Note 116 — JEWS IN THE ARMIES OF EUROPE.

... "It is a gratifying proof of progress that the President of the Magyars (Kossuth) has promised freedom to those who equally with himself are struggling for the independence of their country, since it is said that there are no less than 35,000 Israelites in the Hungarian army." Extract from a French newspaper reprinted in "The Occident," August, 1849. Phila.; Edited by Isaac Leeser.

... "It cannot be denied that already at that time the majority of the Magyar Jews were patriotically inclined towards the country which they called their home. As by magic, they felt themselves drawn towards the man who preached liberty and equality, and at whose hands they were expecting redemption from the Ghetto and from civil and political degradation. As a matter of fact, thousands of Jews, among them a general, fought in the Magyar army.... The contribution which the notorious Haynau levied upon the Jewish congregations was but a consequence of the loyalty to the man of the New Era, attributed to the Jews." Dr. Adolph Kohut on "The Relations of Kossuth to the Jews," in the American Hebrew, N. Y., March, 1894.

To the above may be added the following testimony of General Julius Stahel, one of the active participants in the Hungarian Revolution, and who subsequently made a distinguished military record in our civil war.

New York, May 22d, 1895,

Hon. Simon Wolf, Washington, D. C.,

Dear Sir:

I know from personal knowledge that many Jews fought in the battles for the independence of Hungary in 1848, with as much bravery and gallantry as the American Jew fought here during the late strife between the North and the South, and I also know that the late humane and illustrious apostle of liberty, Louis Kossuth, always fully appreciated the patriotism, loyalty and devotion of the Jews to the cause of Hungary during that great struggle for freedom.

Patriotism and bravery are not the birthright of one nation or race, but of all mankind.

Very sincerely yours,

J. Stahel.