This should be very unexpected or even ridiculous for unaware traveller -
bronze relief statue of George Washington installed on
Moric Benovsky memorial in small town Vrbové, western Slovakia.
Scuptor Anton Garbik is the author of this artwork, introduced to public in October 2012.
Why is George depicted here? What's the connection with small, middle-european country? The answer is very interesting too, related with sensational life of Moric Benovsky.
Maurice Benyowsky, (Hungarian: Benyovszky Móric, Polish: Maurycy Beniowski, Slovak: Móric Benovský) born in Vrbové, Kingdom of Hungary (now Slovakia) on 20 September 1746, died on 23 May 1786, Madagascar
- was an explorer, writer, ruler of a community in Madagascar, and military officer in the French, Polish, Austrian
and American armies.
In his memoirs he described himself on several occasions as a "Hungarian and Polish nobleman".
After years of service in Austrian and Polish armies and colonial efforts in Madagascar, declared by king Louis XV he returned to Paris, where he was promoted to the rank of general and was granted the military Order of Saint Louis and a life pension by Louis XVI.
While in Paris in 1777, Benyovszky befriended
Benjamin Franklin, the American envoy to France, as well as Kazimierz Pulaski.
Franklin became like an uncle to Benyovszky's two daughters, and the two men regularly played chess, often joined by Count Pulaski.
The same year, Pulaski presented Franklin's letter of recommendation to the Continental Congress in favor of
Benyovszky's proposal to use Madagascar as a base in the American struggle against England.
The project was not approved because the Continental Congress did not want to risk alienating France.
Support to the American revolution
After two years of military service, Benyovszky decided to follow Pulaski to the American colonies in 1779 and offer his services in the American Revolution, both in person and in a letter to the Continental Congress.
He was approved to report to General Pulaski at the siege of Savannah, where Pulaski died in Benyovszky's arms.
In 1780, through the French Minister to the United States, he submitted a plan to General Washington proposing to raise a body of German troops consisting of three legionary corps of cavalry, infantry, grenadiers, chasseurs and artillery, the whole amounting to 3,383 effective men; after their transport to America, he proposed that they would be subject to the order of the United States and take the oaths of fidelity and allegiance.
The project was favorably evaluated. After further discussing the proposal with George and Mary Washington in the general's headquarters in Newborough, New York, Benyovszky made a number of revisions before presenting it to the Continental Congress on 6 May.
The proposal was nonetheless rejected by Congress following a conciliatory change in British attitude under the new British cabinet.
Following the failure of his efforts in the United States, Benyowsky departed for Europe and later for next expedition to Madagascar.
He died in 1786 while fighting with the French on Madagascar.
Pre nevedomeho turistu to musi byt necakane, az pitoreskne - najst na vkusnom pamatniku na namesti maleho slovenskeho mestecka, Vrboveho -
bronzovy relief prveho americkeho prezidenta Georga Washingtona ...
Autorom celeho diela je sochar Anton Gabrik, bolo odhalene 5.oktobra 2012.
Co tu robi? Co ho spaja so Slovenskom, s mesteckom Vrbove? Odpoved je rovnako zaujimava, uzko spata s burlivym zivotom Morica Benovskeho.
Moric Benovsky, (20. september 1746, Vrbove – 23. maj 1786, Agoncy, osada Mauritania, Madagaskar) bol slovensky dobrodruh, cestovatel, objavitel, kolonizator, spisovatel, kral Madagaskaru, plukovnik francuzskej armady, velitel polskej armady a rakusky vojak.
Bol prvy Europan, ktory sa plavil v severnom Pacifiku a severnom Tichom oceane (dlho pred Jamesom Cookom a de La Perousom). Autor memoaroveho diela Pamati a cesty.
Po sluzbach v rakuskej a polskej armade a kolonialnom posobeni na Madagaskare ako zastupca francuzskej kralovskej koruny sa v roku 1776 vratil do Pariza.
O rok neskor sa stal blizkym priatelom Benjamina Franklina (vtedy americky vyslanec vo Francuzsku), co mu otvorilo dvere
k podpore americkej revolucie voci britskej nadvlade.
Najskor ponukol Madagaskar ako zakladnu v boji proti Anglicku, co vsak Kontinentalny kongres zamietol.
Nasledovali vypravy do Ameriky, kde v roku 1779 bojoval v bojoch o Savannah.
V roku 1782 sa prostrednictvom Benjamina Franklina stretol
s Georgeom Washingtonom a jeho manzelkou a ponukol im, ze zhromazdí v Nemecku pre americku revoluciu vojsko.
Na Washingtonov navrh aj znova prepisal a predlozil Kontinentalnemu kongresu svoj byvaly navrh, ale vztahy americkych osad s Britaniou sa necakane zlepsili,
takze navrh nebol prijaty.
Kedze neziskal uznanie od Francuzska, Rakuska, ani od USA, obratil sa na Velku Britaniu, kde roku 1783 poziadal vladu o povolenie expedicie na Madagaskar.
Tu v roku 1786 aj zomrel po prekvapivom utoku Francuzov na nim zalozenu osadu Mauritania.