Fraternity-Testvériség, 2010 (88. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
2010-01-01 / 1. szám
Fraternity I Testvériség The 2009 Legacies of Kossuth’s U.S. Visit: Five Villages, Two Kossuth Townships and One Kossuth County By Arthur Allan Bartfay, Columbus, Ohio (HRFA Social Member) O ver 150 years ago—in 1848—the remarkable Lajos Kossuth led the fight for Hungarian independence and democracy. His Hungarian army quickly defeated the Austrian Habsburg army, and Kossuth was elected Governor of a free Hungary. But then, the Russian Czar came to the aid of the Austrian Emperor. Kossuth's army was crushed. Thirteen Hungarian generals were shot or hung for treason. In the US Congress, then-Representative and later president, Abraham Lincoln, introduced a resolution of sympathy supporting Hungarian freedom. An Ohio minister called for Kossuth to be invited to America as "the nation's guest." A Mississippi senator introduced a resolution to send an American ship overseas to bring Lajos Kossuth to America. Kossuth reached the U.S. in December, 1851. It was just 62 years after the inauguration of George Washington as the first President of the United States. In New York City, thousands of people welcomed him as a world-wide hero. Thirty-one cannon shots were fired into the air, one for each of the 31 states in the union. The 1850 census showed that the young American republic had a population of just over 23 million people. In Washington, DC, Kossuth had dinner with the 13th president of the United States, Millard Fillmore and met with Secretary of State Daniel Webster. He was the first foreigner (after Lafayette) invited to speak before the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington. He spoke in English which he learned in prison studying the Bible and Shakespeare. There was a Kossuth "craze" in early America. The U. S. of over 150 years ago loved the bearded Hungarian with the velvet suit, a sabre by his side, and the tall top hat with a feather in the brim. Lajos Kossuth traveled to 16 states from New England to New Orleans speaking to enthusiastic crowds. There are city streets and rural roads named Kossuth scattered around the U.S. You can find plaques honoring him in numerous locations from Pittsburgh to New Orleans. There are statues in three cities (New York City, Cleveland, Ohio, and Algona, Iowa) and a bust of him in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, DC. In the 1850s, there were many villages named for Kossuth, but over the course of 150 years, many locations simply became parts of larger towns and cities. As of 2009,1 have visited the five remaining Kossuth villages that I know about—in NY, PA, OH, IN, & MS. Arthur Allan Bartfay Kossuth, Indiana is the quietest Kossuth hamlet, located 70 miles south of Indianapolis and 35 miles north of Louisville, KY. It is in Washington County (population 27,200) and Monroe Township (population 1,081). Kossuth is seven miles north of Salem, the county seat (population 6,200). Salem (zip code: 47167) is a charming town with a very impressive three-story county museum and library, built from funds by a wealthy local benefactor who was the personal secretary to President Lincoln. The township history says Kossuth once was a busy town, but today it only has a cemetery, several homes, and an abandoned auto repair shop. Kossuth, New York consists of a few nice homes and the Kossuth Community Church. Immediately adjacent to the Bolivar-Richburg school with a large high school football stadium, it is in danger of eventually being absorbed by the town of Bolivar. Kossuth is in Allegany County (population 50,000) on the Pennsylvania border, 90 miles southeast of Buffalo. 25
