The photos were taken at the beginning of the 20th century. The idea came on the 100th anniversary of Lajos Kossuth to photograph those participants of the War of Independence of 1848 who were still alive in 1902. Several Kossuth soldiers lived in Hódmezővásárhely at the beginning of the 1900's. The traditions of the War of Independence were alive. The acknowledged photographer of the town, József Plohn photographed 154 soldiers.

Plohn kept the photos about the soldiers along with thousands of others of Vásárhely. In 1944 the photographer who was very sick by that time was deported. He did not survive the inhuman circumstances of transportation in freight rains. His companion saw to the keeping of the photos. The heritage was moved to the collection of the Vásárhely Museum in 1952.

Plohn photographed the soldiers without any artifice, just raw. The photos often pictured broken man in rags who seemingly had worked through their lives. The exhibition of the Tornyain Museum presents pictures of fifty-three 48's soldiers who served in the army of Kossuth. When entering the exhibition room, the visitors often find it surprising to see photos of the soldiers lined one after another.

The legendary soldiers were proud to wear badges from the War of Independence. Most of them were peasants, but some of them were rich landholders, tradesmen or intellectuals. All photos show that József Plohn intended to show respect and appreciation they reserve.

The identity of many of the soldiers photographed by Plohn is still unknown. History researches identified many of them however. The management hopes that some of the visitors may recognise their relatives in the pictures.