Włodzimierz Krzyżanowski

Włodzimierz Bonawentura Krzyżanowski (; in some sources, misspelled Wladimir Krzyzanowski; 8 July 1824 – 31 January 1887) was a Polish-American engineer, politician, and brigadier general in the Union Army.

A Polish noble, he took part in the 1846 uprising against Prussia and left Poland after the uprising's suppression. During the American Civil War he enlisted in the United States' Union Army, recruited a company of Polish immigrants, and became colonel of the 58th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment, listed in the official Army Register as the "Polish Legion".

In the July 1863 Battle of Gettysburg, Krzyżanowski helped repel an evening assault by the famed Louisiana Tigers on the Union defenses atop East Cemetery Hill.

After the war he held several government posts, though it is disputed whether he was, as has often been stated, the first American administrator of Alaska Territory. Provided by Wikipedia