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
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.
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 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.
LEVI SHEFTALL, _President_.
In behalf of the Hebrew Congregations.
* * * * *
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 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.
G. WASHINGTON.
* * * * *
_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 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.
MOSES SEIXES, _Warden_.
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 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.
G. WASHINGTON.
* * * * *
_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 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.
MANUEL JOSEPHSON.
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 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.
G. WASHINGTON.
* * * * *
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:
COPY OF A LETTER FROM THOMAS JEFFERSON.[22]
MONTICELLO, May 28, 1818.
_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_. #/
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)
THOMAS JEFFERSON.
M. M. NOAH, Esq.
* * * * *
COPY OF A LETTER FROM JAMES MADISON, ESQ., ON THE SAME SUBJECT.
MONTPELIER, May, 15, 1818.
_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).
JAMES MADISON.
* * * * *
COPY OF A LETTER FROM JOHN ADAMS, ESQ.
QUINCY, July 31, 1818.
_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) JOHN ADAMS.
FOOTNOTES:
[22] _Travels in England, France, Spain and the Barbary States in the
years 1813-14 and 15._ By Mordecai M. Noah; New York and London, 1819.
Appendix, pp. xxv and xxvi.
_EXEGI MONUMENTUM ÆRE PERENNIUS._
THE STATUE OF JEFFERSON.
[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 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 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.