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Roberto Adolfo Chodasiewicz: A Polish Soldier of Fortune in the Paraguayan War*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 December 2015

Harris Gaylord Warren
Harris Gaylord Warren*
Affiliation:
Miami University
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Extract

Well protected by fortifications of their famed cuadrilátero, Paraguayan soldiers surely exclaimed in wonder as they looked toward Brazilian lines on June 24, 1867. There, rising slowly in a hazy wintry sky, was a captive balloon held by two strong ascension ropes. An observer with a good spyglass could have seen in the basket two men who gazed intently at the Paraguayan positions. The aeronauts were James Allen of Rhode Island and Sergeant Major Roberto Adolfo Chodasiewicz, a Polish military engineer and cartographer. This first ascension by the smaller of two balloons proved that the brothers James and Ezra Allen, with the aid of Chodasiewicz, could succeed where a Frenchman, P. L. D. Doyen, had failed on December 14, 1866.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Americas , Volume 41 , Issue 3 , January 1985 , pp. 1 - 19
Copyright
Copyright © Academy of American Franciscan History 1985

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Footnotes

*

Research for this study was aided by a grant from the Penrose Fund of The American Philosophical Society.

References

1 Fragoso, Augusto Tasso, História da guerra entre a tríplice aliança e o Paraguai (2d ed.; 5 vols.,Google Scholar Rio de Janeiro , 1956–1960): 3, 183; Kolinski, Charles J., Independence or Death! The Story of the Paraguayan War (Gainesville, 1965), 147.Google Scholar Haydon, F. Stansbury, “Documents Relating to the First Military Balloon Corps Organized in South America: The Aeronautic Corps of the Brazilian Army, 1867–1868,” HAHR, 19 (Nov., 1939), 504–517 at p. 512.Google Scholar

2 Doyen’s silk balloon burned during the first launch ( Chodasiewicz, R. A., “Los globos aplicados á la guerra” Album de la guerra del Paraguay. (2 vols., Buenos Aires, 1893–1896, I, 107).Google Scholar The Chodasiewicz account of balloon activities, apparently written from memory, varies in many details from other sources. See also Burton, Richard, Letters from the Battle-fields of Paraguay, (London, 1870), pp. 382–383.Google Scholar

3 Autobiografía de Robert Adolfo Chodasiewicz, MS., Archivo General de la Nación, Buenos Aires, 7/11/5/23, pp. 19–20. Hereafter cited as Autobiografía. This autobiography is a small, sketchy volume of 47 pages. It is written in very poor Spanish and probably dates from December, 1890, or January, 1891. Chodasiewicz used “Robert” and “Roberto” interchangeably.

4 Pyzik, Estanislao, Los polacos en la República Argentina (1812–1900). Algunos antecedentes históricos y biográficos (Buenos Aires, 1944), p. 164 Google Scholar; Autobiografía, p. 2

5 Autobiografía, pp. 2–5; Hodasevich, R. [Chodasiewicz, Robert], A Voice from within the Walls of Sebastopol (London, 1856), p. 1 Google Scholar; Pyzik, , Los polacos en la República Argentina, pp. 164–166 Google Scholar; Biedma, José Juan, “El Tte. Coronel de Ingenieros, Roberto A. Chodasiewicz,” Album de la guerra, 1, 107 ff.Google Scholar

6 Hodasevich, , A Voice from within the Walls of Sebastopol, pp. iv–5;Google Scholar Autobiografía, p. 6; Pyzik, , Los polacos en la República Argentina, pp. 167–168.Google Scholar

7 Autobiografía, p. 7. There are several references to Chodasiewicz in Kinglake, Alexander William, The invasion of the Crimea. Its Origin and an Account of Its Progress Down to the Death of Lord Raglan (8 vols., London, 1863–1887), 2, 190,Google Scholar 230, et seq.

8 This book of 252 pages was written in Russian and translated into English, which indicates that Chodasiewicz was more at home with Russian than with his native Polish. This volume, illustrated with three maps, is an account of the author's service from his arrival at Simpheropol to his desertion on March 5, 1855.

9 Pyzik, , Los polacos en la República Argentina, pp. 168–170 Google Scholar; Autobiografía, p. 9.

10 Ibid., pp. 15–19.

11 Pyzik, , Los polacos en la República Argentina, pp. 120–124.Google Scholar

12 Autobiografía, p. 20.

13 Ibid., p. 21.

14 Chodasiewicz, to Mitre, Vapor Guardia Nacional, Corrientes, Jan. 19, 1866,Google Scholar Archivo General Mitre, Documentos Inéditos, Guerra del Paraguay, C 18, No. 5809. Hereafter cited as AGM DI GP.

