Alexander Bielaski | |
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| Born | (1811-08-01)August 1, 1811 |
| Died | November 7, 1861(1861-11-07) (aged 50) nearBelmont, Missouri, U.S. |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance | Kingdom of Poland United States |
| Branch | Army of Poland Union Army |
| Rank | Captain |
| Conflicts | November Uprising |
| Spouse | Mary Ann Carey |
| Children | Oscar Bielaski |
| Relations | A. Bruce Bielaski (grandson) Ruth Shipley (granddaughter) |
Alexander Bielaski (August 1, 1811 – November 7, 1861) was an engineer andUnion Army officer who was killed during theBattle of Belmont during theAmerican Civil War. Born in theMinsk Governorate of theRussian Empire or elsewhere in the formerGrand Duchy of Lithuania, Bielaski fought under Polish officerHenryk Dembiński during theNovember Uprising against the Russians in 1831. After suffering a disfiguring wound at theBattle of Grochów, he immigrated to the United States in 1832 and worked as an engineer and surveyor, including doing work for theBaltimore and Ohio Railroad and theIllinois Central Railroad. Bielaski was a friend ofAbraham Lincoln, who gave him a commission in the Union Army when the American Civil War broke out in 1861. Serving as an aide toBrigadier GeneralJohn A. McClernand, Bielaski was killed while leading the27th Illinois Infantry Regiment in a charge at the Battle of Belmont.
Alexander Bielaski was born either in theMinsk Governorate of theRussian Empire or elsewhere in the formerGrand Duchy of Lithuania, on August 1, 1811.[1][2][3] The modern historian Nathaniel C. Hughes describes him as Polish.[4] Bielaski was trained as atopographical engineer[1] in a Russian military academy atSt. Petersburg and entered theImperial Russian Army as an engineer.[5] He joined theNovember Uprising, a revolt against the Russian Empire, in 1831. He served in a Polish army underHenryk Dembiński,[1] under whom he once commanded a 300-man rear guard; his unit was wrecked by a Russian attack and Bielaski only returned to Polish headquarters with a single man.[6] He was later shot in the mouth while fighting in theBattle of Grochów. The wound was disfiguring and destroyed several teeth. After the wound healed, Bielaski moved to Paris to work for the French government before immigrating to the United States in 1832.[1][5]
Bielaski entered the United States atPortland, Maine, and entered the railroad industry.[1] When he first reached the United States, he spoke no English, but some French; he eventually gained a proficiency in the use of English.[7] After serving as a surveyor and engineer for theBaltimore and Ohio Railroad, he traveled toFlorida for surveying work in 1835 before moving toSpringfield, Illinois, in 1837.[8] That same year, Bielaski befriendedAbraham Lincoln.[4] After surveying theIllinois Central Railroad, he wasnaturalized as aUnited States citizen in 1841. In July 1842, he married Springfield resident Mary Ann Carey, before moving toMexico City in November 1842. Bielaski spent eighteen months in Mexico, where he was employed as an engineer and declined an offer of Mexican citizenship made bySanta Anna.[9]
Returning to Illinois, he farmed for two years, but accepted an offer of employment with theUnited States General Land Office in 1845.[9] Bielaski moved toWashington, D. C. for the position; by 1853, he had been promoted to a well-compensated position as a principal draftsman. After Lincoln was electedpresident, he would spend evenings sitting with Bielaski on the latter's porch.[4] When theAmerican Civil War began in 1861, Lincoln offered Bielaski acaptain's commission to serve in theUnion Army. Bielaski was initially reluctant to accept the offer because of his family, but was convinced to join the army by Lincoln.[9] After joining the Union Army, he became anaide-de-camp forBrigadier GeneralJohn A. McClernand.[4]
While serving as an aide to McClernand, Bielaski was concerned about the armament of the Union troops. McClernand's men were largely armed withflintlock muskets retooled to usepercussion caps. Bielaski felt that the Unioncavalry should be armed withlances, as were French and Austrian armies as well as theCossacks.[10] Early in the war, theConfederate States Army controlled the towns ofColumbus, Kentucky, andBelmont, Missouri on opposite sides of theMississippi River, giving them control of the river. Union Brigadier GeneralUlysses S. Grant wanted to contain the Confederate positions, and boarded men onto transport vessels on November 6, 1861. After learning that the Confederates were planning an offensive, Grant ordered the transports to attack the Confederate camp in Belmont. A position near Belmont was reached on November 7, and the Union troops began moving to attack the Confederates, who were commanded by Brigiader GeneralGideon Pillow.[11]
While most of Grant's force encountered Pillow's Confederates, McClernand had detached the27th Illinois Infantry Regiment, under the command ofColonelNapoleon Buford, to take a road to the Union right, and be in position on the other side of aslough from the main Union line. Bielaski accompanied Buford and the 27th Illinois Infantry during the movement. During the march, Buford learned that by abandoning his original directions and heading further down the road, he could strike the Confederates in the rear of their position. Buford decided to make the movement against the Confederate rear; the historian Nathaniel Cheairs Hughes believes that Bielaski supported the decision. After turning onto aplank road and later making another turn, the 27th Illinois Infantry Regiment reached a point within 0.25 miles (0.40 km) of the Confederate camp, where the trees surrounding the camp had been cut down to formabatis. Bielaski had helped make the decisions about which roads to take during the movement.[12]
The 27th Illinois Infantry then charged the Confederate line, which was held in that sector by Company A of the13th Tennessee Infantry Regiment. Confederate fire initially disrupted the Union line, but Bielaski rallied the men and took part in the charge. He was first shot in the hand, and was then forced to dismount from his horse after the animal was wounded in the neck. After firing several shots with amusket he picked up on the field, Bielaski grabbed the regiment'sbattle flag and led the charge. Carrying the flag made him a target, though, and he was killed during the attack. Hughes states that he was killed by a bullet to the head,[13] while Joseph A. Wytrwał, writing forPolish American Studies, attributes his death to a cannonball. A contemporary newspaper report stated that he "fell mutilated by cannon bullets".[9] Union ColonelJohn A. Logan stated "a braver man never fell on the field of battle" when writing about Bielaski's death in his action report, and McClernand also noted his bravery.[14] Grant's men were initially able to capture the Confederate camp, but Pillow received reinforcements from Columbus andcounterattacked, driving the Union soldiers from the field.[15] Bielaski was buried in amass grave until his remains were disinterred in 1864 and transferred to theMound City National Cemetery in Illinois. His grave is marked as "Unknown Soldier, killed at the Battle of Belmont".[14]
Bielaski was the father ofOscar Bielaski, who was one of the firstPolish-Americans to play professional baseball in the United States. Through his other son, Alexander, Bielaski was the grandfather ofA. Bruce Bielaski,[16] who served as director of what became theFederal Bureau of Investigation from 1912 to 1919.[17]Ruth Shipley was A. Bruce's sister and Bielaski's granddaughter;[18] she served as the head of the passport division of theUnited States Department of State for 27 years.[19]
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