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Title: The American Jew as Patriot, Soldier and Citizen

Author: Simon Wolf

Editor: Louis Edward Levy

Release Date: October 16, 2014 [EBook #47135]

Language: English

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[i]

The American Jew
as
Patriot, Soldier and Citizen.

[ii]

STATUE OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY,
Fairmount Park, Philadelphia.

[iii]

THE
AMERICAN JEW
AS
Patriot, Soldier and Citizen

BY
SIMON WOLF

EDITED BY
LOUIS EDWARD LEVY

PHILADELPHIA
THE LEVYTYPE COMPANY
PUBLISHERS

NEW YORK—CHICAGO—WASHINGTON
BRENTANO'S
1895

[iv]

[v]

"And Ye shall know the Truth and the Truth shall make you free."—John, viii, 32.

[vi]

[vii]

Editor's Preface.

It were an error to suppose that prejudice is always the offspring of ignorance, inasmuch as the reverse is very frequently true. Not seldom is ignorance the result of prejudice, through a willful refusal to recognize such facts as run counter to the latter. A more accurate simile would, therefore, be the likening of prejudice and ignorance to twins, of whom either may be the precursor of the other, and either one the stronger of the two. The prejudices which follow ordinary ignorance give way readily before increasing knowledge of the truth, but where prejudice is the elder of the twin vices, it is usually the most obstinate as well. "None so blind as those who will not see" is an old aphorism whose truth is universally recognized. This obstinate kind of prejudice is usually but a form of self-conceit, as the latter, in turn, is but another form of ignorance.

To combat one of the most obstinate of all obstinate prejudices, and to promote enlightenment on a subject whereof ignorance has become unpardonable, has been undertaken by Hon. Simon Wolf in the work before us. His impelling motive has been to enforce a recognition of the Jewish people as a militant factor in the upbuilding of the State, and of Judaism as a primal force in the furtherance of civilization, and he has chosen as his weapons the simple truth of history and the testimony of leaders among men.

A notable French writer remarks that "La vérité historique[viii] devrait être non moins sacrée que la religion."[1] His words are just; the truth of history should, indeed, be no less sacred than that of religion. If this is true, and few or none will be found to dispute the proposition, then the records of historic truth may be regarded as part of the gospel of humanity. Such they are, in fact; as the truths of history become disentangled from the maze of sophistry and falsehood in which the passions and follies of mankind envelop them, they teach us first of all the lesson of charity and good-will to men.

The light of historic truth has been concentrated by Mr. Wolf on the part taken by his co-religionists in the development of our great republic. He shows us that the Jewish people of the New World, like their ancestors and brethren of the Old, have been unfailing in their devotion to their country's cause; that they have performed an ample part in the conquest of our liberties and have fully shared in the struggles for the preservation of our institutions. He proves beyond cavil that from an early stage of our history down to the present day, men of the Hebrew race and faith have been counted in the van of the country's progress and in the forefront of its defense, and having proved this fact by historic records and a demonstration of the truth, his task is done.

That this task was self-imposed but adds to the debt which the American Jewish community owes to Mr. Wolf for its accomplishment. It was undertaken in the spirit which has animated him throughout a long career of public usefulness, a spirit of loyalty to the faith that is in him, to his fellow-Israelites and to the land of his adoption. It has been done with all the thoroughness that an earnest purpose could impart to it, with a comprehensiveness in keeping with that purpose, and withal, in a spirit free from any shadow of sordidness or motive of self-interest. Mr. Wolf seeks no pecuniary profit from the unstinted labors he has given to this cause, not even the return of the sums expended by him in the tedious and often costly collection of his data. Whatever of monetary reward may inure to his work has been dedicated by him to the orphaned wards of the B'nai B'rith, whose asylum in Atlanta he helped to found, and of which he has long been the directing spirit and official head.

[ix]

The work of gathering the material for this book having been accomplished by Mr. Wolf, the less onerous task of editing and collating it has been entrusted by him to the present writer. In the execution of the work thus outlined for me I have been guided by the spirit with which the author had imbued it, and in my introductory references to the successive subjects of the volume, I have sought to briefly elucidate the author's theme. In common with him, I have to express my regret that the army lists compiled herein remain incomplete notwithstanding his unsparing efforts to perfect them. On the other hand, the more general subject, the place of the Jewish people in the history of mankind, their influence on the current of affairs, their attitude before the world and towards it, are demonstrated by a consensus of many-voiced opinion, gathered from unquestionable sources, in such abundance and of such extent that only its necessary curtailment afforded difficulty. This varied material has been subjected to a careful reconsideration, and in eliminating some portions and including others, I have sought to render the whole in harmony with the key-note which Mr. Wolf had sounded.

Philadelphia, October, 1895.

[x]

[xi]

Table of Contents.

[xiv]

[xv]

ERRATA.

[Of the various errors inevitably incident to a work of this character, the following are noted as especially requiring correction.]

Page 4, line 20, instead of "Charles RAUM," read "Charles BAUM."

Page 26, line 14 from bottom of page, instead of "Isaac MORRIS," read, "Isaac MOSES."

Page 200, line 2, instead of "WASHINGTON," read "BALTIMORE."

Page 424, under "STATISTICAL," "Other Soldiers (indicated in Addenda)," should be "13" instead of "12," making the total "8258," instead of "8257."

Page 428, line 25, instead of "1872" read "1870."

[xvi]

B'NAI B'RITH ORPHANS' HOME, ATLANTA, GA.

[xvii]

B'NAI B'RITH ORPHANS' HOME, ATLANTA, GA.

The Orphan Home of the Order of B'nai B'rith at Atlanta, Ga., for the benefit of which Mr. Wolf has devoted the net income of the present publication was instituted in 1876, under the auspices of District Grand Lodge No. 5, comprising the States of Maryland, Virginia, North and South Carolina and Georgia, and the District of Columbia. The present building was dedicated in 1889. Its benefits are not restricted to the membership of the Order which maintains it, children of all Jews residing within the territory named being admitted to its shelter. There are now sixty children cared for in the institution, and a large number are waiting to be admitted when the new wing now in course of erection is completed. This addition is calculated to cost some $25,000, and when finished will enable this Home to adequately meet the existing requirements and bring it to a foremost rank with institutions of this character. It is managed by a Board of Control consisting of thirteen members, of which Mr. Wolf, to whose efforts the existence of the Home is primarily due, has been chairman since its foundation. The administration of the Home is supervised by a local Board of Managers, of which Hon. Joseph Hirsch is Chairman.

[xviii]

[1]

INTRODUCTION.

In December, 1891, there was printed in the North American Review a letter in reply to certain statements of a contributor to a previous number of the same magazine regarding the services of American Jewish citizens as soldiers in the Civil War. Under the caption "Jewish Soldiers in the Union Army," the writer, after denying the statement that Generals Rosecrans and Lyon were of Jewish birth, proceeds as follows: —

"I had served in the field about eighteen months before being permanently disabled in action, and was quite familiar with several regiments; was then transferred to two different recruiting stations, but I cannot remember meeting one Jew in uniform, or hearing of any Jewish soldier. After the war, for twenty-five years, I was constantly engaged in traveling, always among old soldiers, but never found any who remembered serving with Jews. I learned of no place, where they stood, shoulder to shoulder, except in General Sherman's department, and he promptly ordered them out of it for speculating in cotton and carrying information to the Confederates. If so many Jews fought so bravely for their adopted country, surely their champion ought to be able to give the names of the regiments they condescended to accept service in," etc., etc.

A statement of this nature, logically inconclusive and practically absurd as it is, might well, under ordinary conditions have been left unnoticed. Under ordinary conditions a reply of any kind to such a tissue of misstatements, would but have dignified it beyond reason, and but helped, perhaps, to save it and its author from oblivion. But the conditions were[2] not ordinary, but most unfortunately, otherwise. It was at a time when the public mind throughout the civilized world was wrought to a high pitch of excitement by the flaunting villainy of the Russian government in the outrageous persecution of its Jewish subjects, when the wave of anti-Semitism was at floodtide in Germany, and was flowing high in France, and when bigots like Stoecker, fools like Ahlwardt, and knaves like Drumont, were finding imitators on both sides of the Atlantic. Here in our country, public attention was being centered on the Jewish refugees from Russia, and the Jewish people throughout the land were massing their strength to cope with the problems which Muscovite tyranny had set before them. In the midst of this agitation, the magazine article referred to, slurring the Jewish people as it did, attracted unusual attention, and being widely quoted and commented on by the newspaper press, it attained a degree of publicity out of all proportion to its merits or its authorship.

Under these circumstances I felt myself impelled to reply to the writer in the North American Review, and at once sent to that magazine a letter embodying a statement of a few indisputable facts bearing on the subject. This statement the publishers of the magazine declined to print on the ground that they had received so many articles on the subject that they could not undertake to discriminate in favor of any one of them, and that they would therefore publish none. My cursorily compiled citations were, however, published at the time in the Washington Post, and as germane to my present subject I reprint them in the main, as follows:—

"Has this much-traveled and keen observer, Mr. Rogers, ever heard of General Edward S. Salomon, who enlisted as Lieutenant-Colonel of the 82d Illinois? He became Colonel of the regiment after Colonel Frederick Hecker's retirement, was made Brigadier-General, was subsequently appointed by General Grant governor of Washington Territory, and, at present residing in San Francisco, has been Department [3]Commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, and is recognized as one of the bravest and most gallant officers that ever sat in saddle. This encomium I have from the lips of General Grant himself, and it will be cheerfully endorsed by General O. O. Howard, or by any of the officers yet living who served with him. In the same regiment, as I have learned from General Salomon, were more than one hundred private soldiers and subalterns of Jewish faith. General L. C. Newman, of the city of New York, who was fatally wounded in the first battle of the Rebellion, died in the city of Washington, while President Lincoln, who had brought Newman's commission as Brevet Brigadier-General, was with him at his bedside. General Leopold Blumenberg, of Baltimore, who, as Major of his regiment, was severely wounded at the battle of Antietam, and crippled for life and who was subsequently brevetted for his meritorious services, was one of the most loyal and brave of officers. Colonel M. M. Spiegel, of the 120th Ohio, who was severely wounded before Vicksburg, was entreated to retire from the army, but continued in the service and was killed in the campaign of General Banks, in Louisiana. Lieutenant Sachs, of the 32d Indiana, in command of a company of his regiment at Green River, in 1862, stood single-handed and alone against a company of Texas Rangers, and after killing and wounding eight of his assailants, fell riddled to death. His heroism and bravery had meanwhile given the command time to rally, and they thereupon dispersed the enemy. Captain A. Hart, of the 73d Pennsylvania, now of this city, who was Adjutant of his regiment, was severely wounded in the early part of the war, and is now a pensioner of the United States. Lieutenant Henry Franc, of the Kansas Volunteers, living in this city to-day, did splendid service. Judge. P. J. Joachimson, Lieutenant-Colonel of the 59th New York; Isidore Pinkson, Henry Pinkson and Moses Landauer, of the 110th New York; Captain Lyon and Lieutenant Ababot, of the 5th New York Cavalry; Theodore Wise, of the same regiment; Herman White, and A. T. Gross, of the 2d Maryland, and I. Feldstein, now a member of Koltes Post, New York, acquitted themselves with ample credit in their respective spheres. The 11th New York was more than half composed of men of Jewish faith. In the 2d Pennsylvania Artillery, serving under Captain R. M. Goundy, who lives in this city, there were three Jewish soldiers; Lieutenant Liebschutz, who served throughout the war and was promoted for gallantry on the field, now living in this city to-day; Leo Karpeles, who is now a clerk in the Post Office Department, to whom a special medal was awarded by Congress for bravery and for the capture with his own hands of rebel flags on the field of battle, and Simon Stern, who died [4]lately in this city and whose widow has been granted a pension. George Stern, who died from disease contracted in the service, also left a widow, now pensioned. Dr. A. Behrend, of this city, who served in our army with great ability, not only as a hospital steward, but as an officer in the field, tells me that in 1863 a general order was issued permitting Jews to be furloughed over their Holy Days, and that at Fairfax Seminary he furloughed eleven on that occasion. Dr. Herman Bendall, of Albany, a prominent citizen of that city, was promoted to the grade of Lieutenant-Colonel in recognition of his meritorious services and was subsequently appointed by General Grant superintendent of Indian affairs of Arizona. Jacob Hirsch, of this city, died from disease contracted in the service and his orphan children are now receiving a pension for their father's sacrifice; Captain Cohn, of New York City, now connected with the Baron de Hirsch Trust Fund, was as brave an officer as ever did duty. M. L. Peixotto, of the 103 Ohio (a brother of the well-known Benjamin F. Peixotto), died last year in consequence of wounds received and disease contracted in the service. Mr. Bruckheimer, now a practicing physician in this city, Charles Raum, one of our leading merchants, Mr. Hoffa, Sol Livingston, M. Erdman, M. Augenstein, and S. Goodman, all of this city, Edward S. Woog, a clerk in the Interior Department; Morris Cohen, clerk in the War Department; Henry Blondheim, of Alexandria, Va., were soldiers in the late war. Captain Morris Lewis, of the 18th New York Cavalry, now living in this city, served on General Kearney's staff; he receives a special pension, having been shot through the body and paralyzed in his lower limbs. August Bruckner was killed at the second battle of Bull Run. Colonel M. Einstein and Colonel M. Friedman, both of Philadelphia, commanded regiments; Uriah P. Levy was Commodore of the United States Navy. Jacob Hayes, of the city of New York, Mr. Phillips, son of the sexton of the Portuguese congregation of that city, E. J. Russell, of the 19th Indiana, a resident of this city, and so severely wounded as to render him almost incapable of work; L. Myers, of the same regiment, and Julius Steinmeyer, of the 7th United States Infantry "stood shoulder to shoulder" at the front. General William Meyer, editor of several New York papers, served with credit and distinction during the draft riots in the city of New York, and has in his possession an autograph letter from President Lincoln thanking him for his eminent services during those hours of darkness. William Durst, of Philadelphia, is one of the few survivors of the memorable fight between the Monitor and the Merrimac; when volunteers were called for he went to his duty with death staring him in the face, and Admiral Worden himself told me some months ago that Durst was a man of distinguished [5]bravery, whose services should be specially recognized by Congress. Major Joseph G. Rosengarten, of Philadelphia, is a soldier of national reputation and an author of ability, whose brother Adolph G. Rosengarten was killed at Stone River while acting as staff officer. Quartermaster Rosenfield, of the 13th Kansas, not only discharged the duties of that office with ability, but served also in the ranks. Lieutenant Rosenberg, of this city, is now dead, and his widow is pensioned. Colonel H. A. Seligson, who died some two months ago, led a Vermont regiment during the war, and achieved a high reputation as a soldier. Captain Frederick Leavy, of the 1st New York Infantry; Captain Max Conheim, of New York, and now of San Francisco, and Major H. Kœnigsberger, of Cincinnati, were officers of distinction, and so, too, were David Ezekiel and Lieutenant Louis Blumenthal, of New Hampshire. Sergeant Elias Leon Hyneman, of the 5th Pennsylvania Cavalry, was one of the heroes of the war, in which he served from the beginning. In June, 1864, during a cavalry sortie about Petersburg, while his command was retreating before the main body of the enemy, he hurried to the relief of a dismounted and wounded comrade. He lifted him into his own saddle and enabled him to escape, and started to make his own way on foot. On his way he met another comrade, barefooted and bleeding; he took off his own boots and gave them to the sufferer. But he himself was captured, and after months of agony in Andersonville, he died.

Frederick Kneffler, a resident of Indianapolis, attained the rank of Major General; he commanded the 79th Indiana, and was conspicuous for bravery at the battle of Chickamauga. As a further list of officers and privates in the various commands, I may yet add the names of Lieutenant Suldman, 44th New York; Captain Gremitz, 62d Pennsylvania; Corporal Gisner, 142d Pennsylvania; Lieutenant Evan Davis, 115th Pennsylvania; Sergeant Myers, 62d Pennsylvania; Captain A. Goldman, 17th Maine; Lieutenant A. A. Rinehard, 148th Pennsylvania; Lieutenant Nieman, 103d New York; M. S. Asher, 103d New York; Lieutenant George Perdinger, 39th New York; Lieutenant Philip Truffinger, 57th New York; Lieutenant Herman Musschel, 68th New York; Lieutenant Herman Krauth, 103d New York; Lieutenant Julius Frank, 103d New York; Captain H. P. Schwerin, 119th New York; Julius Niebergall, Levi Kuehne and Henry Luterman, all of the New York 3d Artillery, and Lehman Israels, Lieutenant in the 58th New York.

It must be taken into account that when the War of the Rebellion broke out the number of Jews in the United States was quite limited; according to the census taken in 1876 by [6]Mr. William B. Hackenburg, of Philadelphia, and myself, in behalf of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, there were then in the United States, fifteen years after the war commenced, only 250,000 Jews. It is altogether doubtful whether there were more than 150,000, if that many, when hostilities commenced. The proportion of Jewish soldiers is, therefore, only large, but is perhaps larger than that of any other faith in the United States. I have been told by one of the Jewish soldiers in this city, one who bears the scars of the war, that there were at least, as far as he could judge—and he had experience during the whole conflict—from 6,000 to 8,000 soldiers of the Jewish faith in the Union Army alone. I am not prepared to assert this number, but would not be surprised if it were found to be correct.

The animus of the writer in the North American Review is indicated by the words, "Except in General Sherman's Department, and he promptly ordered them out of it for speculating in cotton and conveying information to the Confederates." This statement is made with the same disregard of facts as are others in the article referred to, for while a few Jews may have violated the laws of war by running the blockade or furnishing information to the enemy, it was no more than others of other races and religious faiths did under like circumstances, even to a larger degree: and why the Jews as a class should be held up to the contempt and scorn of the world in consequence of the want of patriotism of a few of their number, is to me a profound mystery, and can only be explained upon the theory that inculcated prejudice is stronger than the desire for fair play or the regard for justice. No one for a moment would charge a particular class of Christians with want of honesty because one or more of their number had violated law. The War Department records and the Treasury files will furnish ample evidence of the fact that many of the sins that were committed by others were heaped upon the shoulders of the Jews. It has always been an easy thing to strike at the minority and from time immemorial the prejudice against the Jew has been made a convenient vehicle for furthering malignant purposes and selfish ends.

Having enjoyed the friendship of President Grant and of General Sherman (I was for eight years officially connected with the former, and for a time on intimate social terms with the latter), I can state that I had repeated conversations with them regarding "Order No. 11," which was issued over the signature of General Grant, but of which he, at the time, had absolutely no knowledge. This fact I proved conclusively during the presidential campaign of 1888, when political capital was being made against General Grant among the Jews. By both generals I [7]was assured that there had been a great deal of misinformation on the subject, and, that if they could permit themselves to speak of the facts as they were known to them it would not be the Jews who would be shown to have been derelict but a large number of Christians, many of whom had come highly recommended. It was the latter who were abusing the privilege accorded to them by the authorities at Washington and who had given both generals a great amount of trouble and annoyance.

I admit that it is unfortunate that the writer of the earlier article in the North American Review, whose statements otherwise deserve the fullest consideration, should have been led into so glaring an error as to name Generals Lyon and Rosecrans as Jewish soldiers. While we would have no objection to classing them among our American citizens of Jewish faith, we can substantiate our case very well without doing so, as the cursory list which I have cited will abundantly show. But while admitting the error of the earlier writer I cannot allow the statement of the latter one, with its implication that there was no one of Jewish faith who battled for the Union, to go unchallenged. The Jewish cemeteries of this city, and of every other large city in the land, contain the remains of brave men of Jewish birth who are not forgotten on Decoration Day by their surviving comrades of Christian faith; and what these men recognize the American people will not ignore.

The armies of every country afford ample proof of Jewish patriotism and valor. Even in benighted and tyrannical Russia, where, to a large extent they are soldiers by compulsion—50,000 or 60,000 of them—their officers have uniformly admitted that in battle there were no braver men than the Jews. The late Franco-German war afforded instances of distinguished heroism on the part of Jewish officers and soldiers in both armies. The Italian army and the French army to-day contain a large contingent of Jewish officers and privates who are not only respected, but honored by their compatriots. In the Turkish army some of the leading officers are of Jewish faith. Patriotism, however, is not confined to the field of battle; in private life, from time immemorial, acts have been performed of greater service, possibly, than any in the field, showing greater powers of endurance and evincing higher virtues than were ever recorded in the annals of war. During our late conflict many who remained at home made sacrifices of the most heroic character, and did their duty cheerfully and with alacrity, and I know of none who did their part more fully than the citizens of the United States of Jewish faith. In fact, the history of the Jewish people is one long tragedy of personal sacrifice and heroism. But as I wish to trespass no longer on [8]the columns of your valuable paper, I beg leave to close with this simple statement; that it seems to me high time for Americans of all faiths to frown down all attempts that have for their object the lowering and humiliation of any class of our citizens."

Simon Wolf.

Finding that my letter had been copied extensively, not only by the Jewish press, but by leading newspapers in the country, and favorably commented on generally, I determined to give to the world, as complete as I might find possible, a list of American citizens of Jewish faith who had "stood shoulder to shoulder" on the field of battle, and to add thereto the record of some typical instances of exceptional energy and public spirit in the civil walks of life.

What I had anticipated and supposed would be an easy task, requiring probably no more than six months at the utmost, has taken more than four years of continuous work, notwithstanding the assistance I received from many quarters, and I am even now compelled to give this work to the public in an inadequate form, with the feeling that it is incomplete and that much more should have been made of it.

The difficulties in the way of completing fully and accurately such a compilation as I have here attempted will scarcely be realized by those who have not undertaken a similar task. The work was begun nearly thirty years after the close of the war, when many of those whose names were to be gathered were dead, and many others dispersed throughout our vast domain and beyond our borders. In response to three successive calls made through the leading newspapers of the country, I received, indeed, a large number of replies, but after all, the great majority even of the survivors failed to respond, and of the data that reached me much could not be classified. Nearly a thousand names are accordingly placed in the unclassified list.

By far the majority of the names herein included were[9] furnished by the soldiers themselves or their relatives, but a large number of them were sent to me by army comrades of the men referred to. Some of these may be incorrectly quoted both as to their names and the commands with which they were connected, but these errors may scarcely be considered as affecting the general result, so far at least as numbers are concerned. It was naturally impossible to verify all the notices sent to me, and this compilation must therefore, in the very nature of the case, be more or less imperfect and incomplete, but I may say without hesitation that the work is free from all errors which could be eliminated through a patient and cautious scrutiny. Several hundred names of soldiers from Indiana alone were finally excluded from my present lists, notwithstanding their pronounced Jewish character, such as Marks, Abrahams, Isaacs and others of a similar strain, whose owners were ascertained by my correspondents to be non-Jews, while on the other hand many soldiers bearing names of decidedly non-Jewish derivation were authenticated as Jews. If many whose names should be included fail to see them on this "roll of honor" the fault is at all events not mine, and the earnest effort which I have given to this work, wholly a "labor of love" on my part, leaves me free from the necessity of offering apology for whatever errors of omission or of commission may remain in it. The public records could not be utilized, because our army lists, unlike those of foreign powers, make no registry of the religious faith of the enrolled soldiers. I should, in this connection, urge upon my readers to aid me with such corrections of these army lists as they may be able to furnish, with the view to the record being perfected as far as may be, in a future edition of this book.

