A French officer’s unknown report about the battles of Nowa Wieś and Brdów

The letter, written by a participant of the Polish 1863 uprising in Poznan on 20 June 1863, was pur- chased from Bertrand Malvaux, an antiquarian from Nantes (“Arts militaires, souvenirs historiques”, 22, rue Crebillon) by Tomasz Paciorek in 2014, and was subsequently published by Jacek Kowalski in the form of a transcription and translation into Polish with a comprehensive commentary. The letter was probably authored by Victor-Alexandre Vayssière, second lieutenant (sous-lieutenant) serving in the 76th régiment de ligne stationed in Nantes, and was addressed to a Bareit (possibly Jules-François Bareit), serving as a second lieutenant in the 93rd régiment de ligne from Bayonne in 1864. Vayssière came to Poznan with a group of French volunteers brought by Count Jan Działyński from Kórnik. He participated in the insurgent campaign led by Leon Young (Junk, Jung) de Blankenheim, whose trail of battles and death are described [in the letter]. However, Vayssiére did not take part in the fighting due to an injury. He claimed that he was later offered a promotion to the rank of a lieutenant and the command of a new expedition. Sources confirm Vayssière’s work on the preparation for the expedition, but do not mention his promotion to the rank of a lieutenant, or his participation in the expedition, which finished in a defeat suffered on 15 July. Having returned to France, Vayssière (if identification of this person is correct) took part in the French-Prussian war as a captain, defending the Belfort citadel – for which he was awarded the Legion of Honour