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 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."
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.
John Fraser,
(Signed) 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).
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 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
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."
(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 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
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:
"SAMUEL NOAH.
"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 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 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
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.