Unsatisfactory and at times discouraging as has been my task and its outcome, I have yet had at times the pleasure of obtaining and recording data of a most gratifying character. One of the most pleasing results of my labors is the fact that I am able to present a list of fourteen Jewish families that contributed to[10] the Union and Confederate armies no less than fifty-one soldiers. Three, four, five brothers; a father and three sons, a father and four sons, volunteers in a deadly strife, leaving their homes and kindred, breaking their family ties to face privation, disease, wounds and death, sacrificing all to fight with their compatriots for the cause which they deemed right.

My primary purpose has been to show that the Jewish people throughout the land not only took a share in the struggle which has ended so beneficently as to have brought prosperity to both antagonists and dispelled the cause of discord, but that they took their full share, and it is now conclusively shown that the enlistment of Jewish soldiers, north and south, reached proportions considerably in excess of their ratio to the general population. This fact had become apparent before my present work had been systematically begun, as I indicated in my letter to the Washington Post, quoted above, but the lists obtained by me, incomplete as they must inevitably be, make up a number that leaves no reasonable doubt on this subject. This fact, in view of statements minimizing the numbers of Jewish soldiers of the late war, or denying the existence of any at all, cannot be too strongly emphasized. To complete, however, my ultimate purpose of presenting a consideration of the Jew as citizen and philanthropist as well as patriot and soldier, I have herein collated a symposium of expressions on this comprehensive subject from sources at once authoritative and unbiased. I have included in this collection of views and reviews, the carefully considered statements of many of the foremost men of modern times, statesmen and soldiers, philosophers, divines, writers and other leaders of public opinion, as widely divergent in locality as they are unanimous in sentiment. Among these I have included only such as are entirely non-Jewish in their origin, men whose thoughts are the expressions of well-disciplined minds, and whose opinions are the deliverances of an impartial judgment.

[11]

I gladly record my obligations to the Grand Army of the Republic for the aid afforded me in obtaining information through the machinery of its organization, and to General J. B. Gordon, of the Confederate Memorial Association, for a like co-operation. To the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, to the Independent Order of B'nai B'rith, and to the Jewish Publication Society of America, I am indebted for contributions to the cost of publication and for other aid in the prosecution of my work.

I owe my thanks to Captain Eugene H. Levy, Mr. George Alexander Kohut and Mr. Max J. Kohler, of New York, to Messrs. Lewis Abraham and L. Lichtenstein, of Washington, for their assistance, and especially to Colonel F. C. Ainsworth, of the War Department, for the loan of Records. To Mr. Henry S. Morais' recent historical work on "The Jews of Philadelphia," I am much indebted for valuable data, and other important materials have been gleaned from Mr. Isaac Markens' compendious work on "The Hebrews in America." To the Jewish press I owe acknowledgement for many welcome items of information and for repeated expressions of encouragement.

Finally, among my obligations to numerous correspondents in different parts of the country are those which I owe to many soldiers of Christian faith, some of them officers of distinguished rank, who afforded me much valuable information and who added, in almost every case, some warm expression of their sympathy and good-will.

Washington, D. C., June, 1895.

[12]

JEWISH PATRIOTS OF THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD.

The keen and responsive sense of duty with which, through Torah and Talmud, the Jewish character is so deeply imbued, has never failed to become manifest when occasion has called it forth. Jews have never been wanting in patriotism and though a peace-loving people, (the very mission of Israel being peace, and good-will towards neighbors a cardinal teaching of Judaism) they have always espoused, eagerly and earnestly, the cause of their countrymen. The heroism and self-devotion which marks the course of Jewish history from the earliest Biblical records, emblazoning the era of the Maccabees, signalizing the Roman period and illuminating the Dark Ages, has found many a worthy example in these modern days. We have here to deal with the records of but one country, yet these records are replete with instances of bravery and undaunted courage, of earnest devotion and of faithful service performed by men of Israel in behalf of this land of their adoption. These records begin at a time before the Revolutionary epoch, when the Jewish settlers in America were very few indeed. At the date of the first census, in 1790, just after the close of the Revolution, when the total population of the country was figured at almost 4,000,000, the number of Jewish inhabitants could scarcely be estimated at 3,000, or only one to 1,330 of the population.[2]

The dearth of accessible records of a detailed character rendered it practically impossible to present more than a very imperfect list of the Jewish participants in the Revolutionary struggle. However, sufficient data are at hand to prove conclusively that the Jewish colonists of that period, comparatively recent settlers and few in number as they were, furnished, as usual in all struggles for liberty and freedom, more than their proportion of supporters to the colonial cause. They not only risked their lives in the war for independence, but aided materially with their money to equip and maintain the armies of the Revolution. That they took their part in the earliest stages of resistance to the encroachments of the mother country is proved by the signatures to the Non-Importation Resolutions of 1765. Nine Jews were among the signers of these resolutions, the adoption of which was the first organized movement in the agitation which eventually led to the independence of the colonies. The original document is still preserved in Carpenter's Hall, in Philadelphia, and following are the names of the Jews on that early roll of patriots:

[13]

Benjamin Levy, Samson Levy, Joseph Jacobs, Hyman Levy, Jr., David Franks, Mathias Bush, Michael Gratz, Barnard Gratz, Moses Mordecai.

With these as worthy precursors of the Jewish patriots of the Revolution we may proceed to note the list of Jews whose names have come to us from the Revolutionary period, through various published sources, as men of special distinction among their fellows. One of the most notable of these was Haym Salomon, a man who, while not the only Jewish patriot that lavished his ample fortune in behalf of liberty and independence, yet stands out as so unique a figure in the history of the American Revolution that the record of his part in the making of that history may well take precedence. Fragmentary presentations of this subject have been made in public documents and in historic essays at various times since the submission by Salomon himself of his memorial to the Continental Congress in August, 1778.[3] However, as embracing a succinct statement and detailed review of the whole matter to the present time, the following paper from the "Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society" (No. 2, 1894) may be quoted in full:—

[14]

A SKETCH OF HAYM SALOMON.

[Contributed by Herbert B. Adams, Ph. D., Professor in the Johns Hopkins University. With Notes by J. H. Hollander.]

In the fall of 1841, Jared Sparks, while professor of history in Harvard College, was delivering a course of lyceum lectures in New York City upon the American Revolution. His remarks upon the services of certain public men of the period excited deep interest in the mind of a Jewish hearer, Mr. Haym M. Salomon, who wrote to and afterwards called upon Mr. Sparks in reference to the patriotic activity of Haym Salomon, a contemporary and associate of Robert Morris, James Madison, Edmund Randolph and other distinguished publicists of the Revolutionary period. At the request of Mr. Sparks, Mr. Salomon prepared certain memoranda of the eminent services of his father, Haym Salomon, and this manuscript passed into the possession of Mr. Sparks.

The interview and the information thus obtained seem to have made a profound impression upon Mr. Sparks. He mentioned something of the above matter to Mr. Joshua I. Cohen, of Baltimore, and almost a quarter of a century after the original interview, under date of October 29, 1865, Mr. Cohen wrote to Mr. Sparks as follows:

"You may probably recollect a conversation I had with you many years ago during a visit to Cambridge, in which I mentioned that Judge Noah, of New York, was then engaged in gathering together the facts and memorials of the part which our people, the Israelites, took in our Revolutionary struggle, and you kindly offered to him through me the use of your biographical series for any memoirs he might prepare on the subject. The death of Judge Noah, not long after, put an end to the project. I mentioned to you a military company that was formed in Charleston, S. C., composed almost exclusively of[15] Israelites, of which my uncle was a member, and which behaved well during the war. Major Frank, one of Arnold's aids, was spoken of, and also Haym Salomon and others. In connection with Mr. Salomon you expressed yourself very fully, and, in substance (if I recollect correctly), that his association with Robert Morris was very close and intimate, and that a great part of the success that Mr. Morris attained in his financial schemes was due to the skill and ability of Haym Salomon. I do not pretend to quote your language, but only the idea. The matter was brought up to my mind recently by the marriage of a great-grandson of Mr. Salomon to a niece of mine, one of the young ladies of our household."[4]

The original sketch of Haym Salomon thus prepared by his son was found in a somewhat mutilated condition by Professor Herbert B. Adams, of the Johns Hopkins University, among the Sparks Papers, which had been entrusted to his care during the preparation of "The Life and Writings of Jared Sparks," published in 1893 by Houghton, Mifflin & Co. The manuscript was stitched to other papers and had been apparently cut down somewhat in order to make it more uniform in size with the smaller sheets. This fact will explain certain tantalizing, but apparently brief omissions in the text. The appended copy of the manuscript is furnished by Professor Adams with the full consent of the Sparks family.

[16]

Haym Salomon, who died in Philadelphia, then the metropolis of the United States, January, 1785, was the fellow-countryman and intimate associate of the Polish Generals Pulaski and Kosciuszko, and was first publicly known in 1778, when he was taken by the British General Sir H. Clinton in New York on charges that he had received orders from General Washington to burn their fleets and destroy their store-houses, which he had attempted to execute to their great injury and damage. He was accordingly imprisoned, treated inhumanly, and ordered to suffer military death. From the sacrifice of his life, with which he was threatened in consequence of the sentence, he escaped by means of a considerable bribe in gold. This is corroborated from his letter to his brother-in-law, Major Franks, dated soon after in Philadelphia, in which his intimacy is stated with the brave General McDougall, who then commanded the American army in the neighborhood of New York, and with whom it appears he must have been in co-operation in order to drive ... away from the comfortable quarters, which the maritime and military positions of that city so happily promised them after its abandonment by the friends of the Revolution.[5]

[17]

A few days after his escape from the merciless enemy he safely arrived in Philadelphia, where he was welcomed and esteemed as one devoted to the principle ... [MS. cut off.]

We then find him meriting the well-placed confidence and affection of the patriots who had been distinguished in the Revolutionary Congress of 1776; also the great men who were famous in those succeeding sessions, 1780, '81, '82, '83 and '84, as furnished us by such circumstantial testimony as yet remains of that immortal body of devoted patriots.

It is seen as soon as the generous monarch of France agreed to furnish the expiring government of that day with means to reanimate their exertions in the glorious cause. It was he who was charged with the negotiation of the entire amount of those munificent grants of pecuniary supplies from the government of France and Holland.[6]

In 1783-4, after the satisfactory close of these truly confidential services, he is found to have made considerable advances, moneys, loans, &c., to Robert Morris, of the Congress of the Declaration of '76. To General Miflin, to General St. Clair, to General Steuben, to Colonel Shee, to Colonel Morgan, Major McPherson, Major Franks, and many other officers such sums as they required. And as it regarded the deputies to the Continental Congress, [to] the amiable Judge Wilson (another member of the session of '76) considerable loans.[7]

[18]

To the immortal delegation from Virginia, namely, Arthur Lee, Theodore Bland, Joseph Jones, John F. Mercer and Edmund Randolph, liberal supplies of timely and pecuniary aid, and we find it declared by one of the most accomplished, most learned and patriotic members of the succeeding sessions of the Revolutionary legislature, James Madison, that when by the ... [MS. cut off] pecuniary resources of the members of Congress, both public and private, were cut off, recourse was had to Mr. Salomon for means to answer their current expenses, and he was always found extending his friendly hand.[8]

The exalted and surviving delegate of the Revolutionary Congress above alluded to, who has since that period been promoted for two successive terms to the chief magistracy of these States, in his letter on the subject of the character of Mr. Haym Salomon, testifies fully as to the unquestionable uprightness of his transactions, as well as the disinterestedness of his "friendship," and also his "intelligence," and which no doubt from his confidential intercourse with the foreign ambassadors made his communications serviceable to the public safety.[9] That conferences were sought with him by the great men of the time is proved from the existence of a note in the handwriting of another member of the Congress of Declaration, the incorruptible President Reed.

[19]

His services to the cause of his country were not confined to aiding the native agents of our own government, but he was the most confidential friend and timely adviser to the agents, consuls, and ambassadors representing the interests of the kings of those countries then in our alliance, as it appears from the amount of specie granted for the service of the army and hospital of Rochambaud, and large sums appear to have been received from him by Chevalier De La Luzerne, Marbois, consul-general, De La Forest, John ... [MS, cut off], recollected by the elders of the nation as the active agents of the good French king.[10]

As to the minister of the King of Spain, then the richest of the European monarchs. The amount granted him was expressly to relieve the wants, conveniences and necessities of this ambassador, whose king was then countenancing the Revolution in this country, but with whose European dominions all intercourse was stopped, and in regard to the monies so furnished, whether Mr. S. was ever repaid by Spain is a matter of as much uncertainty as that regarding the considerable sums advanced to other Revolutionary agents.[11]

[20]

It appears that the death of Mr. S. after a short and severe illness was quite as unexpected as calamitous to his family, leaving no will nor relatives in this country competent to take charge of his estate, at this difficult period of the unsettled state of the jurisprudence of the country, being four years prior to the formation of the Constitution of the United States.

A letter from him yet exists, dated in New York a few days previous to his return and death, directed to the agent of his house in Philadelphia, in which he speaks of the full competency of his fortune and his intention of retiring from business. An additional inducement no doubt was owing to the impaired state of his health from the great exertions he had made to promote the views of the Revolution, and which letter further declares that he had many claims uncollected due him,[12] and spoke of the quantities of public securities and government papers which ... [MS. cut off]. Of this latter, on examination of a list deposited in the Probate Office, it appears there was upwards of $300,000, more than $160,000 of which were of certificates of the Loan Office of the Treasury and the army.[13]

[21]

At his decease the management of his estate passed into the hands of strangers, all of whom not very long after became either bankrupts or died, as well as Mr. Macrea,[14] his chief clerk, who had committed suicide about the same period. Consequently the books and papers have nearly been all lost, and the obscurity into which these matters are thrown is increased in consequence of the destruction by the British of many of the public archives of that period, during the invasion of the city of Washington by their army during the last war.[15] And such were the effects of those unfortunate circumstances to the heirs that when the youngest son became of age nothing was obtained from the personal estate of this munificent and patriotic individual in Philadelphia. And no other inheritance now survives to the offspring except the expectation of the grateful remembrance of a just and generous republic.

It ought not to be forgotten, that although he endorsed a great portion of those bills of exchange for the amount of the loans and subsidies our government obtained in Europe, of which he negotiated the entire sums, and the execution of which duty occupied a great portion of his valuable time from '81 to '83, still there was only charged scarcely a fractional percentage to the United States, although individuals were willing to pay him ... [MS. cut off] for his other negotiations and guarantee. And it is known that he never caused the loss to the government of one cent of those many millions of his negotiations, either by his own mismanagement or from the credit he gave to others on the sales he made of those immense sums of foreign drafts on account of the United States.[16]

[22]

We find that immediately after the peace of '83, when foreign commerce could securely float again on the ocean, that he resumed his business as a merchant for the few remaining months of his life, trading to foreign countries, which may be collected from the few original letters (that are preserved) bearing date [of] London, Holland and Spain, and from the return of the large ship Sally from Spain to his consignment a few weeks succeeding his death, on which cargo and hull he was interested in the sum of 40,000 florins; his estate on the expedition sustained almost total loss, owing to the failures and disasters among merchants of those days, to whom the property had been consigned and by whose advice it had been undertaken.

He was most friendly in aiding those other commercial citizens and merchants who recommenced trading after the war had closed. One remarkable instance [that] may be noted among others was the case of Mr. Willing's house, the head of which was the president of the National Bank, and whose active partner was the Superintendent of Finance. The firm traded under the name of Willing, Morris & Swanick. To them he made a loan of his name to obtain 40,000 dollars in specie in one amount from the bank. A second loan of his name in addition of 24,000 specie dollars also, a few months preceding his death, for both of which considerable accommodations of credit at this eventful period of our commercial history he never changed them one cent of consideration.[17]

[Copy of an authentic certificate from the Register's Office in Philadelphia shewing the amount of public securities[18] and Revolutionary papers left by the deceased Haym Salomon at his death and from which personal estate mentioned in said certificate not a cent was ever received by any of his heirs.]

[23]

"Seal

"I certify that the above writing is a true extract from the original inventory and appraisement of the personal estate of Haym Salomon deceased filed in the register's office Philadelphia on the 15th February, 1785.

Given under my hand and seal of office this 28th May, A. D. 1828."

The father of Mr. Haym M. Salomon was the deceased Haym Salomon, Esq., who died in Philadelphia, January 6, 1785, and who is found to have exhibited the most ardent personal devotion to the cause of the Revolution.

On investigating such of the memoranda and papers regarding his civil services in that era of our history which have accidentally been preserved and now submitted, I find the following facts.

By an affidavit made in New York, January, 1778, before Alderman Matthews, certified on its back by William Claygen, military secretary to Major-General Horatio Gates, dated at the encampment White Plains, August 15, 1778, it appears that so early as the year 1775, Mr. S. was in controversy with the enemies of the projected Revolution.

New York, May 9, 1828.

The affidavit further states that it had been alleged against him in New York that he was charged by General Washington to execute an enterprise as hazardous to the safety of his person[24] and life as it was most important to the interests of the Revolutionary army. Supposed to be the enterprise for which he was condemned to death by the British General Clinton, as mentioned in the first part of this memorandum.

The two infant sons which Mr. Salomon (at the age of 45) left at his death were Ezekiel and Haym. Ezekiel was he (the eldest) who in 1807, in charge of a large amount of American property, was (with many other American citizens whose cargoes as well as his own was sequestered at Leghorn by the French) placed in much perplexity, but through the spirited remonstrance which he made to the Tuscan and French Governments, succeeded in procuring its release. He subsequently was charged with the government of the U. S. Branch Bank at New Orleans, and while in the successful application of the duties of his office died in 1821.

Haym M., the youngest son and sole survivor of the male part of the family, has been engaged in commercial pursuits for many years past, for particulars of which see letter from Hon. Johnson, Esq., who for eight years was the representative in Congress from New York, the Empire City of the United States, and now[19] one of the chief officers in the Custom House of that city.[20]

Bibliographical Note.

Little of the mass of original material at one time in existence relative to the life and activity of Haym Salomon can now be located. Mr. William Salomon, of New York, a great-grandson of Haym Salomon, writes in response to a recent inquiry as follows: "I am under the impression that all the papers bearing on the services of Haym Salomon in the cause of the Revolution which were not lost when he died intestate (and a few months before Haym M. Salomon was born) came into Haym M. Salomon's possession, but unfortunately his descendants have been deprived of that valued inheritance by reason of their disappearance while in the custody of the Government. All I ever discovered among my father's papers was a letter from either President Tyler or Polk (I cannot remember positively which, and the letter is not now within easy reach) stating that papers my grandfather, Haym M. Salomon, desired to have returned could not be found in the Department where they had been placed."

[25]

Some further details of the strange negligence to which this unfortunate loss is due may be found in the Senate Committee Report to the 31st Congress on the claim of H. M. Salomon. The timely services rendered by Haym Salomon to James Madison during the sessions of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia are specifically indicated in the published letters of Madison; see Gilpin, Madison Papers, Vol. I., pp. 163, 178-9. Mr. Herbert Friedenwald, of Philadelphia, has recently found among the records of the Continental Congress an interesting Memorial of Haym Salomon, submitted to the Congress in August, 1778; see Publications of American Jewish Historical Society, I., 87. The main sources of information relative to the life of Haym Salomon are thus the secondary Congressional Committee Reports upon the claims of his descendants for indemnity for money advanced to the United States Government during the Revolution. These, in the order of their presentation, are as follows:[21]

1. Report on Claim of Haym M. Salomon. Rep. F. A. Tallmadge. April 26, 1848. 3 pp. House Reports, No. 504, 30th Cong., 1st Sess., Vol. III.

2. Report on Claim of H. M. Salomon. Senator J. D. Bright. July 28, 1848. 3 pp. Senate Reports, No. 219, 30th Cong., 1st Sess.

3. Report on Claim of H. M. Salomon. Senator I. P. Walker. August 9, 1850. 7 pp. Senate Reports, No. 177, 31st Cong., 1st Sess., Vol. I.

4. Report on Claim of Haym M. Salomon. Senator Charles Durkee. March 9, 1860. 10 pp. Senate Reports, No. 127, 36th Cong., 1st Sess., Vol. I.

5. Report on Claim of Haym M. Salomon. Senator M. S. Wilkinson. July 2, 1862. 5 pp. Senate Reports, No. 65, 37th Cong., 2d Sess.

6. Report on Petition of Haym M. Salomon. June 24, 1864. 4 pp. Senate Reports, No. 93, 30th Cong., 1st Sess.

The second, third, fifth and sixth of the above reports have been reprinted in pamphlet form, presumably for private circulation. During the first session of the 29th Congress, the Senate Committee of Claims unanimously agreed upon a report similar to that adopted by the House Committee of the 30th Congress, but too late for presentation. Another report was drawn up during the second session of the same Congress, placed on file, but never adopted. It was largely embodied in the Senate Report to the 31st Congress; see Senate Report to the 31st Congress.[26] The last sentence of the Report to the 38th Congress: "except the report of this committee made at the last session," and several paragraphs inserted in the Report to the 37th Congress as statements of "the committee of the last Congress," indicate the presentation of additional reports. No positive evidence of their existence has, however, been found. At the second session of the 52d Congress (February 24, 1893), a bill was presented to the House, ordering that a gold medal be struck off in recognition of services rendered by Haym Salomon during the Revolutionary War, in consideration of which the Salomon heirs waived their claims upon the United States for indemnity. The measure was reported favorably by the House Committee on the Library, but too late for consideration. The Report (No. 2556; to accompany H. R. 7896) summarizes the efforts made in previous Congresses, and reprints in full the Senate Report to the 37th Congress.

OTHER JEWISH CONTRIBUTORS TO THE COLONIAL TREASURY.

The monetary contribution by Haym Salomon to the successful issue of the Revolutionary struggle was doubtless the largest made by any individual, but while it is the most signal instance of its kind, it does not stand alone. Haym Salomon was not the only Jew who showed his earnestness in behalf of freedom by a jeopardy or sacrifice of fortune. Among the signers of the Bills of Credit for the Continental Congress in 1776 were Benjamin Levy, of Philadelphia and Benjamin Jacobs, of New York; and Samuel Lyon, of the same city, was among the signers of similar bills in 1779. Isaac Morris, also of Philadelphia, and who, after the Revolutionary War, was one of the incorporators of the Bank of New York, contributed three thousand pounds sterling (£3000) to the colonial treasury, and still another Philadelphian, Hyman Levy, repeatedly advanced considerable sums for the support of the army in the field. A yet more notable instance of patriotic devotion was that of Manuel Mordecai Noah, of South Carolina, who not only served in the army as officer on Washington's staff, and likewise with General Marion, but gave of his fortune twenty thousand pounds (£20,000) to further the cause in which he was enlisted. Many minor cases of a similar order could be cited, but only the more important instances, such as are of public record, have here been adduced.

[27]

INCIDENTS ILLUSTRATIVE OF AMERICAN JEWISH PATRIOTISM.

[A paper written for the American Jewish Historical Society by Max J. Kohler.]

