ADOLPH, PHILIP GOTTSCHALK, LOUIS
ARNOLD, NATHAN GOTTSCHALK, FREDERIC
BAER, ISAAC GREEN, DAVID
BAER, WILLIAM GREEN, ADOLPH
BLOCK, DAVID HAMMER, ISAAC
BALL, LEON HARTMAN, JACOB
BAUM, LOUIS HOLZINGER, CHARLES
CLINE, CHARLES JACOBSON, A.
CLINE, HENRY JOEL, E.
CLIFMAN, ASA JOEL, BENJAMIN
DAVID, DANIEL JONES, ISAAC
DAVIDSON, ISAAC JONES, HENRY
DAVID, EPHRAIM LEHMAN, M.
LEIBOLD, GUSTAV REXINGER, MOSES
LEUPP, JACOB RIA, MORRIS
MEYERS, JOSEPH SEGAL, BENJAMIN
NEWMAN, G. TRIBURG, EUGENE
NOGEL, E. WOLF, CHARLES
WOLF, JOSEPH
NEW JERSEY.
ACKERMAN, JOSEPH DIAZ, HENRY
ALEXANDER, ADOLPH DAVIS, ISAAC C.
ABRAHAM, JACOB DAVISON, LEWIS
ACKERMAN, DAVID FREEMAN, MORRIS
ACKERMAN, AARON FREEMAN, ALEXANDER
ALEXANDER, CHARLES FREEMAN, AARON
ADLER, WILLIAM FREEMAN, SAMUEL
ADLER, HENRY FUCHS, JACOB
ARNOLD, JACOB FUCHS, MICHAEL
ACKERMAN, JOSEPH FRANKS, HENRY P.
ACKERMAN, MORRIS GREEN, AARON
ABRAMS, ELIAS GREEN, MOSES
ACKERMAN, AARON GEIGER, GEORGE
ACKERMAN, ABRAHAM GEISINGER, JACOB
ABRAMS, JACOB GEISINGER, ISAAC
ARNOLD, MICHAEL GEISINGER, FREDERICK
ABRAMS, CHARLES GOTTSCHALK, SAMUEL
BUXBAUM, WILLIAM GREEN, AARON S.
BAER, JOSEPH GEIGER, JACOB
BEHRENS, CHARLES GREEN, JOSEPH
BAUER, JOSEPH A. GOODMAN, MARCUS
BALL, ABRAHAM HARRIS, DAVID
BACHMAN, JACOB HARDENDORF, JACOB
BAUER, JACOB S. HARRIS, ISAAC
BRILL, JACOB HOLZMAN, GEORGE
BAUER, MORRIS HARRIS, DAVID
BACHMAN, WILLIAM H. HARRIS, BENJAMIN
COLEMAN, MOSES HERRMAN, HENRY
COLEMAN, REUBEN HAHN, MARTIN
DAVIS, ISAAC HESS, CHARLES
DAVIS, NATHAN HESS, SAMUEL
HAHN, CHARLES KLEIN, SAMUEL
HARRIS, ABRAHAM KING, JACOB
HOFMAN, LEWIS KOHLER, ELIAS
HAHN, MORRIS LOEB, BENJAMIN
HOFMAN, DAVID LOZIER, ALEXANDER
HARRIS, SAMUEL LYON, EBENEZER
HOFMAN, BENJAMIN LYON, LEWIS
HOFMAN, ISAAC LEHMAN, JOSEPH
HART, DAVID MYERS, JULIUS
HOFMAN, JACOB MEYER, ALEXANDER
HARRIS, JOSEPH MEYER, HENRY
HARTMAN, GUSTAV MEYER, FRANK
HARRIS, JACOB B. MEYER, JOSEPH
HART, ISAAC MEIER, CHARLES
HART, JACOB C. MEYER, JOSEPH
ISAAC, HENRY MEIER, CHARLES
JACOBS, HENRY MEYERS, SAMUEL
JACOBS, WILLIAM MEYER, JACOB
JOSEPHS, FREDERICK MORITZ, GEORGE
JACOBS, JOSEPH MEYERS, ADOLPH
JACOBS, CHARLES MEYER, ISAAC
KING, MOSES MEYERS, JOSEPH
KOENIG, MAXIMILIAN MEYERS, LOUIS
KUHN, THEO. MARX, CHARLES
KOHLER, HENRY MEYER, JOSEPH P.
