The New International Encyclopædia/Koszta Affair
KOSZTA (kṓ'stȧ) AFFAIR. In American
history the name applied to a diplomatic episode,
involving the rights in foreign countries of
emigrants to the United States as yet not fully
naturalized. A certain Martin Koszta, of Hungarian
birth, who had taken part in the political movement
of 1848-49 for detaching Hungary from the
dominion of the Emperor of Austria, and who had
fled to Turkey upon the failure of that movement,
emigrated to the United States after a short
detention in Turkey, and in July, 1852, made a
declaration under oath of his intention to become
a citizen of the United States, at the same time
renouncing all allegiance to any foreign power.
After a residence of a year and eleven months
he returned to Turkey on private business, and
was placed under the protection of the United
States by the American consul at Smyrna and
the American chargé d'affaires ad interim at
Constantinople. While waiting to return to the
United States he was taken, by force, aboard the
Austrian brig-of-war Huszár and confined there
in chains. The American officials protested in
vain both to the Turkish Government and to the
Austrian officers, and finally on July 2, 1853,
Captain Ingraham of the United States sloop-of-war
Saint Louis, then lying in Smyrna harbor,
threatened to open fire if Koszta was not
surrendered to him by four o'clock. The Austrian
consul-general then agreed that Koszta should be
held by the consul-general of France until some
agreement was reached. On August 29, 1853,
Baron Hülsemann, the Austrian chargé d'affaires
in Washington, wrote to Secretary of State
Marcy, asking that the United States “disavow
the conduct of its agents, . . . hasten to call
them to a severe account, and tender to Austria
a satisfaction proportionate to the outrage,”
basing his request on the ground that Koszta
had never ceased to be a citizen of Austria, and
that Ingraham's threat was in violation of
international law. Marcy replied, September 26,
1853, in a ringing letter, known as the Hülsemann
letter, in which he defended the position
of the United States throughout, on the ground
that Koszta had ceased to be a citizen of Austria
even by the law of Austria, “that Koszta when
seized and imprisoned was invested with the

nationality of the United States, and they had
therefore the right, if they chose to exercise it,
to extend their protection to him; that from
international law — the only law which can be
rightfully appealed to for rules in this case —
Austria could derive no authority to obstruct
or interfere with the United States in the
exercise of this right, in effecting the liberation
of Koszta; and that Captain Ingraham's
interposition for his release was, under the extraordinary
circumstances of the case, right and
proper.” This letter was received with great
enthusiasm throughout the United States, and
the stand taken by Marcy with reference to the
status of immigrants not fully naturalized has
been indorsed by various well-known authorities
on international law. Koszta was ultimately
released and allowed to return to the United
States. Consult Correspondence between the
Secretary of State and the chargé d'affaires of
Austria relative to the case of Martin Koszta
(Washington, 1853).