![Dessewffy Arisztid](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/Dessewffy_Arisztid.jpg)
Arisztid Dessewffy de
Csernek et
Tarkő
Kamenica ( hu, Tarkő, (earlier) Tarkeő, Kamenyica) is a village and municipality in Sabinov District in the Prešov Region of north-eastern Slovakia.
History
The Castle
Kamenica first developed out of the castle of the same name that was b ...
(; 2 July 1802, in Csákány (present-day
Čakanovce,
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
) – 6 October 1849, in
Arad) was a
honvéd general in the
Hungarian Army
The Hungarian Ground Forces ( hu, Magyar Szárazföldi Haderő) is the land branch of the Hungarian Defence Forces, and is responsible for ground activities and troops including artillery, tanks, APCs, IFVs and ground support. Hungary's ground f ...
. He was executed for his part in the
Hungarian Revolution of 1848
The Hungarian Revolution of 1848 or fully Hungarian Civic Revolution and War of Independence of 1848–1849 () was one of many European Revolutions of 1848 and was closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas. Although th ...
, and is considered one of
the 13 Martyrs of Arad
The Thirteen Martyrs of Arad ( hu, aradi vértanúk) were the thirteen Hungarian rebel generals who were executed by the Austrian Empire on 6 October 1849 in the city of Arad, then part of the Kingdom of Hungary (now in Romania), after the H ...
. He commanded 100,000 men against Russian troops and surrendered because of the massive size of the encroaching Russian army. By doing so, he spared his men. On the night of his execution, he was said to be sleeping, with no anxiety about his impending death. He was executed around 4 AM by firing squad, along with two others. The Prince of Liechtenstein intervened at the last minute to spare the three from hanging, which was considered
public humiliation
Public humiliation or public shaming is a form of punishment whose main feature is dishonoring or disgracing a person, usually an offender or a prisoner, especially in a public place. It was regularly used as a form of judicially sanctioned puni ...
.
Life
He was born into the wealthy Hungarian, evangelical Abaúj family. He graduated high school in Kassa (
Košice
Košice ( , ; german: Kaschau ; hu, Kassa ; pl, Коszyce) is the largest city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary. With a population of app ...
) and Eperjes (
Prešov
Prešov (, hu, Eperjes, Rusyn language, Rusyn and Ukrainian language, Ukrainian: Пряшів) is a city in Eastern Slovakia. It is the seat of administrative Prešov Region ( sk, Prešovský kraj) and Šariš, as well as the historic Sáros Cou ...
) and, at 18, applied to the Imperial Army 5th (Radetzky) hussar regiment cadets. Over a long period of peace after the
Napoleonic wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
he served in the fifth Artillery corps of miners and the fifth hussar regiment. However, he did not favor a military career, and thus in 1839 at the rank of captain, decommissioned, got married and began farming in Eperjes. His wife and children all died before the revolution.
After the 1848 revolution broke out he entered military service again on Sept. 22, as a major in the National Guard and was involved in organizing the Saros county militia. On November 26, he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and Brigade Commander of the Upper Tisza Corps.
He took part in 11 December battle and was in the engagement. On January 4 of 1849, at the battle of Kassa he was commended for his valour and perseverance in leading his troops against General Schlik with minimal losses. He participated in the reorganization of the Upper Tisza Corps and victoriously fought against the Schleicher Corps. On February 14, he was promoted to colonel. On 18 February, commanding a small cavalry force, he defeated an Imperial detachment. He distinguished himself in this battle, and the battle of the spring campaign, for which he received the Hungarian Order of Military Merit III on April 18, and on April 30 was appointed commander of the I Corps cavalry division. The Corps was present at the siege of Budapest. On June 2 he was given command of the IX Corps, and also received the appointment of major general.
On 5 July, he married a second time, to Emma Szinnyei Merse. Beginning in July, he was tasked as the top cavalry commander to hinder the advance of the Russian army. The cavalry were heavily engaged in the July 20 Tura battle. became corps commander. He took part in the August 5 Szőreg battle then again in the August 9 Timișoara battle. He handed over command of the army on August 16 to Colonel William Lazarus.
Death
![Thorma János painter (1870-1937](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/Thorma_J%C3%A1nos_painter_%281870-1937.12.05%29.jpg)
After the
final defeat and surrounding of the army, he had the opportunity to escape to Turkey, but one of his comrades, a Lieutenant-General, encouraged by Prince Franz von Liechtenstein, on 19 August next to Karánsebes laid down their arms before the Imperial troops. They were given terms that the soldiers would be spared but the officers would be subject to military discipline. General Liechtenstein later pleaded to his comrades at the military court to spare the lives of most, but to no avail; the Arad military court sentenced him to death by hanging. However the prince was able to convince the court to execute them by firing squad, which was seen as less of an insult since it was a military death rather than a criminal one. He was executed in the second group of four in front of a firing squad.
The executed were buried around the Arad castle. His body was later exhumed by his family and moved from the castle in secret. His body has been resting at the Margonyai estate since 1850.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dessewffy, Arisztid
1802 births
1849 deaths
People from Košice-okolie District
People executed by the Austrian Empire
Arisztid
The 13 Martyrs of Arad
Executed Hungarian people