KUHN, FERDINAND MOSES, WILLIAM
KLEIN, LUDWIG MOSES, A.
KING, ISAAC MARKS, JOSEPH
KING, ISAAC M. MEIER, HERMAN
KING, JOSEPH MEIER, LEWIS
KONIG, GUSTAV NEWMAN, JOSEPH
KLEIN, JOSEPH NEWMAN, JACOB
KOCH, FREDERIC NEWMAN, JULIUS
KING, ALEXANDER NAUMAN, JULIUS
KUHN, JACOB NEWMAN, DAVID
KING, ABRAHAM NEWMAN, LEVI
KING, LEWIS NEWMAN, JOEL
KOHLER, JACOB NEWMAN, DAVID
SOMINSON, FREDERICK SIMON, HENRY
SANGER, CARL STAHL, LEOPOLD
SIMONS, JOSEPH VOGEL, FERDINAND
SIGAL, BENJAMIN VOGEL, LOUIS
SIMON, SAMUEL VOGEL, JOSEPH
SIMONS, LEVI VOGEL, LEWIS
SIMONS, JOSEPH WOLF, AUGUST
STEIN, LOUIS WEISS, ADOLPH
SIMONSON, JESSE WOLF, CHARLES
STEINBACH, JOSEPH WOLF, FREDERICK
SIMONS, ISAAC WOLF, JOSEPH
WOLF, WILLIAM
NEW YORK.
ASHER, MOSES BACHARACH, MORITZ
ASHER, ISAAC BERNSTEIN, DAVID
ASSENHEIMER, ISAAC BLUM, ADOLPH
ADLER, MOSES BRILL, HENRY
ASHER, DAVID BLUM, ISAAC
ADLER, MARCUS Baruch, M.
ASH, ISAAC BAER, ABRAHAM
ARNHEIM, OSCAR BALL, SIMON
ADLER, DAVID BACHMAN, ABRAHAM
AARON, DAVID BAER, MOSES
ASH, MOSES BIEN, MORITZ
ARNHEIM, GUSTAV BERLINER, A.
ASH, LEWIS BRESLAUER, ALEXANDER
AARON, LOUIS BAUER, JULIUS
AARON, MOSES BAUM, C.
ARNOLD, FRANK BLUMENTHAL, CHARLES
ALTMAN, ISAAC BAUM, WILLIAM
AUERBACH, GOTTLIEB BACHARACH, SIMON
ACKERMAN, ADOLPH BAMBERGER, LOUIS
ALTMAN, CHARLES COHEN, MOSES
ACKERMAN, GUSTAV DAVIDSON, JACOB
AUERBACH, MOSES DAVIDSON, ISAAC
BUNSTEIN, MOSES DAVIDSON, OSCAR
BACHARACH, MARCUS DAVID, MOSES
BLUMENSTEIN, MAYER DAVID, ISAAC
EPPENSTEIN, MORRIS LAZARUS, EDWARD
EHRLICH, J. LOWENTHAL, SIMON
EISEMAN, MAX LEDERMAN, MORITZ
FRIEDBERG, H. LOWENSTEIN, ISAAC
FRIEDMAN, ISAAC LANDAUER, JOSEPH
FLEISCHMAN, M. MANNHEIMER, MOSES
FRIEDMAN, ADOLPH MANN, JOSEPH
FLEISCHMAN, GEORGE MAY, ADOLPH
GOODMAN, MAYER MAAS, FREDERICK
GOTTLIEB, MOSES MANTEL, LEWIS
GOODMAN, M. MENDELSON, JOSEPH
GOTTLIEB, A. MARCUS, OSCAR
GOODMAN, LEWIS MANDELBAUM, ISAAC
