Kaján Imre (szerk.): Zalai Múzeum 20. (Zalaegerszeg, 2012)
Tanulmányok Asbóth Sándorról - Solymosi József: Asbóth Sándor amerikai emigrációja és kapcsolata Kossuthtal 1851 és 1860 között
Asbóth Sándor amerikai emigrációja és kapcsolata Kossuthtal 1851 és 1860 között 79 Sándor Asbóth’s Exile in the United States and His Connections with Kossuth between 1851 and 1860 During the War of Independence and the years of Exile in Turkey, connections between Asbóth and Kossuth were based on personal contact. During Kossuth’s six-month stay in the United States this was replaced by correspondance. 30 letters are known from the period between 1852 and 1860; 12 were written by Asbóth and 18 by Kossuth. The majority of the letters, 26 pieces, are dated to 1852 and 1853, one is from 1854, two were written in 1859, and one in 1860. One can draw a conclusion from these data about the intensity of the two men’s connections, though by no means do we want to say that there can be no further yet unknown documents. On the contrary, some allusions in the known letters refer to some missing pieces. However, it seems probable that the majority of the whole correspondance has been explored. 19 of the known letters have been published in the book Adalékok a kényuralom ellenes mozgalmak történetéhez. 1849- 1866. Az Asbóth-család irataiból, Pest, 1871, then in a volume published with the same contents in Budapest in 1888. The documents from the Museum of Military History that had been published in this book (14 pieces) were published again in 2003 in Barátja, Kossuth, a sourcebook of the yet unpublished Kossuth documents that are safeguarded at the Archives of Military History and the Museum of Military History. Three of the 30 letters were published by Dénes Jánossy, one by Jenő Koltay-Kastner, while the remaining seven are made public within this study. The first letters by Asbóth and Kossuth in 1852 deal with the military plants around New York, set up at Kossuth’s initiative and with his financial support; they speak about purchasing weapons and producing ammunition. Later the focus shifts to everyday events, to the immigrants’ daily business, and Kossuth asks help in a number of letters for his acquaintances travelling to America. Kossuth occasionally speaks about his financial problems in separate letters, mentioning that he has to support his family and at the same time provide money for the Exile. Then in autumn 1853, as a result of the Crimean War and its prospected effects on Hungary, politics is again the main topic. However, by the beginning of 1854 it became evident that Kossuth’s plans could not be realized. From that time up until 1859 no letters are known by Asbóth or by Kossuth. Then, during the Franco-Italian-Austrian War in summer 1859, they exchange letters again about the new hopes of the Exile. The last letter at the end of this period is dated to 1860. Asbóth stayed in the United States even after Kossuth’s departure. He settled there amidst relatively regular circumstances, he always had a place to live and generally a job too. He could achieve this by making use of his qualification and experience in engineering. Many immigrants had troubles making ends meet, their integration to a completely different society in America than the one they knew back home did not go smoothly, many even failed. But Asbóth was not one of them. Nonetheless, it would be a mistake to think that the small amounts of money every now and then, given by Kossuth for services rendered, did not come in useful to him, as it is perceptible in his letters too. To sum up, we can say that Sándor Asbóth, like a true adjutant, was a loyal supporter of the ex-governor for ten years. He fulfilled his requests and orders at all times, even when Kossuth addressed him after a five-year-long silence. Kossuth could always rely on Asbóth’s services and knew that among his companions living in the United States there is one for sure whom he could trust. On the other hand, we can state that their connection and the activites of the Exile in America were the most intensive when Kossuth himself was in the United States too, and right after his departure, in 1852 and 1853.