In the present article, the writer proposes to set forth several incidents in our history not otherwise connected with each other than the above title indicates, but all tending to show that the Jew has ever been ready to battle for the cause of his adopted country, be his domicile where it may. Our subjects herein had differing views as to what patriotism demanded. We shall speak of French Jews battling for France, of English Jewish Colonists championing England's cause, and of American Jews fighting for American liberty and glory, yet all were equally patriots. In selecting the incidents to be set forth herein the writer has confined himself exclusively to matters which he believes are either wholly unknown to the Jewish historian or only partially or imperfectly known; no treatment of the main subject, other than these incidents may furnish, will be attempted.

I.
Colonel David S. Franks.

Members have no doubt still fresh in mind the interesting items relating to Col. Franks, set forth by Dr. Herbert Friedenwald and Prof. M. Jastrow in No. 1 of our "Proceedings." Since then other data have been collected and published in regard to the Franks family, to which I will merely refer; (see the very interesting article on the History of the Jews of Montreal, prepared for the Montreal Daily Star, December 30, 1893, and repeated in the American Israelite in January, 1894, which has been attributed to Rev. Dr. Meldola de Sola; and also an article on Rebecca Franks by the present writer, which appeared in the American Hebrew, November 9, 14, 21, and also in pamphlet reprint). In the present paper, Colonel[28] Franks' early career in Canada will be chiefly dealt with, the documents herein cited demonstrating the correctness of Dr. Friedenwald's theory (p. 76) that Franks was drawn into the Revolutionary contest through pure patriotism and interest in the struggle which was being carried on south of his earlier domicile. A contemporary periodical furnishes the data I refer to; it is entitled: "The Remembrancer or Impartial Repository of Public Events." Part I, for 1776, London, 1776, pp. 100-6. (The narrative is somewhat condensed herein, but the documents are set forth in their entirety.)

"On May 2, 1775, the bust of the king at Montreal was found daubed over and indecently ornamented, the words, "This is the pope of Canada and the fool of England," being written upon it in French. A reward of 100 guineas was offered for the discovery of the perpetrator, and much indignation was expressed among the French inhabitants, eager to manifest their loyalty to England, one French gentleman even expressing his opinion that the act ought to be punished by hanging. Upon hearing this severe opinion, a young English merchant of the name of Franks, who had settled at Montreal and who at that time happened to be near the speaker, replied to him in these words: 'In England men are not hanged for such small offenses,' which he repeated twice or three times. This provoked M. de B——(the former speaker) to such a degree, that, after giving the young man much opprobrious language, he at last proceeded to blows, and struck him in the face and pulled him by the nose; upon which the other gave him a blow that knocked him down. The next day, May the 3d, upon a complaint of M. de B—— to three officers of justice of a new order, called the Conservators of the Peace for the District of Montreal, not of the blow he had received from Franks (for to this he was conscious he had given occasion by striking him first) but of the words pronounced by the latter, 'that in England people were not hanged for such small offenses,' the Conservators issued the warrant hereunder following for committing young Franks to prison. He was accordingly carried thither by a party of soldiers with bayonets fixed, and £10,000 bail, that was offered to procure his liberty, and be security for his appearance to take his trial for the offence, was refused. And there he continued for a week, at the end of which time, the same Conservators of the Peace (by the direction, as it is supposed, of Governor Carleton) ordered him to be discharged without any bail at all."

[29]

The following are the official documents, in translation:

"District of Montreal.

"By John Fraser, John Marteilhe and Réné Ovide Hertel de Rouville, Esquires, Judges and Conservators of the Peace in the District of Montreal:

"Whereas, Francis Mary Picote de Bellestre, Esquire, has made oath on the holy gospels that on Tuesday the second day of this present month of May, as he was standing still in the street to hear a proclamation published, concerning those wretches who had insulted his Majesty's bust, he had openly declared that he thought they deserved to be hanged: and that thereupon one Salisbury Franks had answered with surprise, 'that it was not usual to hang people for such small offences and that it was not worth while to do so,' and that he had repeated those words several times, and with a loud voice.

"We, having regard to the said complaint, and considering that every good subject ought to look upon the said insult to his Majesty's bust as an act of the most atrocious nature, and deserving of the utmost abhorrence, and that therefore all declarations made in conversation that tend to affirm it to be a small offence, ought to be esteemed criminal: Do, for these reasons, authorize and command you to convey the said Salisbury Franks to the prison of the town to be there detained, till he shall be thence discharged according to law. And for so doing, this warrant shall be your justification.

"Given at Montreal, under our hands and seals, on the third day of May, 1775.

(Signed)

John Fraser,
John Marteilhe,
Hertel de Rouville."

The warrant to the jailor we omit, but the warrant for his discharge follows:

"To the keeper of the jail in Montreal.

"Whereas David Salisbury Franks is now in your custody, in virtue of our warrant duly sealed and signed; these are now to command you to forbear detaining any longer the said David Salisbury Franks, but to suffer him to go at large wherever he pleases and that without fees. And for so doing, this will be your sufficient warrant.

"Given under our hands and seals at Montreal, on the 9th day of May, 1775."

(Signed as above).

[30]

It will be noticed that the warrant of release gives the full name of Franks and leaves it clear that he was the future American patriot. It should also be noticed that he is described as an Englishman, pointing to that country as the common home of the various members of the family of that name in America. (Compare Life of Peter Van Schaack, p. 143, and Kamble Papers, for references to Franks' family home, a mansion near London). Also that the amount of bail offered for young Franks, £10,000, was extraordinarily large for those days.

It is not proposed herein to repeat the interesting incident in the career of Arnold's aide-de-camp which others have set forth so well. Their accounts may, however, be supplemented by the following. It seems that Franks gave testimony to Mrs. Arnold's innocence of all complicity in her husband's treason. This fact is cited in a note in the present writer's sketch of Rebecca Franks (p. 12), but the original authority, the preface to the privately printed Shipper papers, he has thus far been unable to consult. After the inquiry into Franks' conduct,—occasioned by the suspicions aroused against him on account of Arnold's treason—had been held in accordance with his demand, Franks appears to have been sent to Europe with important dispatches to Jay and Franklin, with instructions to await their orders. In a letter from Robert Morris to Franklin, dated Philadelphia, July 13, 1781, we read: "The bearer of the letter, Major Franks, formerly an aide-de-camp to General Arnold, and honorably acquitted of all connection with him after a full and impartial inquiry, will be able to give you our public news more particularly than I could relate them." (Diplomatic Correspondence, edited by Sparks, Vol. XI, p. 382). His conduct in France and Spain appears to have been very creditable; Jay speaks very highly about his discretion and tact and he seems to have won the particular regard of the Count of Florida Blanca, the Spanish Minister, with whom Jay was negotiating. (See "Diplomatic Correspondence of the U. S.," edited by F. Wharton, Vol. IV, 752-754, 756-757, 764-784, V, 121. Thompson Papers (N. Y. Hist. Soc. Collections, 1878), p. 183. Accounts of the U. S. during the Administration of the Superintendent of France, 1781-1784). As noted by Dr. Friedenwald, Franks was sent by Congress to Europe[31] again in 1784, this time to deliver a triplicate of the definitive treaty of peace to our ministers plenipotentiary. Further details about this trip are alluded to in "Military Journal of Major E. Denny" (Pa. Hist. Society, Pub. 1860) p. 415, where letters from Frank's associate, Col. Harman, are quoted, and in a letter written by Harman to a Philadelphia merchant, Jonathan Williams, in 1790, wherein he sends his regards to Franks, and alludes to the "gay moments we passed together in France, particularly the civilities received from you at St. Germain, where I dined with you in company with Mr. Barclay and Col. Franks" (p. 461). Not less interesting is the narrative of an encounter with Major Franks in 1787, by Dr. Cutler, on a trip to Philadelphia: "July 12th. Made our next stay at Bristol. Dined in company with the passengers in the stage, among whom were General Armstrong and Col. Franks. General Armstrong is a member of Congress with whom I had a small acquaintance at New York; Franks was an aide of General Arnold at the time of his desertion to the British. Both of them high bucks, and affected, as I conceived, to hold the New England states in contempt. They had repeatedly touched my Yankee blood, in their conversation at the table; but I was much on the reserve until, after we had dined, some severe reflections on the conduct of Rhode Island, and the Insurgency in Massachusetts—placing the two States in the same point of light—induced me to observe that 'I had no doubt but that the conduct of Rhode Island would prove of infinite service to the Union; that the insurgency in Massachusetts would eventually lead to invigorate and establish our government; and that I considered the State of Pennsylvania—divided and distracted as she was then in her Councils, the large County of Luzerne on the eve of an insurrection—to be in as hazardous a situation as any one on the Continent.'

"This instantly brought on a warm fracas indeed. The cudgels were taken up on both sides: the contest as fierce as if the fate of empires depended on the decision. At length victory declared in our favor. Armstrong began to make concessions. Franks, with more reluctance, at length gave up the ground. Both acknowledged the New England States were entitled to an equal share of merit with any in the Union, and[32] declared they had no intention to reflect. We had the satisfaction to quit the field with an air of triumph, which my little companion enjoyed with a high relish; nor could he forget it, all the way to Philadelphia. But we parted with our antagonists on terms of perfect good humor and complaisance. My companion frequently afterwards mentioned the pleasure it gave him to see Armstrong and Franks, "so completely taken down," as he expressed it, which led me to conclude he was of the party opposed to them in the political quarrels of Philadelphia." (Historical magazine, Third Series, Vol. II, pp. 84-85).

But let us pass from Franks to another Canadian.

II.
Chevalier de Levis.

The student of Canadian history is very familiar with the name of Levis, which bids fair to be perpetuated in several geographical names in that country. The name was borne by Henri de Levis, Duke of Vontadour, Viceroy of Canada for some time after 1626, but was rendered more famous through the brilliant career of his relative, the Chevalier de Levis, Montcalm's able lieutenant, subsequently his successor as commander of the French forces in Canada, and still later Marshal of France. Numerous striking illustrations of his gallantry and chivalry are extant, and it is suggestive that Montcalm should have spoken some of his last words, in praise of "his gallant Chevalier de Levis," for whose talents and fitness for command he expressed high esteem. The writer hereof does not claim that either of these two de Levis' were Jews, but he does believe that they were of Jewish descent, less on account of their family name than on account of the following curious explanation of it: "A family that considered itself to be the oldest in Christendom. Their chateau contained, it was said, two pictures: one of the Deluge in which Noah is represented going into the Ark, carrying under his arm a trunk on which was written: 'Papiers de la maison de Levis.' The other was a portrait of the founder of the house, bowing reverently to the Virgin, who is made to say: 'Couvrez-vous, mon cousin.' 'It is for my own pleasure, my cousin,' replied the descendent of Levi."

[33]

(Compare Horace Walpole's Letters, Kingsford's History of Canada, Vol. I, p. 77, Parkman's Montcalm and Wolfe, I, 150, 360, 363, 378-379, 455, 478, 466; II. 308, 312, 354).

III.
Lopez and Hart, of Newport.

In the last volume of our "Proceedings" and also in Judge Daly's work, numerous references are to be found to the interesting career of Aaron Lopez, of Newport, whom the present writer has described as probably the richest and most successful Jewish man of affairs who lived in this country before the Revolution. It may be remembered that Lopez was one of a number of Jewish residents of Newport who found it necessary to flee from that city at the beginning of the war, when the British forces moved against the city. Lopez withdrew to Leicester, Massachusetts, with his family, and remained there until May, 1782. (Daly's Jews in North America, p. 86). Short as was his stay there, however, he left a noble memorial of his sojourn behind him, as appears from the following extract from the Diary of a journey from Plymouth to Connecticut by Samuel Davis in 1789. (Mass. Hist. Society Proceedings, 1869-1870, p. 11). "Leicester is situate on very high ground. The Meeting house is a decent edifice, very illy painted. Near it is the Academy, founded by the late Mr. Lopez, a worthy merchant of the Jewish tribe. It is a long building of two stories, with a cupola and bell, and two entrances, fronted by porticos; appears to be decaying. Mr. James observed at Worcester, that he supposed the preceptor and pupils would be removed to a handsome new school house in that town."

But Newport contained many Tories as well as Patriots, many of whom must to-day be regarded as no less patriotic than those whom we designate by that term. It is, therefore, not surprising to find Jewish Tories there, and one of the number appears to have been a martyr to his views, as the following item shows: "Mr. Isaac Hart, of Newport R. I., formerly an eminent merchant and ever a loyal subject, was inhumanly fired upon and bayoneted, wounded in fifteen parts of his body, and beat with their muskets, in the most shocking manner in[34] the very act of imploring quarter, and died of his wounds a few hours after, universally regretted by every true lover of his King and country." (Account of the attack on Fort St. George, Rivington's Gazette, December 2, 1780).

To leave no doubt as to his faith, the following item, (from Du Simmitiaire, MSS., 1769) accompanies the preceding one in the Magazine of American History (Vol. III, p. 452): "At Mr. Isaac Hart's, a Jew, living at the Point, in Newport, R. I., there is a portrait of the late Czar, Peter I, done, I believe, by Sir Godfrey Kneller."

IV.
Some New York Jewish Patriots.

The number of New York Jews who served their country by risking life or fortune in its behalf is well-nigh legion. Hundreds upon hundreds of instances have been set forth from time to time, covering a time from the early colonial period, as appears particularly from another paper by the present writer, through the Revolutionary struggle down to our own day. But little cause can be assigned for distinguishing a few from the many in the present article unless it be the probability that the instances to be referred to herein are but little known. It should be of interest to notice, for instance, that the decision reached in 1770 to make more stringent the Non-Importation Agreement, which the colonists adopted to bring England to terms on the taxation question, had among its signers Samuel Judah, Hayman Levy, Jacob Moses, Jacob Myers, Jonas Phillips, and Isaac Seixas (New York Gazette and Weekly Post Boy, July 23, 1770).

The victory won by the Jewish Patriots over the loyalists in the New York Jewish Congregation at the outbreak of the Revolution, which induced the majority to determine to disband the congregation for country's sake, has been well described in a former article in our Society's periodicals and the names of the patriots who, in consequence, fled to Philadelphia on the approach of the British to New York are known. In another paper, the writer hereof enumerates some of the less known but possibly equally patriotic Jewish Loyalists, who remained in the city. It appears, however, that even the Jewish[35] cemetery was to witness the strife and struggles of war, for we read that a battery to overlook the East River and prevent British ships from entering into it "is planned in some forwardness at the foot of the Jews' Burying Ground," in March, 1776. (N. Y. Hist. Soc. Collection Pub. Fund Series, Vol. III, pp. 354, 355).

During the war of 1812, the New York Jews appear to have again manifested their love of country, and one of their number, Col. Nathan Myers, was even in command of a brigade stationed near the City of New York in the beginning of the war. (Guernsey; "New York City during the War of 1812," pp. 86, 436-7). Others manifested their patriotism by bringing pecuniary sacrifices, as did Herman Hendricks in 1813. In February of that year, Congress passed an act authorizing a loan of $16,000,000, but less than $4,000,000 were subscribed. It was then that New York merchants came to the rescue by subscribing for the bonds, in spite of the sacrifices that were made in view of the fact that the government could not obtain money except at a discount of 15 per cent. Hendricks subscribed for $40,000 of the bonds, being one of the largest individual subscribers. (Scoville: The Old Merchant of New York City. First Series, pp. 329-333.)

Among those who served under Col. Myers in this War, was probably Samuel Noah, a cousin of Mordecai M. Noah, who led a most eventful life, which has been chronicled in a very interesting way by Gen. George W. Cullom in his "Biographical Sketches of Deceased Graduates of the United States Military Academy." We quote the account in full:

"Class of 1807.

"Died March 10, 1871, at Mount Pulaski, Ill., aged 92.

"Samuel Noah, who was born July 19, 1779, in the City of London, died March 10, 1871, at Mount Pulaski, Logan county, Illinois, at the advanced age of nearly 92, he having been for several years the senior surviving graduate of the United States Military Academy. He was of Jewish descent, and was a cousin of Mordecai M. Noah, formerly consul to[36] Tunis, and for many years the editor of various New York journals.

"When twenty years old he emigrated to this country, and after a residence of several years in New York City, solicited a midshipman's appointment, but not succeeding, accepted, May 5, 1805, that of a cadet in the First Regiment of Artillery. Being intelligent and a good penman, he was often selected as amanuensis to the Superintendent of the Military Academy, and frequently acted as Judge Advocate or Recorder of Courts at West Point. Upon graduation, Dec. 9, 1807, preferring the Infantry arm, he was promoted an ensign in the Second Regiment, which, after a tedious journey, he joined at Cantonment, Columbia Springs, in the rear of Fort Adams, Miss. Here he devoted his leisure hours to the study of the early campaigns of Napoleon, who was then the military prodigy of the world; but this fascinating occupation was soon interrupted by his having to watch smugglers on the Florida frontier and march from one unhealthy camp to another in the Gulf States. During these migrations he met Captain Winfield Scott just after his duel near Natchez with Dr. Upshur (brother of the Secretary of State blown up on board the Princeton), Lieutenant James Gibson, subsequently killed at the sortie from Fort Erie, Gen. James Wilkinson, Captain Edmond P. Gaines, Gen. Wade Hampton, and other since famous officers of whom he had many anecdotes to relate. Wearied finally with slow promotion, and disgusted that ignorant civilians were appointed to rank him, he resigned March 13, 1811, his commission of First Lieutenant in the Army.

"Soon after this period a Mexican deputation from the Junta of Coahuila, Gen. Bernado Guiteras and Captain Manscac arrived at Natchitoches, where Lieutenant Magee, a graduate of 1809, was stationed, and offered him the command with the rank of Colonel of the combined forces there assembled of Mexicans and Anglo-Americans. After Magee assumed the command, Noah, allured by visions of a golden future, joined, as First Lieutenant, this little undisciplined Falstaffian regiment on the Brazos river, while on its march to Fort Bahia, which it entered Nov. 14, 1812; but no sooner was the fort in possession of the Patriot Army than the Spanish royalists besieged it[37] with a force of five times the strength of the garrison. In this struggle poor Col. Magee sickened and died, and was buried with the honors of war during the enemy's cannonade, a six-pounder ball lodging close to the grave. After the siege was raised, March 28, 1813, and the patriots reinforced, this little army, with Noah in command of its rear guard, pursued and routed the Royalists, April 4, 1813, in a sharp combat near San Antonio, and three days later entered the capital of Texas, Salcido, the governor, surrendering at discretion with his entire force.

"Informed soon after of the declaration of war by the United States against Great Britain, Noah, true to the flag of his adopted country, left Texas, and, escaping through many perils by flood and field, reached the city of Washington, where he was most sadly disappointed in not being re-commissioned by President Madison in the United States Army. Nothing daunted, however, he proceeded to New York, and volunteered his services as a private soldier with Captain Benjamin Dunning's company for the defence of Brooklyn, then being fortified by Gen. Joseph G. Swift, to repel an anticipated descent of the British on Long Island at Sag Harbor. His services here and at Harlem Heights, to the close of the war, in aid of the militia force, were most zealous and untiring, his military education, practical knowledge and quick intelligence proving powerful auxiliaries to his patriotic devotion to duty. After the termination of Noah's military career, he taught school near Goshen, New York, till 1820; then for two years was in England, being present at the trial of Queen Caroline and the Coronation of George the Fourth; resumed school teaching and was employed in various academies in Virginia until May 24, 1848; and subsequently resided with a faithful friend at Mount Pulaski, Logan county, Ill., where he died. The romantic record of Samuel Noah's early life is full of wild adventure and thrilling incidents; his after history was a curious medley, almost the very counterpart of the vicissitudes to which Gil Blas was exposed; and his declining years were an old age of poverty, with little relief even from sources upon which he confidently counted to ease his weary journey to the grave."

In this connection reference would also seem to be in order to[38] some New York Jews who served in the Mexican War, one of them with particular distinction and honor. This list includes Sergeant Jacob David, Sergeant Samuel Henry, and Private Abraham Adler (killed); Corporal Jacob Hirshhorn and Private Otto Neubauer, Phillip Myers, and Jacob Lema, Mark Kahn, Alexander Simm, John Myers, James Hart and William Hart, ---- Myers, Marx M. Hart, Henry Phillips, Joseph Henriques, and Jacob C. Somers. (See article by the present writer in American Hebrew, February 9, 1894.)

V.
Some Baltimore Jews.

Turning next to Baltimore, two interesting incidents are in point. The one carries us back to Revolutionary times, and is to be connected with the name of Jacob Hart, one of a number of patriotic merchants of Baltimore; whether he was the only Jew in the group is unknown. The incident is briefly referred to as follows, in a letter written by Lafayette to Washington, April 18, 1781. (Memoirs, Correspondence and Manuscripts of General Lafayette, Vol. I, page 403.) "To these measures for punishing deserters, I have added one which my feelings for the sufferings of the soldiers and peculiarity of their circumstances have prompted me to adopt. The merchants of Baltimore lent me a sum of about £2000 which will procure some shirts, linen, overalls, shoes and a few hats; the ladies will make up the shirts, and the overalls will be made by the detachment, so that our soldiers have a chance of being a little more comfortable. The money is lent upon my credit, and I become security for the payment of it in two years' time, when, by the French laws, I may better dispose of my estate. But before that time, I shall use my influence with the French court, in order to have this sum of money added to any loan Congress may have been able to obtain from them." The following entry "Accounts of the United States with the Superintendent of Finance" (Robert Morris) serves to identify the merchants: "May 27, (1782) Jacob Hart and others for the Repayment of Money Loaned the Marquis de Lafayette at Baltimore—7256 dollars." Further details appear from the following passages[39] in the Journals of Congress, Vol. VII p. 86: "Thursday, May 24, 1781. On the report of the committee to whom was referred a letter of April 22 from Maj. Gen. the Marquis de la Fayette:

Resolved, That Congress entertains a just sense of the patriotic and timely exertions of the merchants of Baltimore who so generously supplied the Marquis de la Fayette with about 2000 guineas, to enable him to forward the detachment under his command; That the Marquis de la Fayette be assured that Congress will take proper measures to discharge the engagement he has entered into with the merchants."

Compare with this an article on "Old Maryland Homes and Ways," by John W. Palmer, in the Century, December 1894, p. 258. Markens in his "Hebrews in America" (p. 93) briefly refers to the incident, describing Hart as a Hebrew of German birth, who came to this country in 1775; he was the father-in-law of Haym M. Salomon, son of the patriot, Haym Salomon. Certainly not less interesting, though less well known, is the following incident in the Mexican War, which is translated from the "Allgemeine Zeitung des Judenthums," Vol. X p. 508, August 24, 1846: "The New York Herald of July 15, (1846) contains the following item, in reference to the call for 50,000 volunteers to join the army against Mexico: Baltimore July 3. Among the companies which have been formed here, a volunteer corps of Jews attracts particular attention. Although composed for the most part of immigrants, they have given, by the raising of this company, to fight with the native militia on behalf of our institutions, a splendid instance of their love and devotion for these and for their new fatherland. Yes, their love for the fame and independence of our country has been displayed all the more pointedly as they have organized their company by selecting one not of their faith as their chief officer, namely, Captain Carroll, who was paymaster of the Fifth regiment, but willingly resigned his position to accept the command of this patriotic company of volunteers. Its other officers are: Mr. Levi Benjamin, first lieutenant; Joseph Simpson, second lieutenant; Samuel G. Goldsmith, third lieutenant; S. Eytinge, first sergeant; Dr. J. Horwitz, surgeon." An examination of the copy of the Herald thus referred to, fails to show[40] the English original of the above item; either the date or the name of the paper is incorrectly cited, though the facts are no doubt correctly given.

