He became a honvédség (Hungarian Army) colonel on 2 October 1848, and was named General at the Battle of Kápolna. He was a stickler for the rules: when Lajos Kossuth sent him requests, he answered: "please work through Görgey." Due to his gout, he was relieved of field duty and appointed Minister of War on 14 July 1849. He was executed less than three months later as one of the 13 Martyrs of Arad.