Antanas Mackevičius
Antanas Mackevičius (Polish: Antoni Mackiewicz; 26 June 1828 – 28 December 1863) was a Lithuanian Roman Catholic priest who was one of the leaders and initiators of the January Uprising in Lithuania.[a]
Antanas Mackevičius | |
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A picture of Mackevičius | |
| Born | June 28, 1828 Morkiai village, Raseiniai County, Russian Empire |
| Died | December 28, 1863 (aged 35) Kaunas, Governorate of Kaunas, Russian Empire |
| Cause of death | Execution by Tsarist hangmen |
| Education | Vilnius Gymnasium (1840–1846) Saint Vladimir University (1846–1849) |
| Occupation | Roman Catholic priest |
Mackevičius was born to a family of petty nobles. He studied in Kyiv and Varniai. He became involved in the uprising conspiracy. After the outbreak of the January Uprising in Warsaw on January 22, he announced the manifesto of the National Government on March 8 and formed a unit in Paberžė, which consisted mainly of the local Lithuanian peasants that enthusiastically joined his units. Mackevičius, dressed in the priest's Cassock coat himself, being bi-lingual, commanded his troops in the Lithuanian and Polish language. He joined Zygmunt Sierakowski's unit, after whose defeat he continued to fight on his own. He was one of the longest-fighitng commanders of a partisan unit in Lithuania. On 17 December 1863, he was captured by the Russians and executed a few days later in Kaunas. He became a legend during his lifetime and is still considered a national hero in Lithuania and Poland.