The following is an adapted version of an article written by Lázár Pap, originally published in Hungarian in Magyar Krónika.
America—the new world, the land of opportunity, the land of the free. In the 19th and 20th centuries, hundreds of thousands of Hungarians left their former lives behind to cross the Atlantic and try their luck Far Far Away, that is, ‘Beyond the Óperencia’, as Hungarian fairy tales go. In its series, Magyar Krónika looks at the meeting points of America and Hungary through the Hungarian diaspora living in the US. In this part, let’s look at the adventurous life of Sándor Asbóth, a Hungarian emigrant, who came to a tragic end.
After Lajos Kossuth’s tour of the United States in 1851–52, the enthusiasm for Hungarians slowly began to wane, and the emigrants without marketable skills had to realize that they could not make a long-term living simply by being refugees of the Hungarian Revolution. Noblemen who were intellectuals in politics in the old country, perhaps with a knack for soldiering, were lost in the New World without a command of English and competitive skills. There were, of course, exceptions who could easily find work as civilian professionals, such as engineers. Sándor Asbóth was one of these.
Born in 1811, he graduated as an engineer from the Institutum Geometricum in Pest and was involved in several canal constructions before the Revolution. He left his civilian occupation after the outbreak of the 1848–49 Revolution and joined the army, where he rose to the rank of colonel. He became a confidant of Kossuth and followed him to Türkiye and then to the United States. After the Governor’s departure, Asbóth remained overseas, using his degree to build railways in the New York area, and then to participate in the mapping and surveying of Central Park and upper West Manhattan.
The outbreak of the American Civil War marked a turning point in the lives of Hungarian emigrants. The situation created an opportunity for Hungarian emigrants, most of whom held liberal, democratic-liberal, or even republican views, to integrate into the society of their new homeland by gaining merit. Another important aspect was, of course, that those with a freedom fighter’s past could finally find a job that suited their abilities, especially in the Union Army. What’s more, we can even find some who joined the Yankees specifically to help free the slaves.
‘The outbreak of the American Civil War marked a turning point in the lives of Hungarian emigrants’
John Charles Frémont, who favoured the use of Hungarians at the head of the Western High Command, appointed Asbóth as his chief of staff. The Hungarian officer enjoyed the confidence of the public, as The New York Times wrote about him on 3 September 1861:
‘General Asbóth goes to work quietly and resolutely. His penetrating glance at once assesses the position, if any, in which the applicant might be useful, and with a few questions, he quickly ascertains whether he has judged him right. And, despite his stern appearance, he is so good-hearted and pleasant-mannered that he is liked by everyone he comes into contact with. As Chief of Staff of General [Frémont]…he has an enormous amount of work to do, which requires superhuman effort. General Asbóth leaves his office at midnight, and at 5 o’clock in the morning, while his aides are still sleeping the sleep of the just, he is already back in the writer’s office again…’*
Asbóth was an excellent organizer, his contemporaries agreed. Meanwhile, Frémont was eventually replaced, but our hero stayed. He took part in the fighting in Arkansas, and in the battle near Pea Ridge on 7 March 1862, he was wounded, a bullet piercing his right arm and breaking his humerus. Despite his wound, he resumed service the next day, although he continued to suffer severe pain, which followed him into later life. Shortly afterwards, he was promoted to brigadier general, and in November of the following year, he was appointed commander of the Pensacola District (West Florida), which brought black regiments under his command. Asbóth sought to surround himself with Hungarian officers, and Kossuth took his nephews, László and Emil Zulavsky, who also led black troops, alongside him. The southern population was expressly disgusted with the Hungarian emigrant soldiers, considering them ‘foreigners, Yankees, and negro-lovers’.
Asbóth’s career was finally shattered by an even more serious injury. During the fighting at Marianna, Florida, he was hit by a southern volley in late September 1864. One bullet hit him in the face, and two shrapnel fragments fractured his left upper arm in two places. He was immediately taken from the battlefield to a private house, where he was treated for his wounds and taken to the hospital afterwards. Although his bones were fused, his left arm became almost useless, and doctors were also unable to remove the bullet, which had lodged in his jawbone. As a result, he was plagued by headaches for the rest of his life and had to give up his post as well. ‘General Asbóth was one of the oldest and most respected foreign officers in the service of the Union when the rebellion broke out,’ The New York Times wrote when he resigned.
‘The southern population was expressly disgusted with the Hungarian emigrant soldiers, considering them “foreigners, Yankees, and negro-lovers”’
Although he later returned to the army, he was extremely emaciated and in a very poor physical condition. Nevertheless, he was promoted to the rank of major general in the last year of the war and, after the conflict ended, became the United States ambassador to Argentina and Uruguay. In this capacity, he tried to bring about a truce between the parties in the war between Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay. Sadly, his doctors were unable to treat the wound in his mouth, complications of which led to his death in Buenos Aires in 1868.
On the news of his death, weekly Vasárnapi Ujság did not fail to mention the case of Hungarians living in exile. Let’s not forget that we are one year after the Austro–Hungarian Compromise of 1867, so it was a very current issue:
‘All the members of our Parliament repeatedly appealed, addressing their requests to the heart of the Prince, in the interest of our compatriots living in exile abroad, so that they could return home after the end of the necessity that kept them away from their homeland, and dedicate their work and talents to their beloved homeland, or at least find graves in the dear land they know. The more earnestly we hope that these repeated requests will at last be heard, the more warmly we look with sympathy towards those men who have brought honour and glory to the Hungarian name in far-off lands and overseas, who have shown in the most varied careers that Hungarians can do everything, and that this number is not great, but that this ancient nation is able to produce men in every field who, despite the difficulties of their foreign existence, can compete with the great men of foreign lands.
Among those who have carried the good reputation of the Hungarian name farthest abroad, we are happy to remember Sándor Asbóth, who rose to the rank of general in North America, the land of freedom and activity, and to the rank of a powerful minister in the Argentine Republic.’
Asbóth’s body was laid to rest in the Protestant Church of Buenos Aires, from where it was transported to Washington, DC, in accordance with the will of the deceased. His coffin was decorated with the flag of the United States, his sword, hat, and other insignia, a laurel and a cypress wreath of white flowers. The funeral procession was led by his friend and comrade-in-arms, General János Cetz, and a Mr Hopkins, according to a report in the weekly Magyarország és a Nagyvilág (Hungary and the World).
This article is based on István Kornél Vida’s book From Világos to Appomattox.
*Excerpts from The New York Times were translated by Hungarian Conservative.
Read the previous parts of the series below:
Click here to read the original article.
The post Beyond the Óperencia — The 1848 Revolution Officer Who Was Seriously Wounded in the American Civil War appeared first on Hungarian Conservative.
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Author: Lázár Pap
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