Diary of my military life

János Szilárd was born on May 24, 1832 in Esztergom, and completed his secondary school studies there. He trained as a priest, and at the outbreak of the War of Independence he studied at the Emericanum in Bratislava. He volunteered as a soldier on May 13, 1849, and participated in the siege of Buda. He joined the Ujháza hunting party on May 30, 1849, and was appointed chief hunter on July 20. Upon learning of the surrender, he fled home to Esztergom, and thanks to his well-wishers, he avoided forced conscription and prosecution. His memoirs are related to the events of the summer campaign of 1849, but they can also serve as an interesting addition to the tactics of the hunting parties, for which this work is almost the only authentic source. The foreword to the volume was written by military historian Máté Balogh.