VI.
South Carolina Jewish Patriots.

The following item from an article by Rev. Isaac Leeser, in The Occident, Vol. XVI, p. 142 (1858) gives in some little detail a story since then oft repeated; the primary authorities for the incident are still unknown to the writer thereof: "A company of soldiers who did good service in the defence of Charleston Harbor were nearly all, if not all Jews. The names of Daniel W. Cardozo, Jacob I. Cohen, Sr., and Isaiah Isaacs, we think, must have been on the roll of that company. Relations or descendants of all of these are still to be found among our most respectable families. Sheftall Sheftall, Isaac N. Cardozo, a brother of David, and Colonel Bush, occur to us just now as brave soldiers in the Revolution, and no doubt many others are known to other persons." Compare with this the following passage from a speech of Col. J. W. D. Worthington on the Jew Bill, Maryland, 1824 (Speeches on the Jew Bill, etc., by H. N. Brackenridge, Phila. 1829, p. 115): "Here is another paper which contains the names of a corps of volunteer infantry, in Charleston, South Carolina, in February, 1779. It was composed chiefly of Israelites, residing in King's Street and was commanded by Captain Lushington, and afterward fought under Gen. Moultrie at the Battle of Beaufort." Also Westcott's "Persons Who Took the Oath of Allegiance to Pennsylvania." "Abraham Seixas, formerly an officer in the Militia of Charleston, South Carolina, lately arrived in this city, Philadelphia; Merchant, May 31, 1782."

VII.
Mordecai Sheftall, of Savannah, Georgia.

We may fittingly close this paper with an account of a Jewish patriot of the Revolution who held important and responsible positions under both Congressional and Georgia State control,[41] and who had occasion to find that the Sovereign will often decline to pay even the most bona fide debts, where powerful influence to force bills for their payment through Congress is wanting. One of the witnesses in the Court Martial Proceedings, of Major General Howe, in 1780, (N. Y. Hist. Soc. Collections, 1879, pp. 260-263, 301) was Mordecai Sheftall, who was Deputy Commissary General of Issues to the Continental troops in Georgia during the period of the British invasion of that State, and also Commissary General of Purchase and Issues to the Militia. He testified to various measures he had recommended for removing supplies from positions of danger, to prevent their falling into the hands of the British, and it is very suggestive that these provisions should be referred to in the Index, under the heading: "Jewish Thrift," (Collections, 1880, p. 461). In his defence, General Howe referred to him as follows: "Mr. Sheftall, the Deputy Commissary General of Issues, has been brought by the prosecutors to prove upon me, as I suppose, a neglect of the public stores. I have ever had a favorable opinion of Mr. Sheftall, as an honest man, and from the testimony of such, I know I have nothing to fear; his evidence, therefore, is in my favor. Many measures, however, were pursued that Mr. Sheftall might have had no knowledge of." Mr. Sheftall's was one of the earliest Jewish families in Georgia, and various items in regard to his character and standing are collated in Judge Daly's work (p. 70, et seq.), where his name is, erroneously, it seems, spelt Sheftail. On page 72 reference is made to Cushman Polack, who was also a witness in the Howe trial, (pp. 264-5) he having been a private in the militia in Georgia at the same time; his name is there spelt "Coshman Pollock". Markens also adds, on what authority I am unable to state, (p. 49) that when the British took possession of Savannah, December 29, 1778, Mordecai Sheftall, with his son Sheftall Sheftall, endeavored to make his escape, but was compelled to surrender by a body of Highlanders. He was taken to the guard-house, where the officer in charge was instructed to guard him well, as he was "a great rebel." There he was confined with a number of soldiers and negroes without a morsel to eat until a Hessian officer named Zeltman, finding he could speak his language, removed him to his quarters and[42] permitted him to communicate with his wife and son. In an interesting narrative, published many years ago, Mr. Sheftall states that he was treated with abuse by Captain Strarhope of the "Raven" sloop of war, and he and his son were ordered on board the prison ship. His name, with the inscription, "Chairman Rebel Provisional Committee," is enrolled on the list of those who were selected as coming under the Disqualifying Act of July, 1780, and thus rendered "incapable of holding or exercising any office of trust, honor or profit in the Province of Georgia."

The writer hereof believes that, until now, no particulars have been known to the Jewish historian in regard to a claim urged by Sheftall, and afterwards his widow, before Congress. It appears that he presented a petition to the House of Representatives on March 29, 1792, asking for a settlement of his accounts as Deputy Commissary General of Issues for the Southern Department during the Revolutionary War with Great Britain. The claim was referred to the Secretary of the Treasury, who reported it to the next Congress, though the nature of his report is not known to the writer. In the fourth Congress the petition was referred to the Committee on Claims, which reported it back to the House, February 11, 1797. In the House List of Private Claims (Vol. III, p. 305-6), this report is marked "adverse." No authority seems to exist for this statement. In fact, another claim reported at the same time was rejected at once, but the Sheftall claim was referred to the Committee of the Whole on the following Wednesday, but on that day it does not appear to have been considered. In the Seventh Congress, Frances, widow of Mordecai Sheftall, renewed her husband's petition and it was again referred to a committee. This committee's report was read and considered on April 3, 1802, but further Consideration was postponed till the 4th Monday of November following, which was practically equivalent to killing the measure, as Congress never meets in ordinary session in November. (Journals of Congress, House, Second, 1st Session, p. 554; Third, 1st Session, pp. 77-8; Fourth, 1st Session, p. 451; Fourth, 2d Session, p. 691; Seventh, 1st Session, 136, 177, Carpenter; American Senator, III, 449-50). No further information as to the claim is at hand. From the persistence[43] in pressing it, it must be concluded that some substantial sum was involved. It may be that it was rejected because the United States declined to assume liability for the acts of the State of Georgia, there having been a series of controversies between the State and General Government as to the liability of the latter for military services and expenditures incurred in behalf of the former. At any rate, the claim does not appear to have been paid, and like the Haym Salomon claim, is another illustration of our country's ingratitude to those who made sacrifices for it of worldly goods and life and limb in its hours of need.

[44]

JEWISH SOLDIERS IN THE CONTINENTAL ARMIES.

Scant and unsatisfactory as are the army records of the Revolutionary period, enough of an authentic character has been preserved to fully sustain the statement of Solomon Etting, who, writing in Baltimore in 1824, notes that among the soldiers of the Revolution "were many Hebrews who were always at their post and always foremost in all hazardous enterprises." This almost contemporary notice emanates from a Jew whose father had served in the Continental army from the beginning of the Revolution to the capture of Charleston, and who, through the prominence of his family had been brought in contact with many of the distinguished participants in the momentous struggle.

The active co-operation of Jewish citizens in the non-importation movement of 1763 has already been adverted to, but even before that time we find references to prominent Jewish participants in the public defense. In 1754, during the French and Indian War, Isaac Myers, a Jewish citizen of New York, called a town meeting at the "Rising Sun" Inn and organized a company of bateau men of which he became captain. Two other Jews are named as taking part in the same war, both of whom served in the expedition across the Allegheny mountains in the year above noted. It is altogether probable that these three were not the only Jewish soldiers of that early war, but only these have left traces of their presence. In the following year, 1755, when the colonies were agitated by the disastrous ending of the Braddock campaign and the incipient movement toward federation, we find a Jew, Benjamin Cohen, a member of the Provincial Council of Pennsylvania and Attorney-General of the colony.

The chronicles of the Revolutionary War afford a considerable and in many respects an interesting list of Jewish names. A few of the more prominent of these have already been mentioned[45] under preceding heads, and others cited on the records are here added in alphabetical order:

Captain Noah Abraham

was called out with the battalion of Cumberland County Militia, of Pennsylvania, "by an order from Council, July 28, 1777."

Aaron Benjamin,

Ensign of 8th Connecticut Regiment, January 1, 1777; Second Lieutenant, February 14, 1778; First Lieutenant, May 7, 1778; Regimental Adjutant, April 1, 1780, to January, 1783; transferred to 5th Connecticut Regiment January 1, 1781; transferred to 3d Connecticut Regiment January 1, 1783; retained in Swift's Connecticut Regiment June, 1783, and served to November 3, 1783; Lieutenant-Colonel of 37th United States Infantry March 11, 1813; honorably discharged June 15, 1815; died January 11, 1829.

Samuel Benjamin,

Ensign of 8th Massachusetts Regiment January 1, 1777; Second Lieutenant October 3, 1777; First Lieutenant March 28, 1779, served to June, 1783.

Joseph Bloomfield,

Captain of 3d New Jersey Regiment February 9, 1776; Deputy Judge Advocate-General November 17, 1776, to October 29, 1778; Brigadier-General United States Army March 27, 1812; honorably discharged June 15, 1815; died October 3, 1823.

Moses Bloomfield,

(New Jersey) Hospital Surgeon May 14, 1777; Hospital Physician and Surgeon October 6, 1780; resigned December 13, 1780; died August 14, 1791.

Henry Pike Bush

is recorded as a soldier in the "Associators and Flying Camp," Pennsylvania.

Colonel Solomon Bush

was an officer in the Pennsylvania Militia (1777-1778), whose record is highly creditable and whose services won [46]for him a well-deserved promotion. He was appointed Deputy Adjutant General of the Militia of the State on July 5, 1777. As to his subsequent career in the army, no stronger testimony could be desired than that set forth in the resolution adopted by the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania, at its session on Wednesday, October 20, 1779. It reads thus:

"The petition of Major Solomon Bush, in the militia of this State, being read, and due inquiry having been made into the circumstances of his case, it appears that Major Bush has, on many occasions, distinguished himself in the public service, especially in the winter of 1776, when the service was critical and hazardous.

"That he entered again into the said service in the summer of 1777, when General Sir William Howe invaded the State and the militia were called out pursuant to the resolutions of Congress and the requisition of His Excellency, General Washington; and in the month of September, 1777, acting as Deputy Adjutant General, he was dangerously wounded in a skirmish between the militia and the advance of the British Army, his thigh being broken and he brought off with great difficulty; that being carried to his father's house, on Chestnut Hill, and incapable of being moved, he fell into the hands of the British Army, when it moved up to Whitemarsh, in December, 1777, who took his parole; That he has ever since been confined with his wound, and incapable of performing any military duty, or acquiring a livelihood, but on the other hand, his situation attended with much difficulty and expense.

"All which circumstances being considered, and that the said Major Bush being at the time of receiving his wounds in Continental Service and now a prisoner of war.

"Resolved, That he be recommended to the especial notice of the Honourable Board of War, in order to obtain pay and rations equal to his rank; and that this Board in consideration of the services and sufferings of Major Bush, will permit him to draw from the State store, from time to time, such articles as may be necessary for his comfortable Subsistence and Support."

[47]

That Major Bush had already been promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, is evidenced by another resolution, complimentary to him, adopted by the same Council seven days later, when he was "recommended to the Honourable the Board of War, for pay and rations accordingly." Again on November 5, 1785, the Council, over which Benjamin Franklin then presided, passed an order for the payment of a pension due to Lieutenant-Colonel Bush.

Major Lewis Bush

became First Lieutenant of the 6th Pennsylvania Battalion on January 9, 1776 and Captain the following June. He was transferred to Colonel Thomas Hartley's Additional Continental Regiment January 13, 1773 and was commissioned Major, March 12, 1777. That he proved a brave soldier, his efficient service in a number of battles affords ample evidence. At the battle of Brandywine, September 11, 1777, he was fatally wounded, and four days later he died.

Jonas Bush

was in the roll of revolutionary soldiers, but there is no information given as to his rank or date of enlistment.

Jacob I. Cohen

in 1783 went to Charleston, S. C., and during the campaign which followed, took part as a volunteer soldier in the Continental army, serving under Moultrie and Lincoln. Frequent references to Mr. Cohen are found in the Madison papers, and his valuable services are repeatedly adverted to.

Philip Jacob Cohen

became so distinguished for the services he rendered to the Colonies that he was singled out by the British authorities through a special order depriving him of the right of holding or exercising any office of trust, honor or profit in the Province of Georgia.

Mordecai Davis,

Ensign of 2nd Pennsylvania Battery January 5, 1776; died on August 12, 1776.

[48]

Reuben Etting

was a clerk in Baltimore at the time of the battle at Lexington. Although only 19 years of age, he enlisted in a Maryland company, which hastened north to join the forces of Congress. He served in various battles and was taken prisoner by the British at the surrender of Charleston. When released from imprisonment by exchange he was broken in health from ill treatment in prison and exposure on the field. He was a captain of the Independent Blues in 1798, and Marshal of Maryland, appointed by President Jefferson.

Solomon Etting,

a native of York, Pennsylvania, appears as one of the committee of citizens appointed to forward resolutions to Washington expressive of disapprobation of a proposed treaty with Great Britain. Subsequently settled in Baltimore and became President of the Municipal Council.

Colonel Isaac Franks,

who then lived in Philadelphia, entered the army shortly after the battle of Lexington. He became aide-de-camp to General Washington, holding the rank of colonel, and serving throughout the war. After the Revolution Colonel Franks became the incumbent of various civil offices, among them Prothonotary of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, being appointed to that position on February 18, 1819. His residence in Germantown was for some time occupied by President Washington.

Colonel David S. Franks, Aide-de-camp. See sketch on p. 27.

Michael Gratz,

of Philadelphia, aided the Colonists in the Revolutionary war. He was one of the signers of the Non-Importation Resolutions (October 20, 1765), after the passage of the Stamp Act, and was among the most active, patriotic and respected Israelites of Philadelphia, being a conspicuous character in public affairs.

Bernard Hart

was Quartermaster of a brigade of State troops during the Revolution.

[49]

Michael Hart,

a public spirited and leading citizen of Easton, Pa., of whom it is recorded:

"Let it be remembered that Michael Hart was a Jew, practically pious, a Jew reverencing and strictly observant of the Sabbath and Festivals; dietary laws were also adhered to. * * * Mark well that he, Washington, the then honored as 'first in peace, first in war, and first in the hearts of his countrymen,' even during a short sojourn, became for the hour the guest of the worthy Jew."

Moses Hammer

enlisted as a private in the 1st Pennsylvania Battalion November 15, 1775.

David Hays, Jr.,

was an active participant in the struggle for independence and served with the Colonial Army on Long Island. In retaliation for his patriotic services the Tories burned his house and store. Prior to the Revolution he was one of the Commissioners appointed by the British authorities to lay out public lands. All of his family sided with the Colonists during the War of Independence.

David Hays and Jacob Hays,

father and son, fought in various of the battles for independence.

Colonel Isaacs,

of North Carolina Militia; wounded and taken prisoner at Camden August 16, 1780; exchanged July, 1781.

Moses Isaacks,

one of the early settlers of Newport, R. I., was an active supporter of the Army of the Revolution. He had the honor of receiving General Washington as a guest at his house.

Solomon Isaac

enlisted as a private in the 6th Pennsylvania Battalion, company of Capt. Robert Adams, February 6, 1776.

[50]

Isaac Israel,

2nd Lieutenant of 8th Virginia Regiment, February 9, 1776; 1st Lieutenant, January, 1777; Captain, November 23, 1777; transferred to 4th Virginia Regiment, September 14, 1778.

Joseph Israel

volunteered as a soldier during the Revolution.

Jacob Leon

was an officer on the staff of General Pulaski.

Jacob De Leon,

of Charleston, S. C., was a distinguished officer of the War of the Revolution. He served as captain on the staff of General de Kalb, and when the latter was mortally wounded at the battle of Camden, S. C., de Leon in company with Major Benjamin Nones and Captain Jacob de la Motta, of the staff, carried de Kalb from the field.

Asher Levy,

Ensign of 1st New Jersey Regiment, September 12, 1778; resigned June 4, 1779.

Nathaniel Levy,

of Baltimore, served under Lafayette during the Revolutionary War.

Israel de Lieber

was a soldier of the Revolutionary War, who rose from the ranks to military positions of honor and trust.

Jacob Moser,

Captain of 6th Pennsylvania Regiment, February 15, 1777; retired, July 1, 1778.

Benjamin Moses

served on the staff of General Pulaski.

Isaac Moses,

of Philadelphia, advanced three thousand pounds when Robert Morris undertook to raise money to prosecute the War of Independence; he was active in the Jewish communities of New York and Philadelphia.

[51]

Emanuel de la Motta

served in the Revolution and in the War of 1812. In recognition of his valor as displayed in battle he was promoted from the ranks to a military position of honor.

Jacob de la Motta

was a captain on the staff of General Pulaski.

Manuel Mordecai Noah,

of South Carolina, (1747-1825) patriot and soldier; heretofore referred to as having contributed twenty thousand pounds to the support of the American army; served with General Marion, also on the staff of General Washington.

Major Benjamin Nones,

a native of Bordeaux, France, came to Philadelphia in 1777. He served at various times on the staff of General Lafayette and on that of General Washington. He had previously been a private under General Pulaski, and had, as he writes, "fought in almost every action which took place in Carolina, and in the disastrous affair of Savannah, shared the hardships of that sanguinary day." He became major of a Legion of four hundred men attached to Baron De Kalb's command and composed in part of Hebrews. At the battle of Camden, S. C., on August 16, 1780, when the brave De Kalb fell mortally wounded, Major Nones, Capt. Jacob De la Motta and Capt. Jacob de Leon bore their chief from the battlefield.

Major Nones rendered many conspicuous services, civil and military, to his adopted country.

Abraham R. Rivera

was a member of the artillery corps of Newport, R. I., in 1790.

Philip Moses Russel

was born 1745, and resided in Germantown, Pa. When the war broke out in the Spring of 1775 he enlisted as surgeon's mate under the command of General Lee, serving about ten months. After the British occupation of Philadelphia, in September, 1777, he became surgeon's [52]mate to Surgeon Norman, of the Second Virginia Regiment.

Russell went into winter quarters with the army at Valley Forge, 1777-1778. An attack of sickness, which impaired both his sight and hearing, forced him to resign in August, 1780. He received a letter of commendation from General Washington, "for his assiduous and faithful attentions to the sick and wounded."

Ezekiel Sampson,

Lieutenant of Baldwin's Artillery, Artificer Regiment, May to December, 1775.

Joseph Sampson,

2nd Lieutenant of Cotton's Massachusetts Regiment, May to December, 1775.

Abraham Seixes, was a lieutenant in the Georgia Brigade of the Continental Army.

Mordecai Sheftall. See biographical sketch, p. 40.

[53]

CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN GEORGE WASHINGTON AND HEBREW CITIZENS.

[Papers collated by Lewis Abraham, Esq., and presented at the meeting of the American Jewish Historical Society, at Washington, December 27th, 1894.]

When Washington had concluded his labors in the field of war and had attained deserved civic honors, and when laurels were showered upon him from all quarters the Hebrews joined their fellow-citizens in felicitating the hero and statesman.

The following correspondence is collated from The United States Gazette, of 1790; a partial file of this paper can be found in the Congressional Library. It is strange that the letters are not all to be found in books in which the Washington correspondence are compiled.

The original letter addressed to the "Beth Elohim" congregation of Charleston, S. C., was carefully preserved among the many other valuable records of that city, but was destroyed by the great fire of 1838. The Mayor of Charleston endeavored to obtain a copy from the general government, but after a thorough examination of the records, no such document could be found. After a prolonged search, however, the present writer was enabled to discover the missing document, and was well rewarded with the thanks of the authorities of Charleston. (Year-Book of the City of Charleston for 1884, page 280.)

The "Address from the Hebrew Congregation of the City of Savannah, Ga., to George Washington, the First President of the United States," presented by Mr. Jackson, one of the representatives from Georgia.

Sir: We have long been anxious of congratulating you on your appointment, by unanimous approbation, to the Presidential dignity of this country and of testifying our unbounded confidence in your integrity and unblemished virtue. Yet however exalted the station you now fill, it is still not equal to [54]the merit of your heroic services through an arduous and dangerous conflict which has embosomed you in the hearts of her citizens.

Our eccentric situation, added to a diffidence founded on the most profound respect, has thus long prevented our address, yet the delay has realized anticipation, given us an opportunity of presenting our grateful acknowledgements for the benediction of Heaven through the magnanimity of federal influence and the equity of your administration.

Your unexampled liberality and extensive philanthropy have dispelled that cloud of bigotry and superstition which has long, as a vail, shaded religion—unrivetted the fetters of enthusiasm—enfranchised us with all the privileges and immunities of free citizens, and initiated us into the grand mass of legislative mechanism. By example you have taught us to endure the ravages of war with manly fortitude, and to enjoy the blessings of peace with reverence to the Deity and with benignity and love to our fellow-creatures.

May the Great Author of the world grant you all happiness—an uninterrupted series of health—addition of years to the number of your days, and a continuance of guardianship to that freedom which under auspices of Heaven your magnanimity and wisdom have given these States.

To which the President was pleased to return the following reply: (Printed in Jared Sparks collection, Vol. XII, p. 185).

To the Hebrew Congregations of the City of Savannah, Georgia:

Gentlemen: I thank you with great sincerity for your congratulations on my appointment to the office which I have the honor to hold by the unanimous choice of my fellow-citizens, and especially the expressions you are pleased to use in testifying the confidence that is reposed in me by your congregations.

As the delay which has naturally intervened between my election and your address has afforded me an opportunity for appreciating the merits of the Federal Government and for communicating your sentiments of its administration, I have rather [55]to express my satisfaction rather than regret at a circumstance which demonstrates (upon experiment) your attachment to the former as well as approbation of the latter.

I rejoice that a spirit of liberality and philanthropy is much more prevalent than it formerly was among the enlightened nations of the earth, and that your brethren will benefit thereby in proportion as it shall become still more extensive; happily the people of the United States have, in many instances exhibited examples worthy of imitation, the salutary influence of which will doubtless extend much farther if gratefully enjoying those blessings of peace which (under the favor of heaven) have been attained by fortitude in war, they shall conduct themselves with reverence to the Deity and charity toward their fellow-creatures.

May the same wonder-working Deity, who long since delivered the Hebrews from their Egyptian oppressors, planted them in a promised land, whose providential agency has lately been conspicuous in establishing these United States as an independent nation, still continue to water them with the dews of heaven and make the inhabitants of every denomination participate in the temporal and spiritual blessings of that people whose God is Jehovah.

Address of the Newport Congregation to the President of the United States of America:

Sir: Permit the children of the stock of Abraham to approach you with the most cordial affection and esteem for your person and merit, and to join with our fellow-citizens in welcoming you to Newport.

With pleasure we reflect on those days of difficulty and danger when the God of Israel, who delivered David from the peril of the sword, shielded your head in the day of battle; and we rejoice to think that the same spirit which rested in the bosom of the greatly beloved Daniel, enabling him to preside over the province of the Babylonian Empire, rests and ever will rest upon you, enabling you to discharge the arduous duties of the Chief Magistrate of these States.

Deprived as we hitherto have been of the invaluable rights [56]of free citizens, we now—with a deep sense of gratitude to the Almighty Disposer of all events—behold a government erected by the majesty of the people, a government which to bigotry gives no sanction, to persecution no assistance, but generously affording to all liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship, deeming every one of whatever nation, tongue, and language equal parts of the great governmental machine.

This so ample and extensive Federal Union, whose base is philanthropy, mutual confidence and public virtue, we cannot but acknowledge to be the work of the Great God who rules in the armies of the heavens and among the inhabitants of the earth, doing whatever seemeth to Him good.

