On the outside of the elementary school named in his honor.

A brass inscribed plaque mounted to the Elementary School named in his honor is the town of his birth. An identical plaque was placed in Charleston, SC.

Michael Kováts de Fabriczy, or simply Michael Kovats, was a Hungarian nobleman and cavalry officer who served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, in which he was killed in action.

General Casimir Pulaski and Kovats are together known as the "Founding Fathers of the U.S. Cavalry."

Kovats became an officer in the Hungarian Cavalry under Maria Theresa. He later became a captain in the Prussian Cavalry, serving under Frederick the Great and earning the highest distinction in the Prussian Army, the Pour le Mérite. After learning about the American Revolution in 1777, he offered his sword to the American ambassador in France, Benjamin Franklin.

Kovats joined Casimir Pulaski, who was then brigadier general and commander-in-chief of Washington's cavalry. Kovats was tapped as colonel commandant of Pulaskis legion on April 18, 1778, and soon began training the hussar regiments.

In October, the legion was transferred to New Jersey and sent into battle with the British at Osborne Island on the 10th, and Egg Harbor on the 14th. After their initial success, the legion marched on Charleston, South Carolina. It was there that Kováts fell on May 11, 1779, and was laid to rest where he died.

To this date, Michael Kovats is celebrated by cadets at The Citadel Military College in Charleston, South Carolina, where part of the campus is named in his honor.

Source:https://www.europeafrica.army.mil/Who-We-Are

IN GRATITUDE FOR
COLONEL COMMANDANT MICHAEL KOVTS DE FABRICY'S
CONTRIBUTIONS TO AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

A HUNGARIAN NOBLEMAN AND ACCOMPLISHED OFFICER IN THE PRUSSIAN CAVALRY, MICHAEL KOVÁTS DE FABRICY WAS A RETIRED HUSSAR MAJOR IN THE AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN ARMY WHEN HE LEARNED OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. ON JANUARY 13, 1777, KOVTS WROTE TO THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR TO FRANCE, BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, TO VOLUNTEER HIS SERVICES TO THE AMERICANS AND PLEDGE HIMSELF
"FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH." HE WAS APPOINTED COLONEL COMMANDANT OF PULASKI'S LEGION IN THE CONTINENTAL ARMY IN 1778.

KOVÁTS RECRUITED, TRAINED, AND LED WHAT BECAME THE FIRST U.S. CAVALRY UNIT. HE WAS THE HIGHEST-RANKING HUNGARIAN MILITARY OFFICER IN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY WAR AND IS RECOGNIZED IN THE UNITED STATES AS A FOUNDER OF THE U.S. CAVALRY.

KOVATS WAS KILLED ON MAY 11, 1779, WHILE LEADING AN ASSAULT ON BRITISH TROOPS AT CHARLESTON, SO. CAROLINA. TRUE TO HIS WORD, HE REMAINED LOYAL TO THE CAUSE OF AMERICAN FREEDOM TO HIS DEATH.

MARKER PLACED BY
NATIONAL SOCIETY DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
2022