Református ujság - Fraternity-Testvériség, 1940 (18. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1940-02-01 / 2. szám
1 REFORMÁTUS ÚJSÁG 9 and come to America. He immediately left for France via Italy and met Benjamin Franklin and Silas Deane in Paris. To these gentlemen he offered his services to fight for the American cause. In Paris at this time several divisions of cavalry troops were being organized. Kovats rendered great service in organizing his former comrades in arms to join the American Revolution. On January 9, 1778, Kovats’ old friend Count Casimir Pulaski recommended that the well- known cavalry officer receive a commission to train the American cavalry in the Pulaski regiment. We read in a letter which Kovats wrote to George Washington that “If Congress will honor me with the regulation of it (the cavalry) I shall faithfully execute and glory in the honor of such a command which will also give me an opportunity to show my attachment and fidelity for this country’s cause.” His commission was ratified in April 1778 and Kovats immediately appealed in the Maryland Journal and Baltimore Advertiser for recruits. Kovats and the American Cavalry. The methods of fighting in America were different than those used in Europe. George Washington never engaged the British Army in a battle according to European standards of fighting. The American strategy was to brush the British flank here and there, ambush, and execute surprise attack. It was the cavalry which was used through 1778 and 1779 to protect the American infantry as it retreated from one position to another. In July 1778 the supreme executive council of Pennsylvania sent Colonel Kovats and Colonel Hartley against the Indians. In the middle of August Kovats was sent back to join Pulaski. In September 1778 Washington ordered Kovats to Princetown, New Jersey, to protect the American army against the indians and the loyalists. In October the British carried a devastating raid against the Pulaski regiment, inflicting severe losses on the infantry. It was Kovats’ cavalry which amid the cheers of his men successfully repelled the English and extracted the infantry from its untenable position. All during the campaign Kovats never forgot his religious duties. Early in 1778 a Minister of the Protestant Church in Bethlehem, Penna, noted that the well-known commander of the Hussars attended services. Again it was noted that on April 16, 1778 Count Pulaski and Colonel Kovats attended Easter services. Kovats at Charlestown. The British failing to cut the American colonies in two in England, attempted to sever the south from the rest of the colonies. On February 9th, 1779, Colonel Kovats was ordered to South Carolina to relieve the pressure of the English troops on Charlestown. His legion arrived on May 17th, 1779 and bolstered the garrison of the city. It was here that Colonel Kovats received the highest praise from Brig. General Skelly of His Majesty’s army for leading the best cavalry that the rebels ever had. It was in this battle that Kovats’ cavalry under the command of their intrepid leader, lifted the siege of Charlestown and ultimately saved the south for the American cause. It was here that Kovats received a mortal wound and gave up his life for the cause of American liberty. Conclusion. We are the living benefactors of Kovats’ spirit. We are his spiritual successors. He died for the American Declaration of Independence. He died for a noble cause. He died that the principle of human dignity might live. He died that America might for all time hold on to and help others to hold on to those values which make human existence worth while. He is one of Hungary’s contributions to the establishment of American Democracy. SZÁZESZTENDŐVEL EZELŐTT A pöstyéni múzeumban kezembe került egy 1828-ból származó “Magyarországi festmények” c. német könyv, melyben többek között a magyar nemzeti szokásokról és a magyar katonáról is van említés téve. A magyar katona bátorságáról a következőket írja: “Bátorság és vitézség a magyarok nemzeti erényei közé tartozik. Az egész világ elismerte, hogy a magyarok az osztrák-magyar hadsereg magvát képezték. Napoleon, a világ egyik legjobb és legszerencsésebb hadvezére egykor igy nyilatkozott: A poklot is megostromolnám, ha a magyar hadsereget vezethetném. Sir John Newport 1813 március 1-én az alsóházban ezt mondotta: A magyarok voltak az elsők, akik Napóleon győzedelmes fegyvereinek sikerrel tudtak ellenállni. Egy francia generális azt állította, hogy a magyar lovasság a legderekabb egész Európában, mert emberben és lóban egyesítve van a tüzes temperamentum. Ellenben nagy a hézag a könnyű francia katona és nehézkes lova között. A magyar katona bátorságát és vitézségét misem bizonyítja élénkebben, mint az a tény, hogy a legmagasabb katonai kitüntetéssel, a Mária Terézia renddel 1820-ig 287-en voltak kitüntetve, köztük 82 magyar vitéz.” így Írtak a magyar katonáról százesztendővel ezelőtt és azóta még többször adta tanujelét vitézségének ... (g-y g-a)
