Did you know that the US almost went to war with Austria in 1853? Congress drafted a war declaration in September of that year. This could have involved them both the US and Austria in the Crimean Conflict. The catalyst for this was the commander of the US sloop, "St. Louis," Duncan Nathaniel Ingraham. The sloop was lying at anchor in Smyrna Harbor in July of 1853. Commander Ingraham learned that the Austrian Consul-general there had arranged the kidnapping of Martin Koszta, an ex-patriot Hungarian officer. He had come to Smyrna from New York on business intending to return soon, having declared his intentions of becoming a U.S. citizen. On June 21st he had been seized on the streets of the city by a party of armed Greeks and was being held aboard the Austrian frigate "Hussar" in the harbor. Thousands of Hungarians had fled to Turkey in 1849. They had several colonies along the coast of Turkey. Austria was sure that they were all planning further rebellion against the Empire. This became a constant tension between Turkey and the two allies, Russia and Austria. In 1851 the two countries demanded that the Turkish government turn over all high-ranking Hungarians living there, about a thousand Hungarian War veterans. The Turkish Sultan refused. It looked like war. However, because of the huge army the Russians used to crush the Hungarians, many Europeans viewed them as "bullies." It was a reputation that Russia would live with until the Russo-Japanese War. The Austrian and Russian blustering led France and Britain to sail a combined fleet into the Bosporus, ready to defend Turkey against the bullies. The intervention calmed things temporarily. In 1852, Tsar Nicholas pressed the claim that Russia was the protectorate of all Christians in the Balkans and Jerusalem. This edict specifically included the Hungarians living in Turkey. The Russians then occupied Moldavia and Wallachia, both of which had been staging areas for the Russian invasion of Hungary in 1849. Turkey had protested at the time of the war, but done nothing militarily. Now, tensions were rising as the Turkish deadline for a Russian withdrawal approached: October 23rd, 1853. Of course, it was assumed that Austria would be involved as a Russian ally in any war that broke out. The Austrians had marched more than 100,000 troops to their eastern borders in response to Russia's moves. In Syrmna, Ingraham learned of the kidnapping from a message Koszta was able to smuggle out of the "Hussar." The captain immediately sent a letter to John P. Brown, the charge d'affaires of the U.S. in Constantinople, who gave the opinion that the surrender of Koszta should be insisted on immediately, before the Austrians sailed off with their prisoner. Rumors were that the Austrians were only waiting to pick up other Hungarians before leaving. On July 2nd at 8 a.m., Commander Ingraham demanded that the Austrian commander of the "Hussar" release Koszta by 4 p.m., declaring that he would otherwise take him by force. This was quite a threat, considering that the "Hussar" both outgunned the "St. Louis" and had a larger crew. Regardless, the decks of the sloop were cleared for action, and all was made ready to attack the Austrian Frigate. The "St. Louis" moved to block the mouth of the Harbor and waited. At 11 a.m., the Austrian consul-general proposed to deliver Koszta to the French consul, to be held subject to the disposition of the United States and the Austrian Consuls. Commander Ingraham accepted this as giving sufficient assurance of the personal safety of the Hungarian. The affair gave rise to an elaborate discussion in Washington between Secretary William L. Marcy and M. Hulsemann, the Austrian charge d'affaires to the U.S. During this time, a war motion was drafted in Congress, to stress the seriousness of the U.S. desire to protect both the Hungarians and Turks from either Austrian or Russian aggression. Koszta was soon released and returned to the U.S. It is believed that this affair was partly responsible for the Austrian government deciding not to join the Russians in their war with Turkey. For of this decision, the Austrians would be labeled the "ungrateful ally," isolating them diplomatically in both 1859 and 1866. In 1854, the British actually approached the U.S. about a joint war effort when they decided to support Turkey in the Crimea. On August 4, 1854, Congress, by joint resolution, requested that the president present Ingraham with a medal. lie was promoted to captain on September 14, 1855. Captain Ingraham commanded the flagship "Richmond" in the Mediterranean when the Civil War began. He resigned his commission and joined the Confederate Navy. He rose to the rank of commodore, in the position of chief of ordnance, construction and repair. A Crimean War with Austrians and U.S. involvement makes for an interesting scenario, both on land and sea. The war could have moved into the Balkans, or at least the western cost of the Black Sea. It has also been suggested that the Austrians might have even joined the Allies against Russia. A nervous Austria moved several corps to her eastern borders before the war in reaction to Russia' s move into the adjoining provinces of Moldavia and Wallachia. Throughout the war, Russia kept substantial forces in the region because of the continued Austrian military presence there. All of which makes for some very interesting "what ifs" to wargame. Back to MWAN # 123 Table of Contents Back to MWAN List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 2003 Hal Thinglum This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com