Bar Confederation
The Bar Confederation (Polish: Konfederacja barska; 1768–1772) was an association of Polish–Lithuanian nobles (szlachta) formed at the fortress of Bar in Podolia, now Ukraine, in 1768 to defend the internal and external independence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth against Russian political influence and against King Stanislaus II Augustus with Polish reformers, who were attempting to limit the power of the Commonwealth's wealthy magnates.
| War of the Bar Confederation | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of a series of Russo-Polish wars | |||||||||
Bar Confederates pray before the battle of Lanckorona, painting by Artur Grottger (1863) | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Russian Empire |
Poland–Lithuania (Bar Confederation) Kingdom of France (from 1770) | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Ivan Weymarn Aleksandr Bibikov Alexander Suvorov Ivan Karpovich Elmpt |
Karol Radziwiłł Casimir Pulaski Michał Jan Pac Count Benyovszky Charles François Dumouriez | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| Lanckorona: 3,500 troops |
Lanckorona: ~3,500 troops; 2 cannons Total: ~100,000 – 150,000 | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Unknown | Heavy | ||||||||
The founders of the Bar Confederation included the magnates Adam Stanisław Krasiński, Bishop of Kamieniec, Karol Stanisław Radziwiłł, Casimir Pulaski, his father and brothers and Michał Hieronim Krasiński. Its creation led to a civil war and contributed to the First Partition of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Maurice Benyovszky was the best known European Bar Confederation volunteer, supported by Roman Catholic France and Austria. Some historians consider the Bar Confederation the first Polish uprising.