When Rozycki left his native district, he had with him but two hundred horsemen and fifty carabineers. Out of the two hundred troopers there were but seventy-three who might be properly said to have been tolerably well armed; that is to say, with regular lances, the rest had nothing save long wooden poles, tipped with large iron nails sharpened to a point. Amongst this little troop of insurgents, was here and there to be seen a sabre or a pistol; the carabineers, famous marksmen it is true, had neither much ammunition nor good carabines; the whole troop, in fact, was wretchedly armed.
Scarcely had Rozycki quitted his village, when several detachments of the Russian troops intercepted his road: other bodies of the enemy followed close upon his little band.
In front of a wood on the road by which he must of necessity pass, three battalions of Russian infantry marched forward to meet him, and immediately formed into squares; the enemy's cavalry was fast closing upon his rear.
Rozycki saw plainly that there was no time to be lost. He gave instant orders to his troops to attack the first square of infantry; the attack succeeded; the young insurgents, who had never yet stood fire, dashed upon the square, which they cut to pieces; the second and third were in like manner broken and destroyed: a small number of the fugitives rallied in the wood. In the interval, the Russian cavalry had come up; had deployed, and were preparing to charge; on perceiving which, Rozycki caused his own to retire slowly: the Russian horse kept following close upon their heels. Suddenly, Rozycki, finding that there was now a wall covering one of his flanks, halted, faced about, and at a given signal, the insurgents being excellently mounted, fell like lightning upon the enemy's cavalry, to the cry of " Death to the Muscovites! no quarter!" The Russians gave way, and were in an instant broken, defeated, and pursued with great slaughter; but they were in great numbers; they endeavoured to rally near a garden wall; E-ozycki, however, had anticipated this manoeuvre, and had secretly posted all his carabineers behind the wall, under favour of a dry ditch running behind it, and along which, at the commencement of the action, they had passed unnoticed, by creeping with their heads held down. For the moment, he delayed to harass the routed, but now rallying enemy, with his reserve; waiting the favourable instant for augmenting their confusion and taking advantage of their disorder. On a sudden, at the word " paV (signifying « fire!'' in Polish), the carabineers, who had taken steady aim at nearly every Russian cavalier of note, making a simultaneous discharge, brought down several of the Russian officers, as likewise a great number of men and horses. The most terrific disorder ensued; Rozycki's reserve now made a desperate charge, and so scared the Russian cavalry, that they broke through and trampled down their own infantry. The latter, indeed, closing again, attempted to advance to renew the engagement; but were cut to pieces and nearly exterminated. Rozycki, after having collected together all the muskets, sabres, cartridges, and sound horses, pushed forwards on his march; taking the precaution of breaking down all the bridges he left behind him on his road.
In this brilliant action he lost but very few of his own troops, and did considerable damage to the Russians. Its result was, to raise the courage and greatly increase the confidence of his adherents, whose conduct on the occasion was indeed admirable.