For all the blessings of civil and religious liberty which we enjoy under an equal benign administration, we desire to send up our thanks to the Ancient days, the great Preserver of men, beseeching Him that the angel who conducted our forefathers through the wilderness into the promised land may graciously conduct you through all the difficulties and dangers of this mortal life; and when, like Joshua, full of days and full of honors, you are gathered to your fathers, may you be admitted into the heavenly paradise to partake of the water of life and the tree of immortality.

Done and signed by order of the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island.

Newport, August 17, 1790.

Washington's reply to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, R. I.:

Gentlemen: While I receive with much satisfaction your address replete with expressions of esteem, I rejoice in the opportunity of assuring you that I shall always retain grateful remembrance of the cordial welcome I experienced on my visit to Newport, from all classes of citizens.

The reflection on the days of difficulty and danger, which are past, is rendered the more sweet from a consciousness that they are succeeded by days of uncommon prosperity and security.

If we have wisdom to make the best use of the advantages with which we are now favored, we cannot fail, under the just [57]administration of a good government, to become a great and happy people.

The citizens of the United States of America have a right to applaud themselves for having given to mankind examples of an enlarged and liberal policy, a policy worthy of imitation. All possess alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship.

It is now no more that toleration is spoken of as if it were by the indulgence of one class of people that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights, for, happily, the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens in giving it on all occasions their effectual support.

It would be inconsistent with the frankness of my character not to avow that I am pleased with your favorable opinion of my administration, and fervent wishes for my felicity.

May the children of the stock of Abraham who dwell in this land continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other inhabitants, while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree, and there shall be none to make him afraid.

May the Father of all mercies scatter light, and not darkness, upon our paths and make us all in our several vocations useful here, and in his own due time and way everlastingly happy.

The address of the Hebrew Congregations in the cities of Philadelphia, New York, Richmond, and Charleston, to the President of the United States:

Sir: It is reserved for you to unite in affection for your character and person every political and religious denomination of men, and in this will the Hebrew congregations aforesaid yield to no class of their fellow-citizens.

We have hitherto been prevented by various circumstances peculiar to our situation from adding our congratulations to those which the rest of America have offered on your elevation to the chair of the Federal Government. Deign, then, illustrious sir, to accept this our homage.

The wonders which the Lord of Hosts hath worked in the [58]days of our forefathers have taught us to observe the greatness of His wisdom and His might throughout the events of the late glorious Revolution; and, while we humble ourselves at His footstool in thanksgiving and praise for the blessing of His deliverance, we acknowledge you, the leader of American armies, as His chosen and beloved servant. But not to your sword alone is present happiness to be ascribed; that, indeed, opened the way to the reign of freedom, but never was it perfectly secure until your hand gave birth to the Federal Constitution and you renounced the joys of retirement to seal by your administration in peace what you had achieved in war.

To The Eternal God, who is thy refuge, we commit in our prayers the care of thy precious life; and when, full of years, thou shalt be gathered unto thy people, 'thy righteousness shall go before thee,' and we shall remember, amidst our regret, "that the Lord hath set apart the godly for Himself," whilst thy name and thy virtues will remain an indelible memorial on our minds.

For and in behalf and under the authority of the several congregations aforesaid.

Philadelphia, December 13, 1790.

The President was pleased to reply to the foregoing as follows:

Answer—To the Hebrew Congregations in the cities of Philadelphia, New York, Charleston, and Richmond:

Gentlemen: The liberality of sentiment toward each other, which marks every political and religious denomination of men in this country, stands unparalleled in the history of nations.

The affection of such a people is a treasure beyond the reach of calculation, and the repeated proofs which my fellow-citizens have given of their attachment to me and approbation of my doings, form the purest source of my temporal felicity. The affectionate expressions of your address again excite my gratitude and receive my warmest acknowledgement.

The power and goodness of The Almighty, so strongly manifested in the events of our late glorious revolution, and His [59]kind interposition in our behalf, have been no less visible in the establishment of our present equal government. In war He directed the sword, and in peace He has ruled in our councils. My agency in both has been guided by the best intentions and a sense of duty I owe to my country.

And as my exertions have hitherto been amply rewarded by the approbation of my fellow-citizens, I shall endeavor to deserve a continuance of it by my future conduct.

May the same temporal and eternal blessings which you implore for me, rest upon your congregations.

The foregoing expressions of the father of his country to his Hebrew fellow-citizens may be appropriately supplemented by the following correspondence of patriots of the early days of the United States.

In 1818 the Mill Street Synagogue was consecrated. Mordecai M. Noah delivered an eloquent address on the occasion, and sent copies thereof to distinguished statesmen. Among the replies received were the following, which are worthy of preservation:

Sir:—I thank you for the discourse on the consecration of the Synagogue in your city, with which you have been pleased to favor me. I have read it with pleasure and instruction, having learnt from it some valuable facts in Jewish history which I did not know before. Your sect by sufferings has furnished a remarkable proof of the universal spirit of religious intolerance inherent in every sect, disclaimed by all while feeble, and practiced by all when in power. Our laws have applied the only antidote to this vice, protecting our religious, as they do our civil rights, by putting all on an equal footing. But more remains to be done, for although we are free by the law, we are not so in practice; public opinion erects itself into an Inquisition, and exercises its office with as much fanaticism as fans the flames of an Auto-de-fe.

[60]

The prejudice still scowling on your section of our religion, although the elder one, cannot be unfelt by yourselves; it is to be hoped that individual dispositions will at length mould themselves to the model of the law, and consider the moral basis, on which all our religions rest, as the rallying point which unites them in a common interest; while the peculiar dogmas branching from it are the exclusive concern of the respective sects embracing them, and no rightful subject of notice to any other; public opinion needs reformation on that point, which would have the further happy effect of doing away the hypocritical maxim of "intus et lubet, foris ut moris." Nothing, I think, would be so likely to effect this, as to your sect particularly, as the more careful attention to education, which you recommend, and which, placing its members on the equal and commanding benches of science, will exhibit them as equal objects of respect and favor. I salute you with great respect and esteem.

(Signed)

M. M. Noah, Esq.

Sir:—I have received your letter of the 6th, with the eloquent discourse delivered at the consecration of the Synagogue. Having ever regarded the freedom of religious opinions and worship as equally belonging to every sect, and the secure enjoyment of it as the best human provision for bringing all, either into the same way of thinking, or into that mutual charity which is the only proper substitute, I observe with pleasure the view you give of the spirit in which your sect partake of the common blessings afforded by our Government and laws.

As your foreign mission took place whilst I was in the administration, it cannot but be agreeable to me to learn that your accounts have been closed in a manner so favorable to you.

(Signed)

[61]

Copy of a Letter from John Adams, Esq.

Sir:—Accept my best thanks for your polite and obliging favor of the 24th, and especially for the discourse inclosed. I know not when I have read a more liberal or more elegant composition.

You have not extended your ideas of the right of private judgment and the liberty of conscience, both in religion and philosophy, farther than I do. Mine are limited only by morals and propriety.

I have had occasion to be acquainted with several gentlemen of your nation, and to transact business with some of them, whom I found to be men of as liberal minds, as much honor, probity, generosity and good breeding, as any I have known in any sect of religion or philosophy.

I wish your nation may be admitted to all privileges of citizens in every country of the world. This country has done much. I wish it may do more, and annul every narrow idea in religion, government, and commerce. Let the wits joke; the philosopher sneer! What then? It has pleased the Provident of the 'first cause,' the universal cause, that Abraham should give religion, not only to Hebrews, but to Christians and Mahometans, the greatest part of the modern civilized world.

(Signed)

[62]

EXEGI MONUMENTUM ÆRE PERENNIUS.

[A paper read before the Jewish Historical Society, December 27, 1894, by Lewis Abraham, Esq.]

In accordance with a resolution offered by Senator Justin S. Morrill, of Vermont, while he was a member of the House of Representatives, in 1864, "that each State should be permitted to send the effigies of two of her chosen sons, in marble or bronze, to be placed permanently here," the old Hall of Representatives is fast becoming an American memorial chamber.

Several statues, purchased by the United States, have been deposited there, and many of the States have taken advantage of the privilege and have honored their distinguished dead in the manner suggested by the resolution of Congress.

There is, however, one splendid work of art in the corridor that has a peculiar history. It was a gift to the Government. All the others have been paid for by Congress or the several State Legislatures. The bronze statue of Thomas Jefferson, by David d'Angers, a French sculptor, was presented to Congress by an Israelite, Lieutenant (afterward Commodore) Uriah Phillips Levy, of the United States Navy, in 1833, but was not formally accepted until forty years thereafter.

Originally it stood in the rotunda, but was removed from there and for many years remained in the grounds in front of the Presidential Mansion. After its acceptance in 1874, upon motion of Senator Sumner, it was finally located in its present position. It represents the author of the Declaration of Independence as just having signed that instrument of American Liberty. The pedestal is a superb piece of work, executed by Struthers, of Philadelphia, in four varieties of marble. It was the first piece of statuary ever owned by the Government, and is dedicated by the donor to his fellow citizens. Upon the scroll which Jefferson holds in his hand is engraved a verbatim copy[63] of the Declaration of Independence, with fac-simile signatures of John Hancock and Thomas Jefferson.

The Levy family were intimate personal friends of the great framer of our Magna Charta and second President, and after his death became the owners of his old family seat, Monticello. There is a special significance in the gift and in the sentiment it conveys, and the co-religionists of Levy remember with pardonable pride that this piece of statuary, symbolizing the grand declaration of human equality and honoring one of the greatest of the men who erected the fabric of American Liberty, was the free-will offering of one of their people.

Bunker Hill Monument,

The commemoration of the first battle field of the Revolutionary War by a monument was made possible through a liberal contribution by Judah Touro. The proceedings of the Committee charged with the erection on Bunker Hill of a memorial to the patriots and heroes who laid the foundation of the Union, include a grateful acknowledgment of Touro's assistance.

The history of the monument, published by George Washington Warren, contains the following statement (page 283): "It was confidentially communicated to the Directors by Mr. William Appleton that whenever the Association, in addition to a like offer of Mr. Lawrence, should have money enough within ten thousand dollars ($10,000) to finish their work, Judah Touro would give that sum. It was a noble offer, and coming from a resident of a distant State, curiosity was excited."

Then follows a biographical sketch of this eminent citizen, concluding as follows: "He was one of that smallest of all classes into which mankind can be divided—of men who accumulate wealth without even doing a wrong, taking an advantage, or making an enemy; who become rich without being avaricious: who deny themselves the comforts of life, that they may acquire the means of promoting the comfort and elevating the condition of their fellowmen."

To complete the monument a fair (at which delegates from all the States attended) was held in Boston by ladies in aid of the building fund. The delegation from Louisiana, in their capacity as representatives of that State, purchased the fine[64] model of the monument which adorned the Charleston table and they caused it to be transported to New Orleans and to be placed, in honor of Judah Touro, in one of the public buildings where it remained until it was destroyed with the building by fire.

In the abstract of donations (page 311) received from private sources, the gross sum is stated as $55,153.27, of which Judah Touro donated $10,000.

At a meeting of the Board of Directors the following resolutions were unanimously adopted:

"Resolved, That the Directors receive the contribution of Mr. Touro with sentiments of deep and grateful respect, considering it as a testimonial of his regard for the principles and the contest for which, and its successful issue, the monument is intended to commemorate, and his affectionate recollection of the friends of his youth and the place of his early residence.

"Resolved, That John Quincy Adams, Daniel Webster, Joseph Story, Edward Everett and Franklin Dexter be appointed a committee to prepare an inscription for a tablet to be placed in the monument stating the object for which it is erected and recording the liberality of Judah Touro and Amos Lawrence, and the successful exertions of the daughters of those patriots whose memory we would perpetuate—donations and labor which have placed in the possession of the Directors a fund sufficient to complete this memorial of one of the most important events in the history of our country." (Page 312.)

On June 17, 1843, a banquet was held in Fanueil Hall, to celebrate the completion of the monument. Governor Marcus Morton, who was suffering from indisposition, was unable to attend, but sent a letter which was read. The two great benefactors of the Association were remembered by the following: (Page 330.)

[65]

Statue of Religious Liberty, Centennial Celebration, 1876.

One hundred years elapse, with their cares and joys, jeopardy and success, and America celebrates the centennial year of its existence by a grand exhibition in the city where is deposited the liberty bell that proclaimed "liberty throughout the land unto all the inhabitants thereof." The massive engine that moves obedient machinery sings a pæan to the Republic!

The nimble shuttle and the agile loom weave chaplets and trophies! Lightning-flashes leap from fathomless seas and speak with living fire congratulations of emperors, kings, and potentates! Human handicrafts, from Occident to Orient, delve and build, and fuse and shape tributes of felicitation to the glory and honor of praise, aye, even worship, of the land of Washington!

Fairmount Park blazes with the light of human advancement in science and art, literature, education and religion; and, with humility be it stated, no portion of God's footstool is more to be credited with aiding and nurturing the progress of the century than the land of Washington and Jefferson and Franklin.

There, on the Centennial grounds, the Israelites of the United States, through one of their organizations, "the Sons of the Covenant," placed their homage. It is in the shape of a group of statuary in Carrara marble styled

RELIGIOUS LIBERTY.

It was executed in Rome, by one of their own people, Moses Ezekiel, a native of Richmond, Virginia. Upon the pedestal is an inscription, neither narrow in scope nor sectarian in spirit. The promoters of this tribute felt the eloquence of the Bill of Human Rights they desired to typify, and simply transcribed the clause of the Constitution which reads:

An eminent and thoughtful foreigner, a statesman of world-wide fame, passing through Fairmount Park, earnestly gazed[66] at the marble group, and exclaimed: "If the Centennial Exhibition of 1876 resulted in this work of art and did nothing else, the American people should be satisfied. I, the subject of a monarch, salute the Nation that makes this creation possible."[23]

[67]

JEWISH SOLDIERS IN THE WAR OF 1812, AND IN THE MEXICAN WAR.

It is questionable whether the Jewish population of the American Union kept pace with the general increase during the time from the close of the Revolutionary struggle to the middle of the present century. Certain it is that at a comparatively developed period, in 1824, Solomon Etting estimated the Jewish population of Maryland as "at least 150," and that of the United States as "at least 6000,"[24] while another experienced publicist, Isaac Harby, estimates it, as we have seen, (note, page 12), at "not over 6000" in 1826. Up to the close of the Eighteenth Century the Jewish immigrants to this side of the Atlantic were derived almost entirely from the Sephardic stock, mainly indeed from England and Holland and their colonial dependencies, and these, from the comparative paucity of numbers at their source, could not, in the very nature of things, have been very numerous. Of the Jewish colonists of the time of the Revolution, some, who had remained loyal to the mother country, went back to England or to the West Indies after the war was over, and the number of these, though quite limited, was but little overbalanced by the new arrivals. The emigration of the German Jews remained altogether sporadic throughout the period of the Napoleonic wars, because of the almost insuperable obstacles which hindered their departure, and for a time thereafter they were content to remain at home in view of the great political concessions which they had gained from the German rulers in return for their valor and heroic sacrifices in defense of the fatherland. The increase of the Jewish population in this country was thus limited mainly to the surplus of births over deaths until some time[68] after the close of the War of 1812. In the course of the reaction against the innovations of liberalism which ensued after 1820, the hardly-gained political rights of the German Jews were gradually curtailed or entirely withdrawn, and at this time the Jews of the German maritime cities began to emigrate to the United States in increasing numbers. It was not, however, until after the revolution of 1848 and the beginning of steam navigation on the Atlantic, that any considerable exodus took place. At the time of the Mexican War, in 1846, the Jewish population of the United States was probably not greater in proportion than that estimated for the period of the Revolutionary War. In point of fact, at the time of the second war with Great Britain, and likewise also at the date of the Mexican War, the Jewish element composed as yet only a minute fraction of the general population, and no very considerable number of Jewish names are to be looked for in the army lists of those two wars. At the same time it remains to be added that the lists here given for both the wars referred to are not at all complete, comprising for the most part only the names of such individuals as left notable evidence of their presence in the ranks.

WAR OF 1812.

Private Jacob Appel,

served in Captain Samuel Borden's Company, 4th Detachment, Pennsylvania.

Private Jacob Bachman and

Private Samuel Bachman,

served in Captain Peter Nungesser's Company, 2nd Regiment, Volunteer Light Infantry, Pennsylvania.

Brigadier-General Joseph Bloomfield,

in command of Military District No. 4, embracing Pennsylvania, Delaware and Western New Jersey.

[His military record is included in the list of Jewish soldiers in the American Revolutionary War].

[69]

Israel I. Cohen

was a member of Captain Nicholson's Company of Maryland Fencibles, and served in the defense of Fort McHenry.

Mendes I. Cohen,

brother of the above, volunteered for the defense of Baltimore and also served at Fort McHenry during the memorable bombardment.

Sergeant Samuel Goodman,

served in Captain George Zieber's Company, 1st Regiment, 2nd Brigade, Pennsylvania, under Lieutenant-Colonel Jeremiah Shappel.

Second Lieutenant Benjamin Gratz

served in company of Pennsylvania Volunteers commanded by Captain John Swift, 1813.

Corporal Abraham Gunsenhouser,

served in Captain Jacob Wentz's Company—3d Company, 52d Regiment, Pennsylvania.

Private Jacob Haas

served in Captain George Dinckey's Company, 18th Section of Riflemen from Pennsylvania.

Jacob Hays,      } father and son served in N. Y. commands.
Benjamin Hays, }

Private Ezekiel Jacobs

served in Captain Florence Cotter's Company, 1st Detachment, 1st Brigade, Pennsylvania.

Private Henry Loeb.

served in Captain Jacob Ashey's Company, 1st Regiment of Pennsylvania.

First Lieutenant Isaac Mertz

served in Captain Middleswarth's Company, Battalion of Riflemen from Pennsylvania.

Lieutenant David Metzler

Corporal Daniel Metzler

served in Captain Nicholas Beckwith's (Fifth Battalion) Company from Pennsylvania.

[70]

Private Joseph Metzgar

served in Captain Adam Diller's Company, 2nd Brigade, Pennsylvania.

Ensign Samuel Meyer

served in Captain George Hess's Company of Riflemen from Northampton County, Pennsylvania.

Private Jacob Miller

served in Captain Nickolaus Derr's Company, 101st Regiment, from Pennsylvania.

Private Jacob Miller

served in Captain John Christian's Company, 2nd Regiment from Pennsylvania.

Private Abraham Mitchell

served in the Pennsylvania line.

Myer Mordecai

served among Pennsylvania Volunteers.

Private Isaac Moser

served in Captain John Christian's Company, 2nd Regiment from Pennsylvania.

Sergeant Jacob Moser

served in Captain J. Bakeoven's Company, 2nd Brigade, from Pennsylvania.

Captain Myer Moses

was commissioned from South Carolina.

Captain Mordecai Myers,

13th Pennsylvania Infantry; wounded at Chrysler's Field.

Colonel Nathan Myers

was in command of a brigade stationed near the City of New York.

Adjutant Isaac Myers

served in 1st Regiment of Pennsylvania.

Jonas Phillips

served in Captain John Linton's Company in the Battalion of Philadelphia Militia, under Colonel William Bradford, Pennsylvania.

[71]

Joseph Phillips

served in the Pennsylvania line.

Private Samuel Phillips

served in Captain Florence Cotter's Company, 1st Detachment of 1st Brigade, Pennsylvania.

Private Jacob Rosensteel

served in Captain John Williamson's Company, 2nd Brigade, Pennsylvania Militia, under Brigadier-General Richard Crooks.

David G. Seixas

served from Pennsylvania. He was instrumental in founding the Pennsylvania Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, and won esteem by his philanthropy. [A sketch of his career is published elsewhere in this work.]

Private Abraham Shatz

served in Captain George Zieber's Company, 1st Regiment, 2nd Brigade, Pennsylvania, under Lieutenant-Colonel Jeremiah Shappel.

Private Sigfried Solomon

served in Captain George Dinckey's Company, 18th Section of Riflemen, from Pennsylvania.

Judah Touro

enlisted as a volunteer in the American Army, under General Andrew Jackson; was severely wounded in the battle of New Orleans, January 1, 1815; rendered many services as patriot and philanthropist, as detailed elsewhere in this work.

Private Samuel Wamser and Private Michael Wolf

served in Captain George Zieber's Company, 1st Regiment, 2nd Brigade, Pennsylvania, under Lieutenant-Colonel Jeremiah Shappel.

Corporal Samuel Weiss

served in Captain John M. Buckius's Company, 2nd Brigade, Pennsylvania.

[72]

Private Jacob Wolf

served in Captain Samuel Wilson's Company of Militia, from Buck's County, Pennsylvania.

Private Jacob Wolf

served in Captain John Christian's Company, 2nd Regiment, from Pennsylvania.

Isaac De Young

Company A, 3d New Jersey Artillery, enlisted when only a boy; wounded in the groin at Lundy's Lane in a bayonet charge.

Private Abraham Yuxsheimer

served in Captain Nickolaus Derr's Company, 101st Regiment, from Pennsylvania.

MEXICAN WAR.

Sergeant Abraham Adler,

New York Volunteers; killed in action.

Samuel Bein.

First Lieutenant Levi Benjamin, Maryland Militia, 1846.

Eugene Joseph Chimene,

served with Sam Houston, in the Texan War.

Sergeant Jacob David, New York Volunteers.

Joseph Davis, Co. D, 12th Regiment.

General David De Leon

was born in South Carolina in 1822. In the Mexican War he twice took the places of commanding officers who had been killed or disabled by wounds. He acted with such gallantry and ability as to twice receive the thanks of the United States Congress. In February, 1861, he resigned his rank as Surgeon and Major in the United States Army and was appointed first Surgeon General of the Armies of the Confederacy.

[73]

Colonel Leon Dyer,

Quartermaster-General of the State of Louisiana; subsequently held the same rank under General Winfield Scott.

Gabriel Dropsie, Co. E, 1st Pennsylvania Regiment.

Herman Ehrenberg

fought under Fannin at Goliad.

Albert Emanuel,

in Captain Kimball's Company, 2d Regiment of Texas Volunteer Cavalry.

S. Eytinge, Maryland Militia, 1846.

Marcus Flendrowitz,

wounded in action.

David Friedman.

Third Lieutenant —— Goldsmith, Maryland Militia, 1846.

James Hart, New York Volunteers.

William Hart, New York Volunteers;

lost a leg at Cherubusco.

Sergeant Marx M. Hart, New York Volunteers.

Sergeant Joseph Henriques, New York Volunteers.

Sergeant Samuel Henry, New York Volunteers.

Corporal Jacob Hirschhorn, 1st New York Volunteers.

Surgeon J. Horwitz, Maryland Militia, 1846.

Philip Horwitz.

Colonel S. M. Hyams.

Samuel Isaacs, Texas Army, 1836-1837 (Co. D, 10th Infantry.)

Edward J. Johnson

volunteered in Captain King's Company during Texas revolution; killed at Goliad, March 27, 1836.

Mark Kahn, New York Volunteers.

[74]

Davis S. Kauffman,

aide to General Douglas, wounded at the battle of Neches; was Speaker of the Texas Assembly and advocated its annexation; was member of Congress from Texas from date of annexation (1846) to his death in 1851.

