PONIATOWSKI, a celebrated princely family of Poland, is of Italian origin, being directly descended from the family of the Torelli, whose ancestors were counts of Guastalla. One of the Torelli family having settled in Poland, assumed the name of Poniatowski from his wife's estate of Poniatow in that country. Those of the Ponia towski family who make a figure in history are PmxeE SrAxisLAs PONIATOWSKI, who, iu the war of succession to the kingdom of Poland, joined Charles XII. of Sweden in supporting Stanislas Lesczynski; his sons, Stanislas-Augustus, the last king of Poland (q.v.). and ANDREW, who rose to great distinction in the Austrian service; and Andrew's Son, JOSEMI-ANTONY, PRINCE PONIATOWSKE the celebrated Polish chief in the army of Napoleon. Joseph-Antony was born at Warsaw, May 7, 1762, and at the age of 16 entered the Austrian army, with which he made the Turkish campaign of 1787, and rose to the rank of col. of dragoons. In 1789 he returned to Poland. and was named commander-in-chief of the army of the south, having under him Kosciusko, Wielhorski, Lubomirski, and other celebrated leaders. His army, though much inferior in numbers to that of Russia, which, in 1792, invaded the country, gained the brilliant victories of Polonne and Zielence; but Poniatowski's uncle, king Stanislas, by agreeing to the con vention of Targowitz (q.v.), put an end to the contest in 1793. The prince then resigned his command, and went into voluntary exile; but returned in the following year to aid Kosciusko, now dictator, in his fruitless opposition to the third partition of Poland. On the proposal of Napoleon to reconstitute the kingdom of Poland, Plniatowski joined the French (1800) at the head of a Polish army, rnd did good servic against the Rus sians at the battles of Golynrin, Dantzic, and Friedland ; but the Fremti emperor, by the treaty of Tilsit, handed over Poland to its enemies, and only the duchy of Warsaw (nominally subject to the king of Saxony) was left intact. Poniatowski was appointed
generalissimo and commander-in-chief for the duchy; and so zealously did he labor for the development of its military resources, that, in 1809, when the war between France and Austria was resumed, he was able to drive the Austrians out of tire Polish territory, and overrun a considerable part of Galicia. He continued to administer the military Affairs of the duchy till 1812, when he joined the French army, destined to invade Pls with a Polish army of 100,000 men. But, to his intense disgust, the greater part of iris army was broken up into detachments, which were incorporated with the various French legions, and Poniatowski was left with not more than ;..0.000 men under his direct command. At the head of this division, which always composed the extreme right of the French army, Poniatowski gathered innumerable laurels on the battle-field, and at the storming of the Russian fortresses; but he was so severely injured at Smol ensko during the retreat that he was obliged to return to Warsaw (Dec., 1812). In the following autumn he resumed his old placo in the French army, and on Oct. 16, received from the emperor the dignity of marshal of France, an honor, in his own esti mation, much inferior to that of " generalissimo of the Poles," which he already possessed. After the defeat at Leipsic (q.v.), Poniatowski was left with the remnant of his Polish division to protect the French retreat, which he accomplished by keeping the Prussians in check for several hours; at last, when his force was reduced to 300 men with 30 horses, and himself severely wounded, he retreated over the Pleisse, swimming his horse through the river; but, in attempting similarly to cross the Elster, exhausted nature could no longer bear up, and he sank to rise no more, Oct. 19, 1813. his body was recovered six days after, and was embalmed and carried to Warsaw, whence it was afterward removed to Cracow, and placed beside the ashes of Sobieski and Kos ciusko.