The Polish people had been preparing to fight in the uprising since the spring of 1793. They managed to become very popular: they formed a large army of volunteers who were led by a shoemaker, Jan Kiliński. Apart from this army, the most famous group to take part in giving the Polish people their freedom were the Poles who had been forced to join the Russian army. A person who watched the fighting was a French artist, Jan Piotr Norblin, who drew pictures of the uprising.