Ignacy Skorupka
A day later his body was transported to a garrison church in Warsaw, and shortly, he was given a state funeral at the prestigious Powązki Cemetery, attended by many government and military authorities; general Józef Haller presented him with a posthumous Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari. His death became a political ploy, used by the opponents of Polish military commander and leader Józef Piłsudski, architect of the Polish strategy that led to the victory at Warsaw. His opponents labelled the battle "miracle of Vistula", and attributed the Polish victory to a number of causes, up to and including divine intervention, and Skorupka's martyr-like death became part of their attempt to minimize Piłsudski's fame. Several monuments, streets and other landmarks were dedicated to him in the Second Polish Republic; he became a central figure in several books, poems and dramas; and Pope Pius XI commissioned a wall painting of him by Jan Henryk de Rosen at the battle at the Castel Gandolfo. Another popular painting of him was created by Jerzy Kossak.
Battle of Warsaw (1705)
On 16 July, some 1,000 Poles crossed the river at Karczew and attacked a Swedish guard-post consisting of 20 men. After defending themselves for some time, the Swedes were reinforced by 150 cavalrymen who forced the Poles to retire, leaving behind 30 dead. A further 200 men drowned as they went back over the Vistula River and four men ended up in captivity. Five days later, the Polish commander Stanisław Chomętowski arrived at Praga with 67 banners of Polish–Lithuanian cavalry and 400 Saxons. He attempted to cross the Vistula to Warsaw in boats and ferries. He was repulsed, but the repeated attempts caused the nobility in Warsaw to scatter. Paykull appeared with his full army by the end of the month and immediately overwhelmed two small Swedish reconnaissance units sent by Nieroth to operate on that side of the river. Here some important intelligence was gained, informing Paykull of the exact strength of the enemy, hardly 2,000 men, as well as the condition of the river.