GOLDSMITH, I. NATHAN, SIMON
HARRIS, M. NATHANSON, JACOB
HARRIS, GEORGE NUSSBAUM, MOSES
HARRIS, ADOLPH OPPENHEIMER, MAIER
HEINEMAN, ADOLPH OCHS, MOSES
HOCHHEIM, M. PINKSON, GUSTAV
JACOBSON, M. PROSKAUER, JACOB
JACOBSON, A. POLLOCK, ISAAC
JONES, DAVID POLLOCK, MOSES
JONES, MEIER POSNER, JOSEPH
JONES, OSCAR ROSENBAUM, JOSEPH
JONES, ADOLPH ROTHSCHILD, MEYER
JONES, MARTIN ROTHSCHILD, JACOB
KOHN, MAYER ROSENFELD, ABRAHAM
KOHN, ALEXANDER RAPHAEL, JOSEPH
KAUFMAN, ISAAC ROSENBLATT, JULIUS
KAHN, OSCAR STRAUSS, MOSES
KOCH, J. STRAUSS, OSCAR
KATZ, JACOB SINZHEIMER, GUSTAV
KONG, ISAAC SCHOENTHAL, GEORGE
LOEB, JACOB SELIGNAN, JOSEPH
LOEB, MOSES SCHOENBERG, MAYER
LICHTENSTEIN, JACOB SCHOENEMAN, HARRY
LIMBURGER, ISAAC SILBERMAN, MOSES
LEVY, BERNHARD SPIEGEL, LOUIS
LIPPMAN, MOSES SCHIFF, DANIEL
SCHONEWALT, MORITZ WEINBERG, JULIUS
SCHWAB, ADOLPH WIENER, MORITZ
SCHWAB, HENRY WEIL, JULIUS
STERN, FREDERICK WASSEMAN, MORRIS
SACHS, LEWIS WASSEMAN, SIMON
SCHLESSINGER, ELI WEINSTEIN, JOSEPH
SCHWARZSCHILD, HENRY WISE, SIMON
NORTH CAROLINA.
ABRAHAM, S. MEYER, SAMUEL
COHEN, MOSES OPPENHEIM, DAVID
MAYER, NATHAN WOLF, JOSEPH
Killed in action.
OHIO.
AARONSTEIN, I. COLEMAN, ABRAHAM
ALTMAN, FRANK COLEMAN, JACOB
ABRAHAM, ALEXANDER COLEMAN, DAVID
ACKERMAN, HENRY DAVIS, JOSEPH
ALEXANDER, JACOB DAVIS, ASA
ALEXANDER, ISAAC DAVIS, SAMUEL
ACKERMAN, JOSEPH DAVIS, FRANK
ALEXANDER, DAVID DAVIS, DAVID
ALTMAN, SAMUEL DAVIS, HENRY
ALTMAN, SOLOMON DAVIS, LEVI
BAUER, GUSTAV DAVIS, ABRAHAM
BALL, LEWIS DAVIS, OSCAR
BAUER, JACOB DAVIS, ELI
BALL, ABRAHAM DAVIS, ISAAC
BASH, MOSES DAVIS, LEWIS
BRILL, DAVID DAVIS, BENJAMIN
BALL, SOLOMON DAVIS, JACOB
BASH, BERNARD DAVIS, ISRAEL
BAER, ISAAC DAVIS, NATHAN
BAUM, CHARLES EHRLICH, ADOLPH
BLAU, EMIL EHRLICH, CHARLES
BLAU, A. EHRLICH, LEWIS
CLINE, JACOB FIX, BERNARD
FRANKS, GUSTAV HAHNEMAN, J.
