Monument to Lieutenant General József Szobi in 1848

Our hero was born on July 30, 1824, as the son of Mátyás Szobi, a Reformed preacher, and Zsuzsanna Ónódi, a noblewoman. He completed his studies at the Pápai Reformed College, and then studied to be an engineer in Pest. As Gábor Bona's publication Az 1848/49-es szabadharc tizztikara (The Officer Corps of the War of Independence) reveals, József Szobi joined the 17th Hungarian Army Battalion organized in Bars County in October 1848. ; He participated with his formation in the battles of the Upper Tisza from December, and then in the spring campaign as part of the I. Corps. When the Hungarian army led by Artúr Görgey began the siege of Buda Castle on May 4, 1849, Szobi, who was present, was already fighting as a lieutenant and was promoted on March 24. ; "On the eve of the siege, he volunteered with several of his comrades to be the first to enter the siege. He was indeed among the first on the castle wall, with the national flag in his hand, but when he stepped onto the castle grounds, he was hit by an enemy bullet. He died a heroic death at dawn on May 21, 1849"; - writes Ferenc Nyustyin in his 2009 article entitled Szódó participants in the battles, which was published in the columns of Zselízi Hírmondó, on the 160th anniversary of the recapture of Buda Castle. ; The author also draws attention to the fact that several thousand of the soldiers of the revolution and war of independence came from the Uplands. Among the 200 thousand recruits proposed and voted for by Kossuth, Bars County sent 1,800. ; In Bona's work Captains of Lajos Kossuth, we can read that among the members of the company commanders, there were 248 officers from the Highlands, including several with ties to Zselíz, in terms of their place of birth. ; In the Announcements of the Pápai Reformed Collections, Gábor Bona also drew attention to the fact that a total of seven of the former Pápai students received the 3rd class of the military merit badge - in recognition of their personal courage. As it turned out, this far exceeded the average of the entire officer corps. József Szobi was also nominated for the award. We know from Ákos Csonka, the local government representative of Zselíz who also deals with local history, that the pedestal of the monument to the Honvéd lieutenant in Sódó was renewed a few years ago, but the surface of the obelisk has worn away over the years. ; Recently, the Zselíz branch of the Csemadok initiated its renovation. ; The red marble column now reminds us of the famous native of the settlement in its original state. ; ; The inscription on the plaque: ; To József Szobi/ To Lieutenant/ For the freedom of the Hungarian homeland/ Buda Castle ; Upon its retake on May 21, 1849/ To the Hungarian patriot who valiantly bled/ In praise of ; It was erected in memory of some members of the Bars ref. diocese./ Born Szobi ; To pastor Mátyás/ and Zsuzsanna Ónódi/ In Szód 1824 July 30./ ; Rests in the Pest cemetery. ; ;