Polish Exiles in Illinois" - Mrs. Isaac D. Rawlings, 1927, Illinois State Historical Society

November Insurrection, (1830–31), Polish rebellion that unsuccessfully tried to overthrow Russian rule in the Congress Kingdom of Poland as well as in the Polish provinces of western Russia and parts of Lithuania, Belorussia, (now Belarus), and Ukraine.

When a revolution broke out in Paris (July 1830) and the Russian emperor Nicholas I indicated his intention of using the Polish Army to suppress it, a Polish secret society of infantry cadets staged an uprising in Warsaw (Nov. 29, 1830). Although the cadets and their civilian supporters failed to assassinate the Emperor’s brother Grand Duke Constantine (who was commander in chief of the armed forces in Poland) or to capture the barracks of the Russian cavalry, they did manage to seize weapons from the arsenal, arm the city’s civilian population, and gain control of the northern section of Warsaw.

The Russians then settled into winter camps, and uprisings sympathetic to the Poles broke out in Russian-controlled Lithuania, Belorussia, and Ukraine (spring 1831). Nevertheless, the Polish commanders hesitated to strike and then quickly retreated. Furthermore, the divided political leaders not only refused to pass reforms to win the support of the peasantry but also failed to gain the foreign aid that the generals were depending on.

The insurgents’ partial success was aided by the Grand Duke’s reluctance to take action against them and his eagerness to retreat to safety. But lacking definite plans, unity of purpose, and decisive leadership, the rebels lost control of the situation to moderate political figures, who restored order in the city and futilely hoped to negotiate with Nicholas for political concessions. Although the rebellion gained widespread support and its new leaders formally deposed Nicholas as king of Poland (Jan. 25, 1831), the conservative military commanders were unprepared when Nicholas’ army of 115,000 troops moved in (Feb. 5–6, 1831). The Polish Army of 40,000 offered strong resistance at several battles, but it was unable to stop the Russian advance toward Warsaw until February 25, when it fought a major but indecisive battle at Grochów.

As a consequence, the rebellion lost its impetus, particularly after a major Russian victory at Ostrołęka on May 26, 1831. The uprisings in the western Russian provinces were crushed, and people in the cities began losing confidence in the revolution’s leaders. When the Russians finally attacked Warsaw on September 6, the Polish Army withdrew to the north two days later. Leaving the territory of Congress Poland, which subsequently fell under stricter and more repressive Russian control, the Poles crossed the border into Prussia (October 5) and surrendered, thus ending the November Insurrection.

Many of the exiles left for Austria. "Austria signed agreements with Russia and Prussia in 1833 in which it promised to carefully control the exiles acitivities. As a result of these agreements, Austria interned some 400 exiles in the Fortress of Brno in Moravia".

These exiles were given a choice to return to Russia, or be deported to America. Most of them chose deportation to America. On November 21-22 two Austrian warships Hebe and Guerriere transported a group of 235 exiles to America.

Source: https://www.britannica.com/event/November-Insurrection

Polish Americans, an Ethnic community - James S. Pula

Helpful resources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_Uprising

Books:

August A. Jakubowski "The Remembrances of a Polish Exile", 1935. - published by one of the 234 Polish exiles from Trieste.

Po Powstaniu Listopadowym (1830-1831) wielu uczestników i przywódców było zmuszonych emigrować poza granice okupowanej Polski. Cześć z nich wyemigrowała do Ameryki. Celem tego projektu jest zgrupowanie tych emigrantow. Wielu (ponad 100,000) wraz z całymi rodzinami zostali wysłani na Syberie przez cara Mikolaja I ktory postanowił po powstaniu ze Polacy przestana istnieć. Projekt ten nie dotyczy tych nieszcześnikow wysłanych na Syberie.

Powstanie listopadowe, wojna polsko-rosyjska 1830–1831[4] – polskie powstanie narodowe przeciwko Imperium Rosyjskiemu, które wybuchło w nocy z 29 na 30 listopada 1830, a zakończyło się 21 października 1831[potrzebny przypis][5]. Zasięgiem swoim objęło Królestwo Polskie i część ziem zabranych (Litwę, Żmudź i Wołyń).

Po upadku powstania car Mikołaj I Romanow wypowiedział słowa: Nie wiem, czy będzie jeszcze kiedy jaka Polska, ale tego jestem pewien, że nie będzie już Polaków[6].

Po upadku powstania 9 czerwca 1832 papież Grzegorz XVI potępił wybuch powstania jako zbuntowanie się przeciwko „legalnej władzy władcy”[7]. Wkrótce potem uświadomiony przez doradców o faktycznych działaniach carskich, papież tłumaczył, że dał się oszukać dyplomacji i nigdy nie chciał potępić Polaków[8].

W Wojsku Polskim w rocznicę wybuchu powstania obchodzony jest Dzień Podchorążego.

Historia powstania:
https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powstanie_listopadowe