FRANK, HEYMAN ISAACSON, HENRY
FRIEDBURG, PHILIP ISAACS, MOSES
FIX, LEWIS ISRAEL, ELIAS
FUCHS, DAVID JONES, ISAAC
FREUND, DANIEL JONES, HENRY
FREEMAN, ABRAHAM JONES, JACOB
FREUND, JACOB JONES, DAVID
FREEMAN, SAMUEL JONES, AARON
FRIEDMAN, JACOB JONES, JULIUS
FUCHS, JACOB JONES, LEVI
FRANK, DAVID KLEIN, JESSE
GREEN, ISAAC KLEIN, LEWIS
GREEN, JACOB KOCH, CHARLES
GOODMAN, JOSEPH KING, BENJAMIN
GOODMAN, DAVID KLEIN, CHARLES
GREEN, LEVI KING, JOSEPH
GREEN, DAVID KLEIN, HENRY
GREEN, ABRAHAM KONIGSBURGER, HENRY
HARRIS, SOLOMON LIPPOLD, JACOB
HARRIS, LEVI LUDWIG, LEWIS
HART, ISAAC LEDERMAN, JOSEPH
HOFMAN, HENRY LUDWIG, JACOB
HARRIS, EPHRAIM LESTER, BENJAMIN
HAYS, ALEXANDER LUDWIG, ISAAC
HELLER, CHARLES LEDERMAN, SAMUEL
HARRIS, ABRAHAM LUDWIG, DANIEL
HALLER, BENJAMIN LESTER, DAVID
HARRIS, SIMON LUDWIG, SAMUEL
HOCHSTEDTER, HUGO LIPPOLD, FREDERICK
HEINE, HENRY LUDWIG, NOAH
HART, FRANK LOWENSTEIN, J.
HARRIS, BENJAMIN LOWENTHAL, I.
HARRIS, SAMUEL LEVI, NATHAN
HART, BENJAMIN LEVI, HENRY I.
HARRIS, LEWIS MOSES, HENRY
HELLER, JACOB MARKS, LESTER
HAYS DAVID MANGOLD, HENRY
MOSES, PERRY PERLEY, V
MANN, LEWIS RAPP, DAVID
MARIENTHAL, SIMON RICH, CHARLES
MICHELS, ABRAHAM RAPP, ADOLPH
MOSES, ASA ROSE, AARON
MANGOLD, JACOB RAPP, JACOB
MARKS, JACOB ROSE, NATHAN
MUNZ, GOTTLIEB ROSE, DAVID
MOSES, CHARLES RUBD, WILLIAM
MANUEL, JAMES SCHWEITZER, JACOB
METZGER, JACOB SWITZER, HENRY
MANGOLD, GEORGE SAMPSON, FRANK
MOSES, JAMES SCHENK, SALOMON
MARX, J. H. SCHWARZ, GOTTLIEB
MOSES, ENOCH SCHLOSSER, S.
MANGOLD, JOSEPH SCHIFF, SIMON
MANN, ALEXANDER TACHAN, HENRY G.
MOSES, WILLIAM TANNHAUSER, A.
MOAK, J. UTZ, JACOB
MOSES, ENOCH UTZ, JOSEPH
NIEMAN, THEODORE UTZ, SAMUEL
NIEMAN, CHARLES YOST, EPHRAIM
OCHS, JULIUS YOST, DAVID
ORBANSKI, ABRAHAM YOST, CHARLES
PHILLIPS, EMANUEL YOST, DANIEL
PHILIP, NOAH YOST, HENRY
PHILLIPS, LEWIS WISNER, HENRY
PHILLIPS, DANIEL WITTKOWSKY, H.
PIKE, H. WITTKOWSKY, K.
PENNSYLVANIA.
DE YOUNG, CHARLES LEVY, ELIAS
FLEISHER, MOYER LEWI, DAVID
32nd Regiment of Pennsylvania SAMUEL ABRAHAM
State Militia. STERN, ISRAEL W.
HIGHHILL, ISRAEL Served four years and
HIGHHILL, SOLOMON three months.
LEHMAN, SOLOMON STERN, SIMON
SOUTH CAROLINA.
BARUCH, D LYONS, ISAAC L.
COHEN, O Seriously wounded.
Killed in action. MOSES, A. I.
COHEN, HENRY MOSES, ISAAC C.
Buried at Richmond. MENKEN, NATHAN
GOLDSMITH, ABRAHAM MILLER, EZRA B.
HIRSCH, ISAAC Killed in action.
JACOBS, HENRY MOSES, DR. FRANK J.
Killed in action. NATHAN, JULIUS
LEHMAN, ABRAHAM SIMON, A.
Killed in action. SOLOMON, H.
LEOPOLD, JACK WEISS, SAMUEL
Wounded in action. Killed in action.
TENNESSEE.
FELSENTHAL, ----} (Brothers) FRAUENTHAL, M
FELSENTHAL, ----} SOLOMON, ERNST
TEXAS.
