Antonina Tomaszewska

Tomaszewska was born in 1814 in Raseiniai, Samogitia, then part of the Russian Empire and previously part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. She was born into the Polish-Lithuanian nobility, and was educated at a Benedictine monastery in Kražiai. While she was attending the monastery, a large-scale revolt broke out in Warsaw against the Russian garrison of the city. This revolt grew into the November Uprising of 1830–1831, during which the pro-independence Polish National Government organized local resistance groups to fight against the Imperial Russian Army. Tomaszewska left her monastery and joined one of these groups, equipping herself with a horse, lance, and sabre. She proved a skillful enough combatant to join an organized Polish unit of lancers.[1][2][3]

During the uprising, Tomaszewska fought in a number of battles against the Russian Army, often with distinction;[3] during one battle between her unit and a Russian detachment of Circassian cavalry, she fought as part of the first row of combatants.[3]

Following the defeat of the uprising, Tomaszewska fled with her unit into exile in Prussia. She later emigrated France, where she married a former Polish officer.[3] She returned to the Russian-controlled province of Poland later in life, where she settled in Płock.[1] She died in 1883.[1]

• Emilia Plater