A last attempt was now made by the Hungarians to negotiate peace with
the court, but it failed, Windischgraetz being so elated with his
success that nothing short of unconditional submission on the part of
the country would satisfy him. To accept such terms would have been both
cowardly and suicidal, and the nation, therefore, driven to the sad
alternative of war, determined rather to perish gloriously than
pusillanimously to submit to be enslaved by the court. They followed the
lead of Kossuth, who was now at the head of the Government, while Gorgei
was the Commander-in-Chief of the Hungarian Army. The two names of
Kossuth and Gorgei soon constituted the glory of the nation. While these
two acted in harmony they achieved brilliant triumphs, but their
personal antagonism greatly contributed, at a subsequent period, to the
calamities of the country.
Windischgraetz took possession of Buda in January, 1849, thus compelling
Kossuth to transfer the seat of Government to Debreczin, while Gorgei
withdrew with his army to the northern part of Hungary; but the national
army fought victoriously against the Serbs and Wallachs, and the
situation of the Hungarians had, in the course of the winter, become
more favorable all over the country.
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