Prince Józef Antoni Poniatowski, Marshal of France

Gems, Europe, Italy, Sculpture, ca. 1810, Onyx, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Cameos, Chalcedony, Italian Rights; Metropolitan Museum of Art Terms and Conditions

Prince Poniatowski was a Polish military officer and politician who served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. A nephew of Stanisław II August, Poniatowski began his military career in 1780 in the Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Emperor, where he attained the rank of colonel.

In 1789, after leaving the Imperial Army, he joined the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Army at the request of his uncle. Poniatowski, now at the rank of major general and commander of the Royal Guards, took part in the Polish–Russian War of 1792, leading the Polish army to victory at the Battle of Zieleńce.

After the king's support for the Targowica Confederation of 1792, Poniatowski felt compelled to resign. In 1794 he participated in the Kościuszko Uprising against Russia and oversaw the unsuccessful defence of Warsaw, for which Russian authorities exiled him from Poland until 1798.

A staunch ally and supporter of Napoleon, Poniatowski voluntarily took part in the French invasion of Russia in 1812. Injuries received during the invasion eventually forced his return to Warsaw, where he worked on the reconstruction of the army of the Duchy of Warsaw, which was intended to fight in the German campaign of 1813. During the Battle of Leipzig, Poniatowski was badly wounded while trying to escape and drowned in the White Elster. Poniatowski tried to escape across the Elstermühlgrabenbut, was badly injured and probably shot by his allies by mistake, drowned in the river.