Nathan Klugan.

—— Kohn, Texas Spy Company (at San Jacinto).

D. I. Kokernot,

fought at Anahuac; also at the Grass battles, 1835, and in Texan War, 1836.

Jacob Leva, New York Volunteers.

William Malloy Levi.

Surgeon-General Moses Albert Levy,

in Sam Houston's Army, in service throughout the Texas-Mexican War. Colonel Johnson's report of the capture of San Antonio, December 15, 1835, stated: "Doctors Levy and Pollard deserve my warmest praise for their unremitted attention and assiduity."

Doctor Isaac Lyons,

of Charleston, served as Surgeon-General under General Tom Green, in the Texan War of 1836.

Benjamin H. Mordecai,

served under General Fannin.

Lieutenant-Colonel Israel Moses,

promoted from Assistant Surgeon; served also in Civil War.

M. K. Moses,

served under General Fannin.

John Myers, New York Volunteers.

Philip Myers, New York Volunteers.

Sopphe Myers, New York Volunteers.

Otto Neubauer, New York Volunteers.

Henry Phillips, New York Volunteers.

George Riell, New York Volunteers.

[75]

Elias Schoenberg.

Lieutenant Henry Seeligson,

Galveston Cadets, was appointed First Lieutenant of that Company when the Mexican invasion of Galveston was threatened. In the Mexican War of 1846 he enlisted in Captain McLean's Company, and subsequently volunteered in Captain Bell's Regiment, which was ordered to join the command of General Taylor, en route for Monterey. He bore so conspicuous a part in the battle at that point that he was sent for by General Taylor and highly complimented; being offered a Lieutenancy in the 2d Dragoons. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he enlisted in the Confederate Army, joining a Cavalry Company commanded by Captain Woodward.

Henry Siesel.

Alexander Simm, New York Volunteers.

Second Lieutenant Joseph Simpson, Maryland Militia, 1846.

Jacob C. Somers, New York Volunteers.

Assistant Surgeon Henry H. Steiner,

with rank of Captain.

Adolphus Sterne,

joined the American settlers in their early struggles against the Mexicans; took part in the Fredonian War; he was captured by the Mexicans and sentenced to be shot, but was subsequently released. He served in both lower and upper Houses of the Texas Legislature, previous to annexation.

Seligman Strauss.

Captain Michael Sztyfft,

served on the staff of General Zachary Taylor.

J. Valentine, Palmetto Regiment, South Carolina.

Sergeant Alexander B. Weinberg, New Jersey Battalion.

Henry Wiener,

fought in the battle of Buena Vista.

A. Wolf,

killed at the storming of the Alamo, in the Texan War, December, 1835.

[76]

UNITED STATES REGULAR ARMY.

The following list comprises names of Jewish soldiers on the rolls of the standing army of the United States, from the earliest period of the Republic to our present time. It is more or less incomplete, as only those have been included whose identity has been sufficiently established.

The roster includes the names of men in every branch of the service, many with a distinguished and all of them with honorable records.

E. Abraham, Co. H, 16th Regiment.

Surgeon Morris Joseph Asch,

brevetted Captain and Major for meritorious services; served in all from August 5, 1861 to March 31, 1873.

Post Surgeon Daniel M. Appel,

with rank of Captain; entered army in 1876, and now in service.

Assistant Surgeon Aaron H. Appel,

with rank of Captain; entered army in 1887.

J. Bergman, Co. B, 1st Dragoons.

David Behrenberg, 18th Infantry;

served five years.

Assistant Surgeon M. Block, 14th Infantry.

W. Blondheim, Co. B, 14th Infantry.

William Harris Boas, Co. I, 3d Infantry.

Alexander Borg, 2d Infantry.

Isaac H. Brandon, 12th Infantry.

I. M. Brandon, 12th Infantry.

---- Chappell, Co. C, 10th Infantry.

A. E. Cohen, Co. G, 17th Infantry.

George Cohen, 7th Infantry.

[77]

Herman Cohen, 13th Infantry.

Lieutenant Hyman Cohen.

Joseph Cohen, Co. F, 1st Artillery.

Leopold Cohen, general service.

Morris Cohen, War Department.

Sergeant Morris Cohen, 3d Dragoons,

enlisted as Private.

R. P. Cohen, 5th Infantry.

Benjamin David, Co. I, 2nd Artillery.

Henry M. Davis, 2nd Battalion, 18th Infantry.

Surgeon Abraham Deleon.

Simon H. De Young, 4th Infantry.

Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel Franx Mark Etting,

served from 1861 to 1868. Chief Paymaster of the Army from 1864 to 1867.

Brevet Captain D. I. Ezekiel, 4th Infantry,

Promoted from private on account of bravery displayed in battle; was seriously wounded.

Max Feldman, 2nd Artillery.

Jacob Gabriel, 5th Artillery,

killed at Cedar Mountain.

S. Gerstman,

served five years.

N. Gleiser, Co. G, 10th Infantry.

Charles Goldsmith, 8th Infantry.

Ellis M. Gotthold,

1st Artillery. Served five years; mustered out as Corporal; the recipient of a medal from the Chamber of Commerce, New York City.

Lieutenant Harry J. Hirsch,

entered army in 1891; now in service.

Theodore Joseph, Co. H, 10th Infantry.

[78]

C. G. Jacobs, 13th Infantry.

Jacob Jacobson.

Michael Jacobson, Ordnance Corps.

Oscar Jacoby, 2nd Artillery.

---- Kosminski.

Max Leppowitz, Co. B, 14th Artillery.

Benjamin Levi, Co. B, 14th Artillery.

Captain Chapman Levy.

Henry J. Levy, Hospital Steward.

John Levy, 19th Infantry.

Albert Lieber, 10th Infantry.

Aaron Livingstin, 2nd Infantry.

A. Mantner, 4th Artillery.

Simon Marks,

served in General Custer's Cavalry Division.

Major Abraham A. Massias,

1st Lieutenant of Riflemen, 1808; Captain, 1809, afterwards Major; promoted Paymaster in United States Army in 1820.

H. Mendel, Co. A, 4th Cavalry.

M. Mendel,

served thirty years in the United States Army, retiring as Quartermaster Sergeant.

Heinrich Meerholz, Co. D, 10th Infantry.

Captain Otto E. Michaeles, Ordnance Department.

C. Miltenberger, Co. B, 9th Infantry.

Surgeon Philip Minis.

Major Alfred Mordecai,

a recognized authority in the military world in the field of scientific research, and in the practical application of mechanical science to the art of war; he served in the Mexican War, and was sent by our Government, together with [79]General George B. McClellan, and Major Richard Delafield, to witness and report upon the operations in the Crimea. Major Mordecai was the author of "Reports of Experiments on Gunpowder," an "Ordnance Manual," and other works.

Colonel Alfred Mordecai, Jr.,

entered the army as Lieutenant in 1861; served in Civil War in various capacities; has been an instructor at the Military Academy, West Point; promoted for meritorious and faithful services; is now in command of National Armory, at Springfield, Massachusetts.

J. F. Moses, Battery A, 4th U. S. Artillery.

A. S. Nelson, Co. G, 15th Infantry.

1st Lieutenant George J. Newgarden, M. D., now in service.

Michael Newman, 5th Cavalry.

Moses Newman, 13th Infantry.

Cadet Samuel Noah, 1st Artillery.

Julius Oppenheimer, F, 5th Artillery.

Lieutenant Louis Ostheim,

entered army in 1883; has been in command of various forts and now in service.

Sergeant Oscar Pollack, 2nd Cavalry,

served nine years; enlisted as private; wounded; killed in the fight with the Sioux at Wounded Knee.

Sergeant —— Pollock, 7th Cavalry.

Killed at Wounded Knee.

George Poppers, 3d Infantry.

Max Reece, Co. B, 4th Artillery.

A note attached to his discharge reads: "A sober, faithful, intelligent, brave and excellent soldier."

1st Sergeant Samuel Reis, Company C, U. S. Cavalry.

Served ten years. Discharged for disability to serve any longer.

Adolph Ressie, Co. K, 10th Infantry.

[80]

Isaac Rice, 10th Infantry.

D. S. Rœdelsheimer.

E. Rose, 10th Infantry.

---- Rosenfeld, Co. C, 10th Infantry.

David Rosenheim, 1st Infantry.

John Rosenthal, Ordnance Corps.

Nathan Schœnfarber, Co. G, 14th Infantry.

Elias Schumacher, Co. C, 2nd Infantry.

Isaac Smith, Co. H, 11th Infantry.

J. Sommer, Co. E, 4th Infantry.

Major and Paymaster Justus Steinberger.

[See Record in Civil War List.]

Julius Steinmeyer, 7th Infantry.

Joseph Sturmer, Co. G, 10th Infantry.

Surgeon G. Waage.

Israel Waterman,

in Civil War; transferred from ranks of 40th Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers November 9, 1862.

Meyer Weiler, Co. A, 13th Infantry.

Marcus Weiler, Co. F, 13th Infantry,

wounded at Vicksburg.

Joseph Wenk, —— Cavalry.

Wilem West, Fort Lyon, Colorado.

discharged for disability incurred in service—(1882-1884).

Emanuel Wodick, Co. K, 10th Infantry.

Adam Wolf, 2nd Infantry.

Isaac Wolf.

L. W. Worstman,

Chief Telegraph Operator, Military Department.

[81]

UNITED STATES NAVY.

The spirit of devotion to this country and its interests always manifested by its Jewish inhabitants has not failed to leave its impress on the rolls of the United States Navy. From the time of the organization of that branch of the national defense many Jews have been present in the service. That they did their full duty the records indisputably show, and from the man before the mast to flag officer, from stoker to chief engineer, sons of Israel have given their efforts in behalf of the American cause. At the time of our Civil War their ranks were especially reinforced, and at the present day a considerable number of Jews are at posts of duty on the vessels of our navy.

Instances of personal distinction on the part of these defenders are numerous, but specific reference need here be made only to the great advance accomplished by Uriah Phillips Levy in behalf at once of the Navy and of humanity at large, by the abolition through his influence of the degrading practice of corporal punishment in the navy of the United States. He had long opposed the brutal system of flogging, and when promoted to the position of Flag Officer—the highest rank registered before the Civil War—he used his authority to promote the self-respect and well being of the sailors of his fleet. The records of others besides Commodore Levy are creditable in a high degree, and all comprised in the list are examples of men who devote to the cause in which they are enlisted "their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor."

S. American, U. S. Gunboat Seneca.

Benjamin Abrahams, Acting Assistant Paymaster.

Simon Arnbach, Mexican War.

Solomon Asher, U. S. Gunboat Wissahickon,

promoted to Acting Assistant Yeoman (1862-1863).

Paymaster Jonas Barnett, U. S. Steamer Essex,

lost his life by falling from the rigging of his vessel while at sea.

Lieutenant Henry Barnett.

[82]

Major David M. Cohen,

fourteen years an officer of the U. S. Marine Corps; appointed Lieutenant, 1855, subsequently appointed Major and placed on retired list on account of physical disability.

Jacob da Silva Solis Cohen,

Acting Assistant Surgeon under Rear-Admiral S. F. Du Pont (1861-1864).

Midshipman Joseph Cohen (1826).

Gustave Duval, U. S. Steamer Pawnee.

William Durst, U. S. Monitor,

one of the few survivors of the memorable fight between the Monitor and the Merrimac. Admiral Worden expressed himself that Durst was not only a brave, fearless and patriotic man, but eminently worthy to be recognized by some action on the part of Congress (1862-1864).

Charles Edelman, U. S. Steamer Ohio.

Jonathan Manly Emanuel,

Past Assistant Engineer, served under Commodore Mead. Twice shipwrecked (1862-1891).

Purser Gratz Etting.

Captain Henry Etting,

entered as Midshipman, promoted to Purser, Navy Paymaster and retired with the rank of Captain—1818-1861.

Lieutenant Theodore Minis Etting,

was appointed Acting Midshipman when a little over sixteen years old, promoted Midshipman, Ensign, Navy Paymaster, Lieutenant (1862-1877).

Acting Ensign Isaac N. Goldsmith,

Mate, Acting Ensign (1863-1865).

Mate Nathan A. Goldsmith,

(1864-1866).

Jerome Haas.

Lieutenant E. C. Hamburger;

promoted step by step, finally commissioned Lieutenant.

[83]

Captain Levi Myers Harby (1793-1870).

At the age of fourteen he was Midshipman in the U. S. Navy. During the War of 1812-1814, he was captured by the British and confined for eighteen months in "Dartmoor Prison," from which he finally escaped by swimming. In December, 1823, he served as sailing-master on the U. S. Vessel Beagle. He served for fifty-two years under the U. S. flag and rose to the rank of Captain. He participated in the Texan War of Independence and in the Mexican War. He also served in the Seminole War of Florida, and had command of a vessel in the expedition against the pirates of Algiers and Tripoli. On leave of absence he also fought in the Bolivian War of Independence. In 1861 he resigned his commission and entered the Confederate service with the rank of Commodore, distinguishing himself as Commander of the Neptune, capturing the Harriet Lane at Galveston, Texas. He was subsequently in command of a fleet of Confederate gunboats on the Sabine River.

Solomon Harby,

died in the service.

J. Harrison, U. S. Steamer North Carolina.

Samuel Herford, U. S. Steamers Richmond and Wyoming.

Frederic D. Henriques,

Acting Second Assistant Engineer (1864-1865).

Midshipman Israel Israel,

midshipman (1813-1818).

Midshipman Joseph Israel,

distinguished himself, died in the service (1801-1804).

Jacob Jacobs, U. S. Steamer Portsmouth,

was on board the Ida when she was blown up by a torpedo.

Augustus Jacobson,

transferred from Twenty-seventh Pennsylvania Regiment.

Midshipman and Master Henry M. Jacoby, Shenandoah, Wachusett, Worcester, Yantic, Lackawanna (1866-1883).

[84]

Surgeon Gershom R. Jacques,

promoted from Surgeon's Mate to Surgeon (1800-1808).

Mate Samuel Jessurun (1863-1864).

S. S. Krauss, U. S. Steamer Raritan,

served four years.

C. C. Keane.

David J. King, U. S. Steamer Wissahickon.

Isaac M. King.

Nathan Lang.

Alexander A. Lazarus, U. S. Steamer Horace Beals, also Rhode Island.

Henry Levi, U. S. Steamer Princeton,

transferred to New Ironsides, Vandalia, etc. (1862-1865).

Master Mears Levy (1812-1813).

Second Assistant Engineer Charles H. Levy (1857-1861).

Mate Charles Levin (1870-1874),

died during his service.

M. Lindheim, Pocahontas.

Henry Lyons.

Commodore Uriah Phillips Levy,

one of the best known American naval officers of former days. At the time of his death, 1862, he was the highest ranking officer in the U. S. Navy. He served in the War of 1812, being the master of the brig of war Argus, which ran the blockade to France with Mr. Crawford, the American Minister to that country, on board. The Argus destroyed twenty-one British merchantmen. In recognition of his valuable services to the nation the Common Council of New York City honored him with "the freedom of the city." Commodore Levy vigorously opposed the application of the lash to seamen. Upon his tombstone at Cypress Hill is recorded the fact that "he was the father of the law for the abolition of the barbarous practice of corporal punishment in the U. S. Navy."

[85]

Captain Jonas P. Levy,

commanded the U. S. Steamer America during the Mexican War and was active in the transportation of U. S. troops to Vera Cruz. At the surrender of that port he was appointed its captain by General Winfield Scott.

Marx Maas, U. S. Gunboat No. 29.

Jacob Maas, Gunboat.

A. Meyer.

Horace Moses,

served in the U. S. fleet during the Mexican War and was Secretary to Captain (afterwards Admiral) S. P. Lee.

Florian Moss,

on Commodore S. F. Du Pont's blockading squadron Vermont and Massachusetts (1862-1865).

Midshipman Philip Moses.

Joseph Moss,

Mate and Acting Ensign, (1861-1863).

Acting Master Edward Moses,

(1862-1864); died while in service.

William Noah.

Louis Newberger, U. S. Gunboat Pawpaw.

Joseph B. Nones, Guerriere.

In 1814, when seventeen years of age, he accompanied Henry Clay, Gallatin and John Quincy Adams on the Frigate John Adams to Europe on the Ghent Mission; severely wounded and obliged to resign from the service (1812-1822).

Master Newman Morris (1801-1803).

Captain Henry Benjamin Nones, Revenue Marine,

promoted from 3d Lieutenant; served from 1831; died in 1868.

Chief Engineer Henry Beauchamp Nones,

served on various vessels; rose from Second Assistant Engineer; has served since 1853.

[86]

Midshipman Jefferson H. Nones, 1840-1846.

Second Assistant Engineer Washington H. Nones (1850-1853),

died while in service.

Midshipman Abram Phillips (1812-1813).

Drowned, 1813.

Paymaster Emanuel J. Phillips.

Captain Isaac Phillips (1798-1799).

Assistant Surgeon Manuel Phillips (1809-1824).

Solomon Pinheiro, Juniata.

Wounded in the attack on Fort Fisher (1863-1866).

Milton Joseph Rosenau,

Past Assistant Surgeon in the Marine Hospital Service.

Acting Ensign Albert P. Sampson (1862-1865).

Acting Ensign Isaac P. Sampson (1863-1865).

J. Schlesinger, U. S. Steamer Pocahontas.

M. J. Siesel, U. S. Steamer Hartford.

Sergeant Siegmund Silverburg, U. S. Marine Corps.

Midshipman Benjamin Solomon (1809-1810).

Purser Ezekiel Solomon (1814-1816).

Charles Stein, Marine Corps,

Died of exposure in the service.

Lieutenant Edward Taussig,

served fourteen years on sea and did seven years' duty on land.

Charles Wiener

served four years.

Leo Wise, U. S. Steamer Springfield.

[87]

A PAGE FROM THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE CIVIL WAR.

As a fitting prelude to the record of Jewish activity in the War of the Rebellion, there may be cited here an episode in its history which has had no counterpart in the course of the world's affairs. Recondite and romantic incidents are present in the annals of all nations, and the history of the Jewish people especially is fraught with many striking instances of unhoped and unexpected deliverance from impending calamity, but they were largely the outcome of times and conditions widely at variance with those of the present day. The narrative of Haym Salomon's sacrifice in behalf of American freedom and the cause of human liberty forms a singular chapter in the annals of the American Revolution. But a yet more remarkable incident, one that appears wholly foreign to the laisser-faire spirit of our modern time, and which is likely in the future to centre a much greater degree of attention than it has yet received, is a transaction that has but lately become part of the history of the Civil War.

On October 2, 1863, the British Government seized in the shipyard of the Lairds, at Birkenhead, two armored vessels which had ostensibly been built for the government of China, but which, according to constantly reiterated reports, had been built for the Southern Confederacy in rebellion against the United States. The contemporary chronicles of the Civil War contain at most only such reports of that incident as became public in the course of the controversy over the subject, but the inner details of the occurrence, notable enough even in its most obvious features, remained for many years a diplomatic secret until revealed by the then Register of the Treasury, Mr. L. E. Chittenden, in his "Recollections of President Lincoln."

The two vessels had indeed been embargoed by the British Government, but under conditions which had been settled upon by the advisers of the Crown with the almost clearly manifest purpose of permitting the vessels to escape, while at[88] the same time apparently complying with the requirements of international law and the representations of the American Minister. The sympathies of the ruling powers in Great Britain were strongly with the Southern cause; the fact that the success of that cause meant the perpetuation of negro slavery, against which the English people had constantly inveighed, was held by many of the leaders of the party in power to be of small moment in comparison with the advancement of British interests, which these leaders believed would result from the disruption of the American Republic. They were accordingly ready to take advantage of a virtual breach of international comity and law, under cover of a technical compliance with its provisions, and incur the risk of all the terrible outcome of a war between the two great Anglo-Saxon nations of the world. That such a war would surely have resulted if the two armored corsairs had eventually been let loose upon this country, no student of history can doubt. It was being busily fomented by that arch enemy, both of England and America, Napoleon III., who had assiduously been seeking an adequate pretext to recognize the independence of the Confederate States. He was actively conferring with British parliamentary leaders with the purpose of a joint intervention in our struggle, and if these ships were liberated to prey upon our commerce, lift the blockade of the Confederate ports, weaken the Federal power and strengthen that of the Rebellion, he would then assuredly be able to build up his empire in Mexico. That empire was already planted on the soil of the Mexican Republic, and the triumph of the Southern cause meant the success of the foolhardy and villainous undertaking which Napoleon III. had established under Maximilian. If the outcome of British co-operation for the disruption of the American Union were eventually to be a war between England and the United States, it would but be further grist for the mill of the French usurper.

From all of this procession of possible and unmeasured evils it appears that the world was saved through the timely and powerful interposition of a single will. It was the will of a man who was manifestly near enough to the mainspring of affairs to be aware of its primary movements, who was yet so[89] hidden from public view that his action would remain as secret as he himself determined it to be; whose purpose was clearly in opposition to the motives of the ruling powers, and who possessed the means with which to effect his purpose.

Who was it that so signally changed the current of the world's affairs? Whose influence yet remains as mysterious as it was far-reaching? The question has been often asked and still remains unanswered. He still remains unnamed on the page of history. His position, his motive and his means of action appear to be defined, and it was clearly with these considerations in view that Mr. Chittenden wrote the letter which is here subjoined. The "process of exclusion" to which he so pointedly adverts leaves but very few among whom he is to be sought, and to the almost unerring indication which Mr. Chittenden has given is to be added a still nearer one which the author of the present work obtained from another source. Miss Kate Chase, daughter of Salmon P. Chase, the then Secretary of the Treasury, while assuring Mr. Wolf that the name of the mysterious personage was unknown to her, was yet able to inform him that the man was a Jew. That it was a Jew, one well known for his outspoken admiration and love for our country as the home of religious liberty, a man who was not of the unsympathetic government, nor of the hostile aristocracy, nor of the jealous manufacturing class, might well be surmised from all the circumstances of this remarkable occasion, and his identity can scarcely be misinterpreted in the light of Mr. Chittenden's indications.

The following is a copy of Mr. Chittenden's letter, which may well serve as an author's preface to the chapter of his "Recollections" to which it refers, in which the incident is narrated in detail, and which we shall quote in full:

11 Pine St., New York, May 7, 1892.

Dear Sir:—

It would give me great pleasure to answer your letter of April 26th and a large number of others on the same subject. You will readily see that the name may be reached by a process of exclusion as definitely as by its direct statement. The extraordinary character of the incident did not occur to me at the[90] time, or I should have probably suppressed it. As it is I have no alternative but silence.

However, it gives me pleasure to say one thing. The experience of an active life now drawing to its close has taught me that race prejudices have no place in the heart of a true American, and I am certainly not conscious that I have ever entertained a shadow of them against any one of Hebrew origin. On the contrary I have found much in the history of that persecuted race to respect and admire. Illness has delayed this reply to your note.

Yours truly,
L. E. Chittenden.

Mr. Simon Wolf,
Washington, D. C.

[91]

A REMARKABLE EPISODE.

(Chapter XXV, Pages 197-203. N. Y., Harper & Brothers, 1891.)