FLEISCHEL, CAPTAIN MAYER, LEO E.
KAUFMAN, C. Captured.
KAUFMAN, K.
VIRGINIA.
BACHARACH, M. HOLZINGER, E.
Buried at Richmond. HESSBERG, I.
BACHARACH, S. Killed in action.
Buried at Richmond. KAYTON, HERRMAN
EICHEL, JACOB KROMER, C. H.
EICHEL, A. LEVIN, SOLOMON M.
FALK, EMANUEL MOISE, WILBORN
FLEISCHMAN, SOLOMON MARCUS, MADISON
GOLDBERG, ---- MILLER, CHARLES
GANS, LEON WEIL, CHARLES
WEST VIRGINIA.
BLONDHEIM, H.
ADDENDA TO LISTS OF SOLDIERS
[Additional names received after printing of lists, and before
close of present form.]
CHARLES BAUM served in the 80th Ohio Infantry, during the Civil
War. Mr. Baum is now a resident and a leading merchant of
Washington, D. C.
SOLOMON POLOCK and LOUIS POLOCK, two brothers, served in the Army
during the Mexican War.
LIEUTENANT LAUCHHEIMER, serves as Judge Advocate-general in the
Regular Army of the United States.
JACOB LYON enlisted in June, 1854, in Battery E, 2nd Regiment,
United States Artillery. He re-enlisted in June, 1859, and was
honorably discharged in June, 1864. Participated in eighteen
engagements.
CHARLES STEIN enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, June
22nd, 1864, at Philadelphia, Pa., became sergeant and was honorably
discharged, June 22nd, 1868. He died on March 6th, 1881, from
disease contracted while in the service.
MORITZ AUGENSTEIN served in Company E, 52nd Regiment, New York
Infantry, during the Civil War.
SIMON FLEISHER served in Company A, 18th North Carolina Infantry,
during the Civil War.
MORRIS M. KATZ served in Company A, 18th North Carolina Infantry,
during the Civil War.
ABRAHAM MAYER served in Company A, 18th North Carolina Infantry,
during the Civil War.
AARON STERN served in the Regular Army before and during the Civil
War. Now attached to the Record and Pension Division of the War
Department, at Washington, D. C.
CHARLES KATZENSTEIN, Regular Army, now connected with the Record
and Pension Division of the War Department.
BENJAMIN JACOBS, Regular Army, now in Adjutant General's office, at
Washington, D. C.
STATISTICAL.
NUMBER OF JEWISH SOLDIERS WHO SERVED IN DIFFERENT WARS OF THE UNITED
STATES.
In the Continental Armies (including patriots) 46
In the War of 1812 44
In the Mexican War 58
In the United States Regular Army 96
In the United States Navy 78
IN THE CIVIL WAR.
Staff Officers in the Union Army 16
Staff Officers in the Confederate Army 24
Officers in the Confederate Navy 11
Soldiers classified in Regiments from different
States who served in the Union and Confederate
Armies during the Civil War 7038
Soldiers unclassified as to States who served
during the Civil War 834
Other Soldiers (indicated in Addenda) 12
----
Total in all wars 8257
IN THE CIVIL WAR.
NUMBER OF SOLDIERS CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO STATES.
Alabama. 135
Arkansas. 53
California. 28
Connecticut. 17
District of Columbia. 3
Florida. 2
Georgia. 144
Illinois. 702
Indiana. 475
Iowa. 12
Kansas. 9
Kentucky. 22
Louisiana. 224
Maine. 1
Maryland. 7
Massachusetts. 174
Michigan. 130
Mississippi. 158
Missouri. 86
Nevada. 3
New Hampshire. 2
New Jersey. 277
New Mexico. 2
New York. 1996
North Carolina 58
Ohio. 1004
Pennsylvania. 527
Rhode Island. 4
South Carolina. 182
Tennessee. 38
Texas. 103
Vermont. 1
Virginia. 119
Washington Territory. 1
West Virginia. 7
Wisconsin. 331
Wyoming Territory. 1
----
Total. 7038
JEWISH PATRIOTISM IN CIVIL LIFE.
