94 year old friend, Paul
Paul's great great great grandfather
If the time frame I calculated is right, then this military commander fought during so called November Uprising or maybe the Kraków Uprising.
Here are the members of the November Uprising leadership:
pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powstanie_listopadowe#Dow.C3.B3dztwo_powstania
The Krakow Uprising wiki page:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krak%C3%B3w_Uprising
The another possibility is also the 'Revolution of 1848' in Poland:
pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiosna_Ludów#Wiosna_Lud.C3.B3w_na_ziemiach_polskich