Mr. Charles Francis Adams (our minister) had for several weeks been aware, and had communicated the fact to his government, that the Messrs. Laird, extensive ship builders, were building at their yards in Birkenhead, near Liverpool, two armored vessels for the Confederate government. They were to be furnished with powerful engines, and capable of great speed. When completed they were to proceed to a small unfrequented British island in the West Indies, where they were to be delivered to the agents of the Confederacy. They were then to receive their armament, previously sent thither, take their crews on board, and then set forth on their piratical cruises, after the example of the Alabama. After sweeping our remaining commerce from the seas, by burning and sinking every merchantship bearing our flag, they were to come upon our own coast, scatter our blockading fleet, and open all the Southern ports to British commerce, which would no longer be required to take the great risk of breaking the blockade. This feat was to be accomplished by vessels which had never entered a Confederate port, nor, indeed, any harbor which was not covered by the British or some other flag which protected the ironclads against pursuit or capture by vessels of the United States Navy.

Greater danger than these vessels never threatened the safety of the Union. In tonnage, armament and speed, they were intended to be superior to the Kearsarge, and every other vessel of our navy. Their armor was supposed to render them invulnerable. If the blockade was not maintained, an immediate recognition of the belligerent character of the rebels by Great[92] Britain was anticipated. Even if that did not take place, all the cotton gathered in Confederate ports would be released and find a profitable market, while the old wooden vessels, now principally constituting the blockading fleet, would not resist one of these iron-clad vessels long enough for a second broadside.

The impending danger was fully appreciated by Mr. Adams. With his accustomed energy, notwithstanding the secrecy in which all the Confederate movements in Great Britain were shrouded, he had collected and laid before the English authorities clear proofs of the rebel ownership, and intended unlawful purpose of these vessels. He had even procured copies of the contracts under which the Messrs. Laird were building them, and had ascertained that payments on their account had been made from proceeds of cotton owned by the Confederacy. He had represented that the evidence furnished by him, verified by the oaths of credible witnesses, was sufficient not only to justify their seizure, but to secure their condemnation in the courts, and he had insisted with a force apparently unanswerable, that it was the duty of Great Britain to prevent the vessels from leaving the Mersey and setting forth upon their piratical career.

But, unfortunately, the sympathies of the party in power in England were not with the Union cause. It suited the view of of the law-officers of the Crown not to interfere, and to excuse their inaction by raising objections to the legal sufficiency of the evidence. The situation was perfectly comprehended by the President and his Cabinet, but remonstrance appeared to be unavailing, and the departure of the vessels was expected at an early day.

Hopeless as the task appeared to be, neither Mr. Adams nor his active agents relaxed their efforts for a moment. Their recent investigations had been prosecuted with such energy that the minister had finally been able to furnish the British premier with the sworn affidavits of some of the officers and men actually enlisted in Liverpool, and other English cities, for service on these vessels; that the advance payments to these men had been made by Confederate agents, that the ships were to leave the Mersey at an early appointed date for an island[93] near Bermuda; that their guns and ammunition had already been sent thither. Mr. Adams had also secured the names of the ships' officers, with copies of their commissions, bearing the signature of President Davis and the seal of the Confederacy.

The last instalment of affidavits forwarded by our minister proved to be more than the crown lawyers could digest. They covered every defect named in their former objections; they could not be answered even by a special demurrer. They were reinforced by the caustic pen of Mr. Adams, whose arguments so clearly pointed out the duty of the English government in the premises that it would obviously be regarded as conclusive by every one but these lawyers, who possessed the exclusive power to move the slow authorities of the customs to action. The crown lawyers finally decided that the demand of Mr. Adams must be complied with, and that an order must issue, prohibiting the departure of these vessels from the Mersey until the charges of the American minister had been judicially investigated.

There were, however, some incidents attending this most important decision, which prevented its communication from giving to Mr. Adams a satisfaction wholly unalloyed. The decision had been withheld until the vessels were on the very eve of departure. The order must be immediately served, and possession taken by the customs authorities, or the vessels would escape. The crown lawyers, properly enough, observed that the affidavits furnished by Mr. Adams were ex-parte—the witnesses had not been cross-examined. If Mr. Adams should fail to prove his charges by evidence which would satisfy the judicial mind, and the vessels be released, the damages caused by arresting them might be very heavy. It was a settled rule of procedure in the courts in such cases to secure the payment of such damages beyond any peradventure. The restraining order would, therefore, be issued, but it would not be enforced against the vessels until these damages had been secured by a deposit of £1,000,000 sterling in gold coin.

The situation was well known to be critical. Within three days the vessels were to sail for their destination; if necessary, they might sail forthwith. The cable was useless, broken or[94] disabled—and Mr. Adams could not communicate with his own government. Without such communication he had no authority to bind his government as an indemnitor, or to repay the money if he could borrow it. Even if he had the fullest authority, where was the patriotic Briton who would furnish a million pounds on the spur of the moment to a government which was believed by the party in power in Great Britain to be in articulo mortis? Unless, therefore, the crown lawyers supposed our minister to have anticipated their decision by providing himself with this money, they must have known that this condition could not be complied with, and that they might just as well have declined to interfere. If they had intended that these ships should not be prevented from making their intended crusade against our commerce and our cause, no better arrangement could possibly have been devised. It is not to be denied that suspicions existed that such was their purpose.

But the unexpected sometimes happens. The event which prevented these floating engines of destruction from entering upon their intended work was as unanticipated as a miracle. It constituted, possibly, the most signal service ever rendered by a citizen of one country to the government of another. It was all the more noble, because it was intended to be anonymous. The eminently unselfish man who performed it made a positive condition that it should not be made public, that not so much as his name should be disclosed, except to the officers of our government, whose co-operation was required in order to transact the business in a proper manner and upon correct principles. So earnest was his injunction of secrecy that his identity will not even now be disclosed, although he has long since gone to his reward.

Within the hour after the crown lawyers' decision, with its conditions, had been made known to Mr. Adams, and when he had given up all hope of arresting these vessels, a quiet gentleman called upon him and asked if he might be favored with the opportunity of making the deposit of coin required by the order? He observed "that it had occurred to him that if the United States had that amount to its credit in London, some question of authority might arise, or Mr. Adams might otherwise[95] be embarrassed in complying with the condition, especially as communication with his government might involve delay; so that the shortest way to avoid all difficulty would be for him to deposit the coin, which he was quite prepared to do."

Had a messenger descended from the skies in a chariot of fire, with $5,000,000 in gold in his hands, and offered to leave it at the embassy without any security, Mr. Adams could not have been more profoundly surprised. He had accepted the condition as fatal to his efforts; he had concluded that nothing short of a miracle could prevent the departure of the vessels; and here, if not a miracle, was something much like one. He made no secret of the pleasure with which he accepted the munificent offer, provided some method of securing the liberal Englishman could be found. The latter seemed indisposed to make any suggestion on the subject. "It might be proper," he said, "that some obligation might be entered into, showing that the American government recognized the deposit as made on its account; beyond that he should leave the matter wholly in the hands of Mr. Adams."

The existing premium on gold was then about sixty per cent. in the United States. It would have been largely increased by the departure of these ironclads. The "five-twenties" or "sixes" of 1861, as they were popularly called, were then being issued, and were the only securities upon "long time" then authorized by Congress. The best arrangement that occurred to Mr. Adams, and which he then proposed, was that $10,000,000, or £2,000,000, in these bonds, to be held as collateral security for the loan of £1,000,000 in gold, should be delivered to the lender, to be returned when the loan was paid or the order itself was discharged and the coin returned to the depositor. The proposition of Mr. Adams was satisfactory to the gentleman, but he said that to prevent the disclosure of his name the deposit should be made in coupon and not in registered bonds. The coupons were payable to bearer; the registered were required to be inscribed on the books of the Treasury in the owner's name.

Mr. Adams then volunteered the assurance that these bonds, to the amount of $10,000,000, should be transmitted to London[96] by the first steamer which left New York after his despatch concerning the transaction was received at the State Department at Washington.

It was this assurance of Mr. Adams which the President and both of the Secretaries desired should be made good. They regarded the faith of the government as pledged for its performance, and that faith they proposed should not be violated.

All the details of this transaction were not then disclosed. They reached the government in private, confidential despatches from Mr. Adams, some of them long afterwards. The despatch in question was understood to be confidential; certainly that part of it which related to the deposit and security proposed. It was necessarily brief, for in order to reach the steamer the special messenger had to leave London within a very few hours after the proposition of the deposit was made. There was enough in it to show that an inestimable service had been rendered to the country by some one to whom Mr. Adams had pledged the faith of the nation for the transmission of these bonds by the next steamer which left New York. There was no dissent from the conclusion that the pledge of Mr. Adams, if it were in the power of the government, must be performed.

Since the publication of the foregoing facts in Harper's Magazine for May, 1890, I have been solicited by many correspondents to give the name of the gentleman who offered to perform such a signal service to our country. It must be obvious that nothing could give greater pleasure than to publish his name, and to secure for him the enduring gratitude of the American people. I have, however, a special reason for my present determination not to disclose it, nor to permit myself to speculate upon the consequences of the disclosure. When we were informed that the emergency had passed, it became necessary to make a change in the entries of this large amount upon the books of the register. This was found to be a difficult matter, unless a plain statement of the issue, to the gentleman in question, and its purpose was made with its subsequent cancellation. This course I proposed to Secretary[97] Chase. He was decided in his opinion that the value of the service would not have been enhanced if an actual deposit of the money had been required, and that, as the gentleman himself had imposed the obligation, he was the only authority who could possibly release it. While I regarded his conclusion as incontrovertible, I did suggest that our first duty was the official one, to our own obligation to conceal nothing, and to make our official records strictly conform to the fact.

"We should have thought of that at the time," said the Secretary. "We might have declined his offer, coupled as it was with the obligation to conceal his name, but I do not remember that we considered that question. Do you?"

"No," I said. "Nothing was discussed in my presence except the possibility of compliance with his conditions to the letter."

"Then, I think, we must continue to keep his secret whatever the consequences may be, until he releases us from the obligation," was the final conclusion of the Secretary.

I am, I believe, the only survivor of those to whom this gentleman's name was known. I have hitherto declined to discuss the question of his name or its disclosure. I depart from my practice far enough to say that I do not believe he was interested in the price of cotton, or that he was moved in the slightest degree by pecuniary motives in making his offer. More than this, at present, I do not think I have the moral right to say. If I should at any time hereafter see my way clear to a different conclusion, I shall leave his name to be communicated to the Secretary of Treasury, who will determine for himself the propriety of its disclosure.

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JEWISH SOLDIERS IN THE CIVIL WAR.

The consciousness of the imperfect nature of the several rosters included under our present head has been the only influence that has detracted from the satisfaction which the preparation of this work in general has afforded the author. This feeling has already been adverted to in the introduction to this work and will not further be dwelt upon beyond the hope that the present volume may become the forerunner of a more complete and perfected result in the future.[25]

The unquestionably large proportion of Jewish soldiers in both the Union and Confederate armies is vouched for by such statistics as have been thoroughly verified and by the statement of many individual observers. In this connection the following communications to the author may well be quoted as having a definite bearing on this subject, and as coming from sources whose authority is beyond question:

My Dear Judge:

I have your favor of the 22nd instant, asking for some expression of opinion from me regarding the bravery and faithfulness of Hebrew soldiers in the War of the Rebellion. There were many Hebrews under me while serving as Brigade and Division Commander; and, while the great lapse of time renders it impossible for me to recall names or recount specific acts of gallantry, I take pleasure in saying that I always found the soldiers of Jewish faith as firm in their devotion to the cause of the country they were serving as any others, and ever ready to perform any duty to which they might be assigned.

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To Hon. Simon Wolf,
Washington, D. C.

Dear Mr. Wolf:

It is impossible for me to do justice to those who served with me under my command who are known to be of Hebrew extraction. I would hardly be justified without their permission to give their names. I had a Jewish Aide-de-Camp, one of the bravest and best, in the first battle of Bull Run; he is now a distinguished officer of the army, a man of high scientific attainment. I had another aide who was killed at the battle of Chancellorsville, a true friend and a brave officer. Two of my brigade commanders, who answer to the above description, one of whom you have mentioned, served ably and faithfully at Gettysburg and in other great battles of the war. So many of the German officers and men, the Poles and the Hungarians, were of Jewish lineage that I am unable to designate them. I can assure you, my dear sir, that, intrinsically, there are no more patriotic men to be found in the country than those who claim to be of Hebrew descent, and who served with me in parallel commands or more directly under my instructions. I have always greatly esteemed the Jewish people, and in fact, the highest hopes I have in the great future are derived from him whom I think justly claimed to be the spiritual king of the Jews. So far as bravery is concerned, bravery often carries to rashness. History affords no example superior to those of the Maccabees and other leaders of the Jews, back to the time of Jacob, the prince, who prevailed with God.

Simon Wolf, Esq.,
Washington, D. C.

[100]

Further testimony of a like character with reference to the Jews in the Union Army might be adduced from numerous sources if space limits would permit, but the following citations regarding the Jewish soldiers in the Southern Armies are not only warranted by the occasion but by the exceptionally interesting data which they contain.

"Among the delegates to the recent Convention of the B'nai B'rith there were thirty who were old enough to take up arms during the late war. Of this number twenty-five had shouldered their muskets in defence of their country, twenty-four belonging to the Confederate and one to the Federal Army. This shows that the Israelite is as much of a patriot as any other man when the liberties of his country are endangered. In this connection the following letter will be read with interest."

Leo N. Levi, Esq., Galveston.

Dear Sir:—

"My attention having been called by you to the published remarks of a writer in disparagement of the patriotism and gallantry of the Jew as a soldier, and having had the honor to command a force composed to a considerable extent of Israelites, I feel impelled by this attempted injustice to the race to give my experience with them as soldiers.

"Under a commission from the Government I organized 'Waul's Texas Legion,' upon the express terms that they were to leave the State, cross the Mississippi River and join in the fray where the blows fell heaviest and thickest. The Legion consisted of ten companies of infantry, five companies of cavalry and two companies of artillery. Two of the infantry companies had a large number of Jews in their ranks, and the largest company in the command—120 men—was officered by Jews, and three-fourths of the rank and file were of that faith. There were also a number of Jews scattered through the command in the other companies.

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"They were all volunteers, and I know there was not a Jew conscript in the Legion. As soldiers they were brave, orderly and well-disciplined and in no respect inferior to the gallant body of which they formed a prominent part. Their behavior in the camp, as in the field, was exemplary. No Jew in the command was arraigned before a court-martial, and, in proportion to their numbers, there were fewer applications for leaves of absence, and their regular habits caused very few of their names to appear on the hospital rolls.

"In battle, without distinction of race or religion, all were apparently willing and eager for the contest. I will say, however, I neither saw nor heard of any Jew shrinking or failing to answer to any call of duty or danger.

"I regret I cannot go more in details, but am unwilling to permit an aspersion that remotely may affect the Jews who served with me to pass unnoticed, as, to a considerable extent, the reputation won by the command and personally obtained by myself was acquired by their conduct, courage and soldierly qualities. I state without hesitation that in no attribute suited to the soldier, whether as an officer or in the ranks, will the Jew suffer by comparison with the best and bravest of our army.

"As these happenings were before your time, I jot down these recollections that you may have the testimony of one Gentile to attest the courage, endurance and patriotism of the Jew as a soldier.

The discussion of the question of Jewish participation in the Civil War elicited the following expression from a Charleston newspaper:

"The list of South Carolina Jews who remained true to their country and to their country's cause in the darkest hours and who proved their fidelity and patriotism by laying down their lives upon the field of battle could be greatly extended. Their names are graven upon many a monument throughout the land, and their prowess in arms is a part of the military glory of the[102] country. As Montaigne says, the virtue and valor of a man consist in the heart and in the will, and by this rule the Hebrew soldiers of South Carolina may be fairly judged. What they had they gave freely to the State and on many a bloody field did they prove the high quality of their courage. They possessed, what Napoleon called "the two o'clock in the morning courage" and they followed the flag with superb loyalty to victory and defeat. When the history of South Carolina's part in the great struggle is written and the books are finally posted, we are sure that the Hebrew soldiers of this State, who wore the grey will have their full meed of praise."

Another communication which is at hand, originally made to one of our Jewish weeklies, may also be quoted as affording an effective side light on our present subject:

"From the beginning of the late war until its close I was connected with the War and Navy Departments of the Confederate States as a contractor for side arms and accoutrements. In this capacity I became acquainted with the organization and direction of the Army and Navy and also became well acquainted with the governing officials of the State, War and Navy Departments.

"Shortly before the Fall Festivals of our Jewish observance in 1864 I came to Richmond, Va., and as usual, met my late old friend, the Rev. Mr. Michelbacher. After receiving an assurance of my readiness to aid him in the purpose which he outlined to me, he detailed his request as follows:

"'There are right around here and in our other armies many Jewish soldiers who would like to keep Rosh Hashanah but especially Yom Kippur according to our law and ritual. I am trying to get a furlough for these soldiers over these Holy Days, but do not know how to go about it. Here is a petition to the Secretary of War; you know him well; will you present it or will you go with me to introduce me? or will you get Mr. Benjamin to recommend it?' I informed Mr. Michelbacher that as far as Mr. Benjamin was concerned it did not come within the scope of his special office; that if his recommendation was needed I could pledge it, and that the whole matter was for Mr. Seddon[103] to decide. Next morning Mr. Michelbacher and myself went to Mr. Seddon, who received us, as he did all his petitioners, with kindness. He read the petition quietly and talked the matter over with us for some time, even at more length than the pressing duties upon him seemed to warrant. After mature deliberation he spoke about as follows: 'Well, gentlemen, as far as I am concerned I will give my consent, but must refer the matter to the Adjutant and Inspector-General. Whatever he does, I will sanction.' He thereupon wrote his endorsement on the petition and Mr. Michelbacher and I took it up to General Cooper, who, like Mr. Seddon, received us kindly, and with great interest discussed the proposition with us. He would gladly, he said, grant the furloughs, but, 'gentlemen,' he added, 'look, we have here a roster of all our soldiers and we know, as far as possible from their names, how many of them belong to your religious denomination, and astonishing it is that we count about 10,000 to 12,000 Jews who are serving in our Army. Now should I grant the furloughs you request, you will readily see, that for the time being, it would perhaps disintegrate certain commands in the field and might work to a bad effect; besides, the commanders of the different army corps should certainly be consulted. On the whole it would be impracticable, as you, Goldsmith (turning to me) will readily acknowledge. In fact,' he pleasantly added, 'you will admit that if your forefathers had fought Titus on the Sabbath day, during the siege of Jerusalem they most certainly would have beaten him. You see, therefore, I cannot conscientiously grant your request.' So it ended, but we had the satisfaction of having learned that out of the small number of Jews then living in the South, it was believed that over 10,000 were serving in the Confederate Army. Those who would not serve left the country. For many of these latter I myself procured passports and permits, deeming it better that they should leave quietly and unmolested than that they should be forced into the ranks where they would have made unwilling defenders of the country.

"I am still a living witness and can, from my own memory, give you many names of gallant Jewish soldiers of the Confederate army. I had ample opportunity to see and to know.[104] Many a wounded Jew have I met in the hospitals of Richmond and administered to his wants, and many a Jewish soldier have I seen walking on his crutch or having his arm in a sling, travelling to and from his command during the war. And I know further that it was simply a sense of loyalty to their homes and their neighbors that prompted them to fight for the South. If not, they could readily have left this country at any time as well as I myself could have done, had I so chosen. But love for our adopted country kept us here and we offered all we had in its behalf.

M. Goldsmith."

The closing paragraph of Mr. Goldsmith's letter is truly expressive of Jewish sentiment. It emphasizes the fact that the Jew, while retaining his racial and religious distinctiveness, identifies himself with the people among whom he dwells, if he is not deliberately excluded from the possibility of doing so. Were further evidence of this required beyond the records of earlier times, a convincing proof can be found in the presence of large numbers of Jews in both the Union and Confederate armies throughout the Civil War.

It should not be overlooked that the profession of arms for its own sake is not distinctively a Jewish trait; the business of war having always been taken up as the means to an end rather than the end itself. This phase of the Jewish character finds a significant expression in the large proportion of Jewish combatants in both the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. In both cases the issue was one in which they felt a deep and abiding interest, and they manifested their earnestness in the most positive manner by taking an active and determined part in the decision of the issue. That interest was far from being prevalent during the War of 1812 and the subsequent war with Mexico. The former lacked the support of a large fraction of the people, being held by the Federal party of that time to be a heedless and needless undertaking, which in many respects it was, and the latter, the Mexican War, was regarded by the anti-slavery Whigs as tending to aggrandize the slave power by an extension of its territory. Both these wars were party measures, and in both a decidedly smaller[105] proportion of Jewish combatants took part than would otherwise have been the case. Where home, or liberty or law is at stake the Jewish people have never been chary of the uttermost sacrifice, and the muster rolls of the armies in the great war between the States afford the fullest evidence of their ample share in its burdens and its sufferings.

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MEDALS OF HONOR.

(From a paper read by the present author before the American Jewish Historical Society, Washington, D. C., December 26, 1894.)

On the 12th day of July, 1862, President Lincoln gave his approval to an Act of Congress, authorizing the President to cause to be prepared 2,000 "Medals of Honor," to be presented to such non-commissioned officers and privates as would especially distinguish themselves by their gallantry in action, and by other soldierly qualities during the war then in progress.

While I am not prepared to say how many soldiers of Hebrew faith were honored with such medals, I can mention seven who have come under my notice.

First, Leopold Karpeles, Color Sergeant, of the 57th Massachusetts Infantry, at the Battle of North Anna, distinguished himself by a noble defence of the flag under a terrific fire from the enemy. Although seriously wounded, he held the colors aloft until through weakness from loss of blood he had at last to give them to a comrade. Sergeant Karpeles has high testimonials from his superior officers for bravery, daring and discipline, and is at present a clerk in the General Post-Office Department.

Second, Benjamin B. Levy, who enlisted at the age of sixteen as a drummer boy, in the 1st New York Volunteers. He was detailed as Orderly to General Mansfield. While on board the steamer "Express," carrying dispatches to General Wool at Fortress Monroe, the vessel was attacked by the Confederate gunboat, "Seabird." The "Express" with all on board, was in imminent danger of capture, when young Levy saved the steamer by cutting loose a water schooner which was in tow. For his prompt action, Levy was highly complimented by Generals Mansfield and Wool. At Charles City Cross Roads, two of the colors of his regiment were saved by him from capture, for which act he was promoted on the field by General Kearney to[107] Color Sergeant of his regiment. At the expiration of his term, he re-enlisted in the 40th New York (Mozart) regiment, and was seriously wounded at the battle of the Wilderness. He was appointed by President Lincoln to the New York Custom House.

Third, Sergeant Major and Adjutant Abraham Cohn, who enlisted as private in the 6th New Hampshire Infantry. For distinguished services he was gradually promoted to Adjutant; he served until the close of the war. Some time after Adjutant Cohn received the "Medal of Honor," from the Assistant Adjutant General's office, he was addressed the following highly complimentary communication:

Adjutant General's Office,
Washington, August 14, 1879.

The Medal, mentioned within, was given for conspicuous gallantry displayed in the battle of the Wilderness, in rallying and forming disorganized troops, under heavy fire; also for bravery and coolness in carrying orders to the advance lines under murderous fire in the battle of the Mine, July 30, 1864.

(Signed) S. N. Benjamin,
Assistant Adjutant General.