The foregoing lists of Jewish soldiers in the armies of the Civil War
may well be supplemented by a review of Jewish activity in civil walks
in connection with that momentous struggle. In the political movements
for the abolition of slavery there were not lacking many Jews who
took an active and at times a leading part in the moulding of public
opinion, and the fact that the influence of these men did not become
more widespread may be regarded as almost wholly due to their having
been but recent immigrants from foreign lands and therefore comparative
strangers in the communities in which they settled. Such men were
Michael Heilprin, the scholar and philanthropist whose devotion to
liberty had previously been attested by his activity as a member of
Kossuth's civil staff during the Hungarian Revolution; Dr. Edward
Morwitz, then a writer and afterwards publisher of the "Demokrat," a
German newspaper of Philadelphia, and Rev. Dr. Sabato Morais, then
and still at present the Rabbi of a Philadelphia congregation. Dr.
David Einhorn's ardent advocacy of the abolition of slavery led to
his removal from Baltimore; and in New York, Rev. Samuel M. Isaacs,
then Rabbi of a congregation of that city and editor of the "Jewish
Messenger," took an earnest part in the movement.
* * * * *
In the West, among the pioneers of the Jewish community, are to be
named in this connection Dr. James Horwitz, of Cleveland; Rabbi
Liebman Adler, then of Detroit; Henry Greenebaum, then a member of
the City Council of Chicago; Edward Salomon, afterwards County Clerk
of Cook county and subsequently Brigadier-General in the army, and
Leopold Mayer and Michael Greenebaum, likewise of Chicago. In an
article on the German pioneers of Chicago, published in a late issue
in the "Times-Herald" of that city (June 9th, 1895), are printed some
interesting reminiscences of ante-bellum times, wherein Mr. Mayer is
quoted as follows:
"The fugitive slave law set us at loggerheads with the powers
that were. It was sometime in 1853 when a United States Marshal,
on the corner of Van Buren and Sherman streets, arrested a poor
devil of a negro as a fugitive. A crowd of citizens, led by Michael
Greenebaum, liberated the prisoner and on the same evening a big
meeting was held to ratify this act. The enthusiasm in this meeting
reached its highest pitch when Long John Wentworth entered the hall
and publicly declared from the platform that he would be with us in
resisting the enforcement of the barbaric law. From that time we
slowly but steadily marched up hill. The first official call for a
German mass meeting to join the Republican party appeared in the
'Staats Zeitung' signed by George Schneider, Adolph Loeb, Julius
Rosenthal, a cigar dealer by the name of Hanson and my humble self."
Here we find four Jews among five leaders of the German population of
Chicago in a great political movement.
* * * * *
In another portion of the same article another of the old pioneers,
William Vocke, Esq., referring to the record of the 24th Illinois
regiment, is quoted as follows:
"Our regiment served three years and three months. With recruits
taken in from time to time, fully 1200 men had joined it. Only 240
of us returned. One company of this regiment consisted exclusively
of Hebrews. It was led by Captain Lasalle, who stuck it out with us
to the last."
* * * * *
Another striking incident of the forcefulness of Jewish sentiment in
the great agitation that preceded the outbreak of the war is recorded
by Rear Admiral George Henry Preble, U. S. N., in his "History of
the Flag of the United States of America," (Houghton, Mifflin & Co.,
Boston, fourth edition, 1894.) We quote as follows: (Page 406).
"On the 11th of February, 1861, Mr. Lincoln, the President-elect
of the United States, left his home in Springfield, Illinois,
for the seat of government, accompanied by a few friends. His
fellow-citizens and neighbors gathered at the railway station to
wish him God-speed. He was visibly affected by this kind attention,
and addressed the assembly of his friends in a few words,
requesting they would all pray that he might receive the Divine
assistance in the responsibilities he was about to encounter,
without which he could not succeed, but with which success was
certain. Before leaving Springfield, he received from Abraham Kohn,
city clerk of Chicago, a fine picture of the flag of the Union,
bearing an inscription in Hebrew on its folds. The verses being the
4th to 9th verses of the first chapter of Joshua, in which Joshua
was commanded to reign over a whole land, the last verse being:
'Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not
afraid, neither be thou dismayed; for the Lord, thy God, is with
thee whithersoever thou goest.'"
