Emilia Plater was born in
Vilnius, into an aristocratic family of
Livonian extraction. Her parents,
Franciszek Ksawery Plater and Anna née Mohl, divorced when she was nine years old. She was brought up by distant relatives, the
Plater-Żyberk family, in their family's manor
Liksana, in
Vitebsk Governorate, former
Polish Livonia. Well-educated, Plater was brought up in the cult of
Tadeusz Kościuszko and the poet
Adam Mickiewicz. She also admired
Bobolina, a woman who became one of the icons of the Greek uprising against the Ottomans, and
Joan of Arc. These pursuits were accompanied by an early interest in
equestrianism and
marksmanship, quite uncommon for early 19th century girls from aristocratic families.
In
1829, Emilia Plater began to take a
grand tour throughout the historical Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, but had to return home due to the death of her mother. After the outbreak of the
November Uprising against
Imperial Russia, lands of the former
Grand Duchy of Lithuania were initially unaffected by the fighting and during the initial stages, there were still no anti-Tsarist units formed there. Emilia Plater decided to form one of the first such partisan Lithuanians units herself. She cut her hair, prepared a uniform for herself and organized and equipped a group of volunteers. The unit was composed of roughly 280 infantry, 60 cavalry and several hundred peasants armed with
war scythes. From the area of
Dyneburg (Daugavpils) she crossed the border to
Samogitia, where in April of
1831 her unit seized the town of
Zarasai. Her unit headed back for Dyneburg, but after a reconnaissance mission discovered that the city was defended by a strong garrison and was impregnable to attack by such a small force as her own unit.
After that she returned to Samogitia and headed for
Panevėžys, where she joined her forces with the unit commanded by
Karol Załuski. Shortly afterwards General
Dezydery Chłapowski entered the area with major forces and took command over all units fighting in the former Grand Duchy. According to a popular legend, he advised Emilia Plater to stand down and return home. She allegedly replied that she had no intention of taking off her uniform until the fatherland was fully liberated.
Her choice was accepted and she was made the commanding officer of 1st company of the
Polish 1st Lithuanian Infantry Regiment. She fought with distinction and was promoted to the rank of
captain, the highest rank awarded to a woman at that time. After the Polish units were defeated by the Russians, Gen. Chłapowski decided to cross the border with
Prussia and get interned there. Emilia Plater refused to follow the orders and decided to try to break through to Lithuania to continue her struggle instead. However, during the break through the forests, Emilia Plater became seriously ill and died
December 23, 1831 in a manor of Abłamowicze family in
Justianów. She was buried in the small village of
Kapčiamiestis near
Lazdijai.
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