15 A major source for the War of the Triple Alliance is Thompson’s, The War in Paraguay, London, 1869.Google Scholar

16 Fragoso, Tasso, História da guerra, 2, 294,Google Scholar states that the Paraguayan force on January 31, was 1, 150 men. Kolinski, Independence or Death! gives the figure as 400.

17 Autobiografía, p. 20. For the battle of Corrales, see Cardozo, Efraím, Hace cién años, crónicas de la guerra de 1864–1870 (12 vols., Asunción, 1967–1981), III, 108–112 Google Scholar and Fragoso, Tasso, História da guerra, 2, 294–296.Google Scholar

18 Ibid., II;, 304–305.

19 Chodasiewicz states in his Autobiografía, p. 22, that the squadron sailed on March 19 and that the flagship was the Princesa. Actually the flagship was the Apa ( Fragoso, Tasso, História da guerra, 2, 305–306).Google Scholar

20 Autobiografía, p. 22.

21 Ibid., pp. 24–25.

22 Brazil’s losses were 52 killed, 102 wounded, and 3 missing ( Fragoso, Tasso, História de guerra, 2, 322).Google Scholar

23 Autobiografía, p. 26. Fragoso, Tasso, História da guerra, 2, 355,Google Scholar mentions three bridges, one of which was 170 meters in length.

24 Autobiografía, pp. 26–27.

25 Ibid., p. 27.

26 He also drew another map, now preserved in the Instituto Histórico e Geografico Brasileiro and reproduced by Fragoso, Tasso, História da guerra, following p. 258.Google Scholar This map is dated Sept. 16, 1867, at Tuyu-cué and signed ‘R. A. Chodas …’

27 Fragoso, Tasso, História da guerra, 3, 201.Google Scholar This map and a companion piece were to be Nos. 5 and 8 in his projected historical atlas. Both are preserved in the Museo Mitre in Buenos Aires.

28 Chodasiewicz, , “Movimiento de flanco del ejército aliado de Tuyuty á Tuyu-cué del 22 al 31 de Julio de 1867,” Album de la guerra del Paraguay, 1, 103–106 Google Scholar; Fragoso, Tasso, História da guerra, 3, 231.Google Scholar

29 Kolinski, , Independence or Death! p. 130,Google Scholar puts the Allied losses at 9,000; Fragoso, Tasso, História da guerra, 3, 120,Google Scholar gives the combined Argentine and Brazilian casualties as 4,093.

30 Autobiografía, p. 31.

31 Washburn, Charles A., The History of Paraguay (2 vols., Boston, 1871), II, 184.Google Scholar

32 Ibid, II, 185.

33 Ibid., II, 185, 186.

34 Ibid., II, 189.

35 Autobiografía, insert on p. 31; Zinny, Antonio, Historia de los gobernantes del Paraguay, 1535–1867 (Buenos Aires, 1887), p. 481.Google Scholar

36 Details are in Haydon, F. Stansbury, “Documents Relating to the First Military Balloon Corps Organized in South America,” HAHR, 19 (Nov., 1939), 504–516.Google Scholar

37 Autobiografía, p. 35. The Autobiografía is written in the third person. See also Chodasiewicz, , “Los globos aplicados á la guerra,” Album de la guerra del Paraguay, 1, 107.Google Scholar

38 The first ascent carried no higher than 270 feet ( Kolinski, , Independence or Death! p. 146,Google Scholar although Tasso Fragoso states that the balloon “subiu a 330 metros, preso a duas cordas, que muitos soldados agarravam em terra.” (História da guerra, III, 183). This figure, obviously, is an error. Francisco Pinheiro Guimarães was mistaken, to put it charitably, in stating “coube a [Dr. Francisco] Pinheiro Guimarães a primazia da ascensão inicial, em 24 de junho de 1866 [sic] …” (Um voluntario da patria, 2d. ed., Rio de Janeiro, 1958, p. 336).

39 Kolinski, , Independence or Death! p. 146 Google Scholar; Chodasiewicz, , “Los globos aplicados á la guerra,” Album de la guerra del Paraguay, 1, 107 Google Scholar; Fragoso, Tasso, História da guerra, 3, 183.Google Scholar

40 Ibid., III, 183–184.

41 Ibid., III, 238–239.

42 Chodasiewicz to Mitre, Campamento en Tuyuty, Aug. 30, 1867, AGM DI GP, C. 18, No. —.; Copia da carta dirigida ao Presidente da República Argentina pelo Sargento Mór R. A. Chodasiewicz 1867, com dois [tres] mapas en papel vegetal indicando as posições dos exercitos paraguaios. Misóes Especiáis Visconde de Arinos (1867–1868) Rio da Prata. Arquivo Histórico de Itamaraty, Rio de Janeiro, 272/1/19/5.

