Alexander Bielaski

Alexander Bielaski (born Aleksander Bielawski; August 10, 1811 – November 7, 1861) was a civil engineer and Captain in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

Alexander Bielaski
Born	August 10, 1811 Poland
Died	November 7, 1861 (aged 50) Mississippi County, Missouri
Allegiance	United States Union
Branch	United States Army Union Army
Rank	Captain
Battles/wars	American Civil War Battle of Belmont
Children	Oscar Bielaski
Relations	A. Bruce Bielaski (nephew) Ruth Shipley (niece)

Biography

Bielaski was born in Poland, and in 1831 took part in the armed rebellion against the Russian Empire known as the November Uprising. After the failure of the rebellion, he was exiled to France, later immigrating to the United States. In 1837 he became an engineer in Illinois, where he got married and became acquainted with Abraham Lincoln. Bielaski moved to Washington, D.C., to work for the General Land Office, working his way to principal draftsman in 1853.

When the Civil War began, Bielaski offered his services to Lincoln. Lincoln then appointed him with the rank of captain as aide-de-camp to General John McClernand. Bielaski was killed on November 7, 1861, in the Battle of Belmont.

Bielaski had a son, Oscar Bielaski, who went on to become the first Polish-American baseball player for Major League Baseball. Bielaski's nephew A. Bruce Bielaski was the second director of the Bureau of Investigation (now the Federal Bureau of Investigation), and his sister, Bielaski's niece Ruth Shipley, headed the State Department's Passport Division.

See also

References

• Hughes, Nathaniel Cheairs (1991). The Battle of Belmont: Grant Strikes South. Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States: UNC Press. ISBN 0-8078-1968-9. Retrieved 2008-03-17.

• Kiper, Richard L (1999). Major General John Alexander McClernand: Politician in Uniform. Kent, Ohio, United States: Kent State University Press. ISBN 0-87338-636-1. Retrieved 2008-03-17.