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.
History of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1764–1795)
Kościuszko attempted to relocate his formation to Warsaw, but was blocked by a strong Russian force led by General Fiodor Denisov. Attempting to circumvent that army, Kościuszko encountered a separate smaller Russian corps under General Alexander Tormasov. The Battle of Racławice that ensued was won with a daring charge by the "kosynierzy"; it failed to open the route to Warsaw, but lifted the spirit of the insurgents and a Polish legend was born. In the context of general military mobilization, the commander demonstrated his support for the peasants and became a symbol of their cause (and of national unity across the class spectrum).