Fraternity-Testvériség, 1975 (53. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1975-07-01 / 7-9. szám
Pállfy, the commander of the Hungarian forces. Kovats’ name was listed as a discharged officer. Our Michael, full with fighting spirit, had become a genuine soldier by this time, and had no willingness to return to the dull life of the Cumanian villages. First, he tried to join one of the retained military units, and when he failed, with an unexpected turn he offered his sword to Frederick the Great, whom he had fought only a few months before. Today we may look upon his move with resentment, but in his days such decisions were no rarities. The idea of nationalism did not arise for another fifty years. And Kovats, being a Hungarian, only exchanged rulers, not the fatherland. The renowned army of Frederick the Great attracted sons of every nation of Europe, just like Napoleon’s did a half century later. We still do not know why he had to start his training as a recruit. There is another version of his joining the Prussian army. According to this story he had a Moravian groom, Sabin, who stole two of his horses and fled toward Bohemia. Kovats expeditiously obtained a passport from the Court Military Council and pursued his faithless servant first to Prague, then to Jaegemdorf and finally to Prussian-occupied Upper Silesia, to Neustadt, where he was captured. Despite his passport showing that he was a Hungarian nobleman and an officer, he was pressed into the Prussian army. No matter which version is correct, his first years in the service of Frederick the Great gave rise to the most unpleasant memories of his long career, which he has mentioned in taciturn manner in his letter to Franklin. He was trained both as an infantryman and as a hussar under extremely inhumane training methods. Slowly, however, the harsh years ended for Kovats. First he became a noncommissioned officer, and on September 22, 1752, Frederick the Great raised him to the position of an ensign of the First Prussian Hussar regiment, the lowest rank of an officer in those days. Frederick the Great, a man of vision, recognized the virtues of the Hungarian hussars opposing him in the Silesian Wars and tried to lure many of them to his side. Between 1750-58 the commander of the Prussian First Hussar Regiment was “noble” Michael Székely, a Hungarian, and besides Kovats there were several Hungarian officers serving in its units. (To be continued) At the George Washington Awards Dinner the American Hungarian Foundation on May 20, 1975, Left to right, Officers of the Foundation — E. Eugene Oross, Vice Chairman; Menyhárt J. Marko, Chairman of the Board; August J. Molnár, Executive Director; 22 received a $1500 gift from the Hungarian Reformed Federation of America. Bishop Xoltan Beky, President, Hungarian Reformed Federation of America.