Adjutant Cohn has the most gratifying testimonials from his superior officers. Before enlisting in the 6th New Hampshire he had served in the 68th New York as a private and rose gradually to be captain. Owing to sickness he was honorably discharged, being then, in the opinion of the surgeons, unfit for further duty. Notwithstanding his discharge as Captain, when strong and able again, he re-enlisted as Private, in the 6th New Hampshire, and rose to the rank of Adjutant.

Fourth, David Obranski, of the 58th Ohio Infantry, who received a Medal of Honor for distinguished bravery and coolness under heavy fire at Shiloh, Tennessee, and at Vicksburg, Mississippi.

Fifth, Henry Heller, of Company A, 66th Ohio Infantry. He earned the Medal of Honor for daring bravery at Chancellorsville.

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Sixth, Abraham Grunwalt, of Company G, 104th Ohio Infantry, who earned his Medal of Honor, at Franklin, Tennessee, November 30, 1864 in the capture of Corps headquarters' flag.

Seventh, Corporal Isaac Gans, of the 2nd Ohio Cavalry, who for bravery displayed on the battle-field was appointed escort to the colors captured by the Third Division.

[109]

FAMILIES OF "BROTHERS-IN-ARMS."

[Compiled from a paper read by the present author before the American Jewish Historical Society, Washington, D. C., December 26, 1894.]

One of the most remarkable facts developed by the records of our Civil War, and especially gratifying because unsurpassed, if equalled, is the spontaneous and cheerful alacrity with which our citizens of Hebrew faith entered their country's service in the hour of its need. In a number of families all the male members able to bear arms were enrolled in the army. My list of these may not be complete, and there may be other equally notable examples, but I here name only those which have been definitely reported to me.

North Carolina is to the fore with a host of six militant brothers, united in the cause which they held at heart as well as by the ties of blood. They bear the titular name of the priestly brother of Moses, and their devotion lends it new lustre. The list of these six brothers-in-arms is as follows:

Aaron Cohen,
Jacob H. Cohen,
Julius Cohen,
Edward Cohen,
Gustavus A. Cohen,
Henry M. Cohen.

Mississippi claims a set of five brothers in the field, but, remarkable enough, one of these was arrayed on the side of the Union against his four Confederate brothers, a fair example of the Jewish spirit of loyalty to conviction. The following is the list:

Edward Jonas, 50th Illinois Infantry.
S. A. Jonas,
Julian Jonas,
Major Charles H. Jonas,
Hon. Benjamin F. Jonas (of Louisiana).

South Carolina also had five brothers enrolled in the Confederate army. Their names are:

Percy Moses, Jr.,
Joshua L. Moses,
Horace Moses,
J. Harby Moses,
A. Jackson Moses.

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Georgia mustered a family of four, a father and three sons, bearing the same historic name as their South Carolina comrades:

Raphael Moses, Sr.,
Raphael Moses, Jr.,
Israel N. Moses,
A. L. Moses.

Arkansas furnishes an instance of three brothers, namely:

Peter Cohen,
Jacob Cohen,
Po'el Cohen.

Another trio hail from the South, two from Georgia and one from South Carolina:

Isaac A. Goldsmith,
A. A. Goldsmith,
M. M. Goldsmith.

Virginia sent out another three:

Leopold Levy,
Samson Levy,
Solomon Levy.

Louisiana has also a list of three brothers on her muster rolls:

Eugene H. Levy,
Julius H. Levy,
Joseph C. Levy.

And yet another trio went forth from Alabama:

Mordecai Moses,
Henry C. Moses,
Alfred Moses.

This makes a total of nine families on the Southern side, embracing a membership numbering thirty-five, of whom one was enrolled in the Union army.

The preponderance of such instances in the ranks of the Confederates is due to the fact that the Jews of the Southern States were, in a much larger proportion than those of the North, natives of the soil or residents of long standing. While the Jews were doubtless more numerous at the North than at the South, they were, for the most part, immigrants of a comparatively recent date, and therefore less intensely imbued with the spirit of the conflict.

[111]

On the Union side, New York, the nucleus of the Jewish population of this country, naturally furnished the largest quota of Jewish soldiers, and among them were three bands of brothers; one of the families being reinforced by the presence of the father. The roll is as follows:

First, a family of five:

Leopold Wenk,
August Wenk,
Joseph Wenk,
Julius Wenk,
Aaron Wenk.

Second, a father and his three sons:

Simon Levy,
Benjamin C. Levy,
Albert Levy,

Hon. Ferdinand Levy, Ex-Coroner and present Register of New York City.

Third, a trio of brothers:

Abraham Feder,
Henry Feder,
Adolph Feder.

Pennsylvania also sent three Jewish brothers to the front:

Lyon L. Emanuel,
Louis M. Emanuel,
Jonathan M. Emanuel.

From Ohio we have another list of three brothers who together took part in the War for the Union:

Herman Koch,
Moses Koch,
Joseph Koch.

We have thus a list of five families on the Union side, containing eighteen men, a total for both the Confederate and Union sides of fourteen families sending fifty-three men to the war.

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JEWISH STAFF OFFICERS IN THE UNION ARMY.

Assistant Adjutant-General Myer Asch,

entered the service September 19, 1861, as 2d Lieutenant Company H, 1st New Jersey Cavalry Volunteers; promoted to 1st Lieutenant and Adjutant, December 29, 1861, and Captain, March 24, 1862; served on staff of Major-General John Pope, subsequently appointed Assistant Adjutant-General to Major-General Kautz; also distinguished in other ways; held civic honors, particularly during the Centennial Exhibition of 1876 at Philadelphia.

Doctor Morris J. Asch,

on staff of Major-General Philip H. Sheridan.

Major Newman Borchardt,

enlisted as Private in Company K, 6th New York Volunteers; promoted to serve on staff of Major-General Oliver O. Howard.

Captain Isidore Bush, aide-de-camp to General Fremont.

Captain Max Cohnheim,

enlisted in the 41st New York; promoted with rank of Captain on the staff of General Sigel.

Captain —— Dessauer,

on staff of Major-General Oliver O. Howard; killed at Chancellorsville.

Rev. Jacob Frankel,

of Philadelphia, served as Chaplain of United States Hospitals during the Civil War, by appointment of President Lincoln.

Captain Edward Jonas,

enlisted in Illinois on staff of Major-General Prentice.

[113]

Major M. Lulley,

formerly on staff of Louis Kossuth, during the Hungarian Revolution of 1848; rendered valuable services during the Civil War, under direction of Secretary of War.

Colonel Isaac May,

aide-de-camp to Governor Andrew G. Curtin, of Pennsylvania.

Sergeant Louis H. Mayer,

enlisted in the 27th Ohio Regiment, served on staff of General Pope; also with Generals Rosecrans and Grant, taking part in various campaigns.

Captain Nathan D. Menken,

on staff of Major-General John Pope, as Commander of his body-guard; he sacrificed his life by remaining in Memphis, Tennessee, and tending to the suffering during a terrible visitation of Yellow fever in 1878.

Isaac Moses,

Adjutant-General 3d Army Corps, staff of Major General Heintzelman; subsequently under General Banks.

Captain Julius Spring,

on staff of General Van Buren.

Lieutenant M. Szegely,

on staff of General Sigel.

Major Joseph Franklin Tobias,

aide-de-camp with rank of Major to Major-General D. B. Birney (April 14, 1862—May 16, 1864).

[114]

JEWISH STAFF OFFICERS IN THE CONFEDERATE ARMY.

Jacob Abrams,

on staff of General Elzey.

Doctor I. Baruch, Assistant Surgeon-General.

Marcus Baum,

on the staff of General Kershaw; enlisted as private; wounded at first Battle of Manassas; mentioned in general orders for distinguished bravery; killed at the Battle of the Wilderness.

Captain H. L. Benjamin, General Staff.

Honorable Judah P. Benjamin, Secretary of War.

General David de Leon, Surgeon-General.

The first surgeon-general of the Confederate Army. He was born in South Carolina in 1822. In the Mexican War he twice took the place of commanding officers, who had been killed or wounded and acted with such gallantry and ability as to receive twice the thanks of the United States Congress. In February, 1861, he resigned his rank as Surgeon and Major in the United States Army and was appointed Surgeon-General of the Armies of the Confederacy.

Honorable Edwin de Leon,

Special Confederate States Envoy to Court of Napoleon III.

Captain Joseph Frankland,

on Staff of General Wheeler, 1st Tennessee Battalion of Cavalry; entered as private; promoted step by step; Assistant Provost Marshal.

Orderly Edward Kauffman,

Staff of General Bagly, Green's Brigade.

N. Kraus, Staff of General Miller.

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Lieutenant Alexander Levy,

Richmond, Virginia; Staff of General Magruder; wounded at Big Bethel.

Captain M. Levy,

6th Arkansas, Staff of General Baxton Bragg; Enlisted Co. E, 6th Arkansas.

Lieutenant M. J. Marcus, Staff of General Benning.

Victor Meyer, Staff of General Barksdale.

Assistant-Adjutant-General J. Randolph Mordecai

entered the service of the Confederate States as private in the Washington Artillery, South Carolina, December 19, 1860; shortly afterwards was appointed 2nd Lieutenant, when transferred to the C. S. Army, afterward assigned to duty as Assistant-Adjutant-General to General White's Brigade Light Artillery until July, 1863, to A. A. M., C. S. Army, and assigned to General Taliaford's Division.

Captain A. J. Moses, Staff of General Hannon.

Major Alfred T. Moses, Staff of General R. Taylor;

enlisted Co. E, 6th Arkansas.

Altamont Moses, Military Telegraph Service.

F. J. Moses, Assistant Surgeon.

Colonel Raphael J. Moses, Staff of General Longstreet.

Appointed chief commissary for the State of Georgia. Known to Generals Lee and Longstreet as the "honest commissary." He turned over thirty thousand dollars in gold to General Molyneux at the close of the war on condition that it should be used for the benefit of the Confederate soldiers and Confederate hospitals, which was done.

General A. C. Myers, Quartermaster General C. S. A.

Major J. M. Nanez, Staff of General Longstreet.

Major Isaac Scherck, Staff of General Hardee;

enlisted in Mississippi.

Morris Straus, Staff of General Jenkins;

enlisted in South Carolina.

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JEWISH OFFICERS IN THE CONFEDERATE NAVY.

Lieutenant Barnham.

Perry de Leon, South Carolina.

Captain L. C. Harby, South Carolina.

When South Carolina seceded he resigned his commission in the United States Navy and entered the Confederate service with the rank of Commodore in the Navy and afterwards distinguished himself in the defence of Galveston, when he commanded the Neptune at the capture of the Harriet Lane, and later on when in command of a fleet of gunboats on the Sabine river.

Louis P. Levy, Gunboat Chicora, Virginia;

A midshipman at the age of fifteen.

Midshipman Randolph Lyons;

detailed as Signal Officer on blockade running.

Lazarus Weil, C. S. Navy.

Simon Weil, C. S. Navy.

Isaac Moise, C. S. Navy.

Paymaster I. C. Moses, Navy.

Lieutenant R. J. Moses, Jr., C. S. S. Merrimac, Georgia.

Z. P. Moses, Navy Department.

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LISTS OF JEWISH SOLDIERS IN THE UNION AND CONFEDERATE ARMIES DURING THE CIVIL WAR, CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO STATES AND ALPHABETICALLY ARRANGED.

ALABAMA.

[123]

ARKANSAS.

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CALIFORNIA.

An officer of distinction made the following remarks concerning this gallant soldier:

"Personally I know several Hebrews who served in the California regiments known as the 'California Column' but in the long years that have elapsed I have forgotten their names. They were all good, faithful soldiers to the flag they enlisted to defend. One I remember, by name, Solomon Davidson. Comrade Davidson belonged to a cavalry regiment; I think it was the 1st California, ordered for service in Arizona, Texas and New Mexico. That regiment has seen more hard service in the saddle than any other I know of wearing Uncle Sam's uniform. Comrade Davidson was a brave man, carrying dispatches and orders from one part of the command to another, regardless of storms and dangers of Indian ambush so often to be encountered in the Territories. Davidson was a loyal, gallant soldier, and I am glad to be able to say this much for our old Jewish comrades in arms. We knew no distinction on account of birth or religion in the army, but we loved all loyal men who gave their lives to the government in the hour of its need. Let me in conclusion express my conviction that a comparison of services will not be determined detrimentally to our Hebrew comrades."

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[127]

CONNECTICUT.

[128]

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

FLORIDA.

[129]

GEORGIA.

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Macon, Georgia, German Artillery.

At the outbreak of the Civil War there existed in Macon, Georgia, an Artillery Company named "The Macon, Georgia, German Artillery," composed entirely of American citizens, of German birth, about one-third being of Hebrew faith. We give the names and positions of a few only, remembered by a survivor.

1st Camp, Harrison, between Savannah and Brunswick.

2nd Camp, Satilla, near Brunswick, Georgia.

3d Camp, Failfair, near Savannah, Georgia.

Under Brigadier-General Capers. The Company was subsequently transferred to General Walker.

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ILLINOIS.

Enlisted at Chicago; was elected Lieutenant of Company C of the 82nd Regiment, in which he served about two years, when he was promoted to Captain. He was at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg from first to last. Subsequently he was appointed Brigade Inspector and ordered West. He took part in the battle of Wauhatchie and at Missionary Ridge, commanding the 80th. He went with Sherman to Knoxville to relieve Burnside. Captain Frank's deeds entitle him to a place among the bravest Captains in the service of the United States. When Captain Frank volunteered to dislodge Confederate sharpshooters, his whole Company to a man followed him. It was subsequent to this act that he was appointed Brigade Inspector. Two horses were shot from under him at the first day's battle at Gettysburg. He scouted for some time in Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama against guerilla chief "Roddy."

Enlisted as a private at Chicago, April, 1861, in 12th Illinois Infantry, being the second man on the enrollment list of those who enlisted in Chicago for the war. He was promoted to Sergeant, August, 1861; was with the 12th Illinois Regiment through all the campaigns under General Grant, in Kentucky and Tennessee, up to and including the Battle of Fort Donaldson, in February, 1862, at which battle, while storming the Fort and just before its surrender, he was badly shot in the right arm which caused his retirement from the 12th Illinois shortly thereafter. In August, 1862 he was appointed Captain of Company K, 82nd Illinois Infantry, in which Regiment he passed through the various campaigns and battles in Virginia, under Generals Burnside, Hooker and Meade. Captain Greenhut participated in the memorable Battle of Gettysburg, July 1st, 2nd and 3d, 1863. He was then transferred to the staff of Brigade Commander Hecker, being appointed Adjutant-General of the brigade. This brigade, after the Gettysburg Battle, Rosecrans who, with his army, was surrounded at was transferred to the Western army to relieve General Chattanooga, Tennessee. The brigade had a severe battle at Wauhatchie, near Chattanooga, in opening communications with Rosecrans. The same brigade also took a prominent part in the battles of Mission Ridge and Lookout Mountain, as well as shortly thereafter of that of Knoxville, Tennessee. On the retirement of General Hecker, in February, 1864, Captain Greenhut also resigned his position in the army; the following communication being handed him on his [144]retirement, by General McGroarty, who succeeded in the command of the brigade:

General order No. 9.

Captain Joseph B. Greenhut, of the 82nd Regiment Illinois Volunteers, having tendered his resignation, is, in pursuance of special order, No. 55, Headquarters Department of the Cumberland, February 24, 1864, relieved from duty as Assistant Adjutant-General of this Brigade, and Lieutenant Rudolph Muller is announced as his successor. In parting with Captain Greenhut, the Colonel commanding feels it both a duty and a pleasure to bear testimony to his diligence, zeal and fidelity in the performance of his duty in the office, as well as in the field, and he regrets to see so excellent and brave an officer as Captain Greenhut leave his command.

Matters of important character only could induce Captain Greenhut to leave the army in which he served three long and hard years, taking active part in all the most decisive battles east and west.

To be read on dress parade to the troops to-day.

Captain Joseph B. Greenhut,
Assistant Adjutant-General, 3d Brigade."

In recent years Captain Greenhut was appointed by Governor Fifer one of the three commissioners to erect a monument on the battle-field of Gettysburg, in honor of the Illinois soldiers who participated in that battle. He delivered the dedicatory address at the unveiling of the monument, September 3, 1891, in the presence of Governor Fifer, and a large multitude of veterans and representative citizens of the State of Illinois, who visited the battle-field on that occasion.

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The Chicago Tribune, of September 4, 1891, prints Captain Greenhut's speech, as follows:

"Friends and Comrades: We are assembled here to-day on the spot where, on the first day of July, 1863, our regiment stood in line, at the beginning of the first day's memorable Battle of Gettysburg. More than twenty-eight years have passed since that eventful struggle, but our memory is refreshed and brightened when we cast our eyes about us and view these familiar surroundings, and we are impressed in part with the feelings which raged in our breasts when we were formed into line on this field to stem the advance of the Rebel Army. It was an herculean task to perform when we consider that only a small portion of our army was in the field on the first day of the battle, while the larger portion of Lee's Army was concentrated on our front and right.

"None of us knew what a hot day's fight was before us when we broke camp at Emmetsburg early on the morning of July 1st, and began our march towards Gettysburg. We had not gone far when orders came to move faster and to be prepared for an engagement. As we approached the town of Gettysburg on the Emmetsburg road, we could hear the first shots that were being fired on the cavalry skirmish lines and soon thereafter received word that the First Corps, which was ahead of us, was already engaging the enemy, and then came the sad news that General Reynolds had been killed. We then moved double-quick through the town to this field where our batteries were placed in position, and at once opened fire on the advancing enemy. I was detailed in command of two companies of our regiment to support Dilger's battery, and I can bear witness to the effective work done by that gallant battery in holding the enemy in check. We were exposed to the fearful cannonade fire which the enemy opened in our front, and by which we had several of our men wounded. We held our ground for a long time against the large force in our front, but later in the afternoon Ewell's corps flanked us on the right, and as our numbers were still entirely too small to combat with the overwhelming forces of the approaching enemy on our right, there was no alternative for us but to retreat through the town and take up a [146]position on Cemetery Hill. It was in this retreat through the town that our regiment suffered most severely, the rebels coming in through the side streets, which compelled us to fight our way through the entire town.

"Besides the killed and wounded we suffered in this street conflict, a number of our officers were cut off and captured by the enemy. It was a fearful struggle against great odds, and as our regiment covered the rear of our brigade in that retreat it has been a surprise to me that we were not entirely annihilated in our endeavors to force our way through the town up to Cemetery Hill. Each one of us can, however, vividly recollect the hair-breadth escapes experienced on that occasion without any allusions on my part. From Colonel Salomon, who had his horse shot from under him in the street, down through the entire rank of officers and men, none will ever forget that terrible day. As soon as we reached Cemetery Hill, we felt that we were in a better position and could resist any further attacks, if they should be made, and the rebels evidently came to that conclusion, as they did not make any further attempt that day.

"During the night we were reinforced by the remainder of our army, which reached Gettysburg from different points and which brought confidence and encouragement to us who had withstood the hardships of the engagement of the first day's battle. When daylight appeared July 2nd, we were prepared and ready for the second day's struggle.

"Early morning hours on the second day were spent in comparative quiet, each army in full view of the other, and each waiting for the other to begin the fight. The rebels, however, who had possession of the town, had filled the houses standing on the outskirts of the town, just below Cemetery Hill, with sharpshooters for the purpose of picking off our officers, whom they could easily spy standing or walking about on the hill. This had become quite troublesome and General Schurz requested Colonel Salomon to send a detail of about one hundred men to dislodge the sharpshooters. I had the honor to command that detail, which was made up of volunteers, and stormed those houses, driving out the sharpshooters and keeping possession of the houses the balance of the day. In [147]making up this detail an incident happened which I shall surely remember as long as I live, and I cannot refrain from referring to it at this time. Brave John Ackerman, a private in my company, who on every previous occasion was the first to respond when volunteers were asked for to engage in some daring work, did not come to the front on this occasion. I was much surprised at his action, and stepped over to speak to him about it. He said to me:

"'Captain, I cannot go with you this time; I feel as though something terrible was going to happen to me to-day.'

"He looked pale and despondent. Believing that he did not feel well, I left him, after saying a few encouraging words to him. Within an hour after I left him, Ackerman was killed, a rebel shell cutting off more than half his head. His remains were buried on Cemetery Hill, close to where he was killed. It is singular, that he is the only one of our regiment killed at Gettysburg whose name appears on any headstone in the National Cemetery.

"The great artillery duel, consisting of the firing of more than 200 cannon, which was the beginning of the second day's battle, was especially severe on the exposed position occupied by the Eleventh Corps on Cemetery Hill, and the rebels seemed determined to dislodge us from our position, but were unsuccessful in their efforts. All of us can recollect the myriads of shells and bombs that flew in our midst and over our heads, dealing out death wherever they struck in our ranks, and few of the headstones which marked the graves in the old cemetery were left unbroken after that shower of shells.

"The terrible charge the rebels made in the evening of the second day to force us from our position on Cemetery Hill has passed into history as one of the most desperate and bloody of this memorable battle. The charge was made from the streets of the town by the rebel brigade known as the 'Louisiana Tigers,' and it is officially stated that out of 1700 men in that brigade less than 300 'Tigers' returned to the town after that charge. The third day's battle was nearly a duplicate of the day previous, our regiment holding the same position on Cemetery Hill and standing the terrible fire of the enemy with the same bravery and gallantry that had characterized our organization [148]from the beginning. We can all recollect how with frantic desperation the rebels tried to dislodge us from the position we occupied, but all their attempts were unavailing, and when the radiant sun sank behind the western horizon after the third day's fight, the rebels signalized their defeat by a hasty retreat southward. We can also vividly remember how light-hearted and joyous we felt on that early Fourth of July morning when we gazed on those fields and hills in our front which only the evening before were full of life, covered with rebel soldiers and cannon, and now looked deserted and forsaken. We then first began to realize the great victory we had won, a victory which I confidently believe was the turning point for the salvation of this country. But while the face of every Union soldier on that morning was glowing with the flush of heroism, there were but few, however, who could pass without sad emotions over the fields which were so thickly strewn with dead and dying that in some places it was impossible to walk without stepping on some of the dead bodies. But these are the consequences of war, and I sincerely hope it may never again become necessary in this glorious country to call out large armies and to bring such great sacrifices in order to perpetuate our liberties and freedom. (Cheers.)

"It is not necessary to-day to eulogize the many brave deeds of the officers and men of our regiment on this battle-field, as the official records bear ample testimony on that subject, and I doubt whether any regiment can show a better record for bravery than the old 82nd Illinois. (Applause.)

"This monument which has been erected through the generosity of the State of Illinois to commemorate the noble deeds of the 82nd Regiment will stand for ages as a tribute of a grateful people to her sons, now living or dead, who participated in this, the greatest battle which was fought during the war for the preservation of the Union. (Cheers.)

"We, the surviving members of the 82nd Regiment, fully appreciate this token erected in our honor by the State of Illinois and in behalf of our comrades I desire to express through his excellency, Governor Fifer, our sincere thankfulness for the same." (Applause.)

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"Mr. Greenhut concluded by paying a handsome compliment to the old Colonel of the 82nd, Colonel E. S. Salomon, and the ceremonies closed with the recitation of a short poem in German by Lieutenant John Baus, of Chicago."