43 Chodasiewicz to General Juan A. Gelly y Obes, Campamento en Paso Pucú, April 23, 1868, AGM DI GP, C. 18, No. 5695.

44 Autobiografía, p. 32.

45 Ibid., p. 33.

46 Ibid., p. 36.

47 Fragoso, Tasso, História da guerra, 3, 269.Google Scholar

48 Autobiografía, p. 38; Fragoso, Tasso, História da guerra. 3, 438–439.Google Scholar

49 Autobiografía, p. 40.

50 Ibid., p. 41.

51 Fragoso, Tasso, História da guerra, 4, 64.Google Scholar

52 O’Leary, Juan Emiliano, “La guerra de la Triple Alianza,” Decoud, Arsenio López, dir., Album gráfico del Paraguay (Buenos Aires, 1911), p. 181 Google Scholar

53 See Cardozo, Efraím, Hace cién años, 10, 215–216.Google Scholar

54 Autobiografía, p. 44.

55 This apparently is the map published in Acosta, Juan F. Pérez, Carlos Antonio López, “Obrero Máximo” labor administrativa y constructiva (Asunción, 1948), following p. 224,Google Scholar which is attributed to Dn. R.A. N. Chodasiewicz and dated 1869.

56 Autobiografia, pp. 44–45; Cardozo, , Hace cién años, 12, 86–88.Google Scholar

57 Autobiografía, p. 45.

58 This map is published in Découd, Arsenio López, dir., Album gráfico del Paraguay, p. 314.Google Scholar

59 El Pueblo (Asunción), Dec. 17, 1870.

60 Stephens gave passports to four Americans in Paraguay, one of whom he listed as Robert Adolph Hodestavich. Stevens to Fish, No. 14, Montevideo, April 12, 1873, Despatches from United States Ministers to Paraguay and Uruguay, File Microcopies of Records in the National Archives, No. 128, vol. 3.

61 Registro oficial de la República del Paraguay correspondiente al año de 1874, p, 660; ibid., for 1875, p. 660. Hereafter cited as RO.

62 RO, año 1876, pp. 8, 50.

63 A search of libraries in Corrientes, Asunción, and Buenos Aires failed to turn up a copy of this pamphlet.

64 Juan F. Czetz to Jefe de la III Sección del Estado Mayor General del Ejército, Buenos Aires, Feb. 19, 1894, in José Juan Biedma, “Biográficos,” Letra Ch, AGN BA, 7/7/3/15.

65 Garmendia to the Jefe del Estado Mayor del Ejército, Buenos Aires, April 28, 1894, ibid.

66 Autobiografía, p. 47; ‘Foja de servicios,’ ibid., p. 8; Biedma, José Juan, “El Tte Coronel de Ingenieros, Roberto A. Chodasiewicz,” Album de la guerra, 1, 107.Google Scholar

67 Chodasiewicz to José Juan Biedma, Santa Catalina, Córdoba, March 17, 1895, Archivo de José J. Biedma, AGN BA 7/8/3/16. At this time Biedma was sub-director of the Archivo General de la Nación and was gathering data for the Album de la guerra del Paraguay. Chodasiewicz had served with Lt. Col. Manuel Biedma, who was chief surgeon of the Argentine army and head of the Argentine Military Hospital in Asunción until 1871 ( Yaben, Jacinto R., Biografías argentinas y sud-americanas (5 vols., Buenos Aires, 1938–1940), 1, 588–591.Google Scholar

68 Pyzik, , Los polacos en la República Argentina, p. 180.Google Scholar An undated calling card of Chodasiewicz, who was then living at Arenales 1016½, has a brief note addressing Godoi as ‘Estimado amigo,’ Godoi Collection, University of California-Riverside.

69 Juan Andrés Gelly y Obes to the Jefe de la 3a Sección del Estado Mayor del Ejército, in Biedma, “Biografías,” Letra Ch, AGN BA, 7/8/3/15.

70 Album de la guerra del Paraguay, I, 11.

71 Chodasiewicz to Mitre, Asunción, April —, 1873, AGM DI GP, C. 23, No. 7661.

72 Archivo del General José Ignacio Garmendia, AGN BA, 7/17/3/3.

73 Ibid.

74 Catálogo Sección Mapoteca (Museo Mitre, Buenos Aires, n. d., Serie 1, No. 10), pp. 199–200. Nos. 470–509, 856, and 959 are Chodasiewicz maps. A count of the collection turned up three unnumbered maps.

75 The funeral was described at length in La Nación, Aug. 19, 1896.

76 Dicurso del Señor José Juan Biedma, “Biografías,” Letra Ch., AGN BA 7/8/3/15.