Verhovayak Lapja, 1954 (37. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1954-04-07 / 4. szám
After Kováts spent more than a year in military prisons, the highest military court of Austria forwarded all the papers to the Empress. Maria Theresa ordered Kováts freed and all his personal and real property returned to him. But the wise Empress gave Kováts even more satisfaction, writing him a letter personally, assuring him of his pardon and her continued good will. Kováts was freed on June 13, 1762 having been in prison for thirteen months. He received his greatest reward on January 31, 1763 when the Empress appointed him a major in a Hussar Regiment and granted him a yearly pension of five hundred florins. On May 20, 1763 Major Kováts married Frances the daughter of Zsigmond Szinyei-Merse. But the marriage was not a happy one, and after his son died at the age of three years the couple separated. During the following years Kováts wandered around in Hungary. The Austrian military authorities kept an eye on him always. Their reports indicate that he lived in Eperjes, Eger and in Buda-Ujlak. In 1774 he was in Leipzig and offered the invention of a new gun-metal to Maria Theresa. But his military past did not give him any rest, for he had'heard with keen interest the. happenings in the New World. He was informed of the Declaration of Independence and decided to help the great cause of George Washington. His request for a passport was granted. We do not know his itinerary but we have a report signed by the military commander of Buda which states the following: “... Major Kováts left Buda in August, 1776 and, according to my information, he went to Bordeaux which is a port in France, from there he left for America and joined the Military Forces of the United Colonies”. We do not know which road he followed from Buda to Bordeaux, but we have one positive proof of his presence there, his letter dated January 13, 1777 in Bordeaux, addressed to Benjamin Franklin the great scientist, at that time the first American ambassador to France. Kováts was fifty-three years old when he wrote that — 4 — 1 This shows, that if things once move, they move fast, and that a little reasoning can help even the so-called incalculable fate. Now they did not waste any time. They seemed to be starved for action. Perhaps they felt that destiny held only a short year’s time on this earth for them. They put up their new headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland and started enlistments at once. Kovats recruited at Easton, Pennsylvania; Henrick Betken, a major, in Trenton, New Jersey; and Count Montfort, another major, in Baltimore itself. In less than three months’ time they enlisted 320 men; 62 more than the originally planned. This is quite remarkable considering that Washington had only 4.000 men at Valley Forge and had to contend constantly with desertions. By the end of July they joined their recruited forces at the headquarters in Baltimore and, in order to train their officers in Cavalry-Infantry cooperation, they formed three Cavalry and three Infantry companies of them. Our Kovats had a free hand now to put his ideas into practice. He took care of all the details of organization, and the Cavalry he created, was consequently typically Hussar, Hungarian in form and in spirit. During the summer months he had opportunity to train his Cavalry on the frontier, fighting Indians and the hostile population. By the end of September, Washington ordered the Legion to Princeton, New Jersey. Kovats could now fight the English also. In October he joined the battle with the English on two occasions: At Osborne Island on the 10th and at Egg Harbor on the 14th. At Osborne’s Island his casualties were 22 men, but at Egg Harbor he suffered a more serious loss. An officer, originally English named Juliet, seeming to be a habitual traitor, assigned to the Legion by the Board of War, changed his colors again, going over to the English. With his help the English surprised the Legion’s Infantry at their night quarters and killed some 30 men, including the Infantry — 13 —