* * * * *
In a recent speech at Ottawa, Kansas, on June 20, 1895, (quoted in
the _Reform Advocate_, of Chicago, July 13, 1895,) Governor William
McKinley, of Ohio, referred to this incident as follows:
"What more beautiful conception than that which prompted Abraham
Kohn, of Chicago, in February, 1861, to send to Mr. Lincoln, on
the eve of his starting to Washington, to assume the office of
president, a flag of our country, bearing upon its silken folds
these words from the first chapter of Joshua: 'Have I not commanded
thee? Be strong and of good courage. Be not afraid, neither be thou
dismayed, for the Lord, thy God is with thee, whithersoever thou
goest. There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the
days of thy life. As I was with Moses so shall I be with thee. I
will not fail thee nor forsake thee.'
"Could anything have given Mr. Lincoln more cheer, or been better
calculated to sustain his courage or to strengthen his faith in the
mighty work before him? Thus commanded, thus assured, Mr. Lincoln
journeyed to the capital, where he took the oath of office and
registered in heaven an oath to save the Union. And the Lord, our
God, was with him, until every obligation of oath and duty was
sacredly kept and honored. Not any man was able to stand before
him. Liberty was the more firmly enthroned, the Union was saved,
and the flag which he carried floated in triumph and glory from
every flagstaff of the republic."
* * * * *
In reply to a letter addressed to him by the daughter of Abraham Kohn,
Mrs. Dankmar Adler (whose husband, the architect of the Auditorium
building and one of the architects of the Columbian Exposition, had
fought through the war and been wounded at Chickamauga), Major McKinley
wrote: "The incident deeply impressed me when I first learned of it,
and I have taken occasion to use it, as in my speech at Ottawa, to
which you refer.
"I am very glad to have been able to give publicity to this
striking incident, and I am sure that the family of Mr. Kohn should
feel very proud of his patriotic act."
* * * * *
The patriotism of the Jewish people in the support of the soldiers in
the field was no less positive than their participation in the fray
itself. The various bodies organized at the North for the support of
the government, such as the Sanitary Commissions, counted a full quota
of Jewish citizens among their membership everywhere.
Prominent in the West among these earnest co-workers in the cause
of the Union was the lamented Benjamin F. Peixotto, of Cleveland,
who severed the affiliations of an active political career and took
an earnest part in arousing the patriotic sentiment of the people.
He contributed largely of his means to the furtherance of the civil
movements in support of the men at the front and attained a recognized
position as a leader. When in 1872, the Jews of Roumania were subjected
to persecutions by the Government of that principality, Mr. Peixotto
was selected as Consul of the United States at Bucharest,[26] in
which capacity his services were of marked importance to the cause of
humanity and won for him the gratitude of the Jewish people at large,
as well as the confidence and support of our government. Other Jewish
patriotic leaders in the West during the war were Isidor Busch, of St.
Louis; Henry Mack, of Cincinnati; Nathan Bloom, of Louisville, and
others that ought, perhaps, to find mention here.
Notable in this connection at the East was Hon. A. S. Solomons, now the
General Agent of the Baron de Hirsch Trust in the United States. Before
the war and during its early years he was a leading Jewish citizen of
Washington and enjoyed the confidence and esteem of President Lincoln,
of Secretaries Stanton and Chase, and of many other leading spirits of
the time. His home was a centre of patriotic activity and he made heavy
sacrifices of his personal interest in behalf of the Union cause.
In the South, during the dark and trying days of the Confederacy, the
Jewish citizens of that section displayed to the full their devotion
to the cause which they held at heart. The Jewish Southerners were as
zealous in their efforts as were their neighbors all about them, and
however mistaken was their contention, they adhered to it tenaciously.
A Jew, it is said, fired the first gun against Fort Sumter, and another
Jew gave the last shelter to the fleeing President and Cabinet of the
fallen Confederacy.
Throughout the country, North and South, the earnestness of the Jewish
character found expression through an active participation by Jewish
citizens in the great movements of the time. A closer examination of
this feature of our subject would involve a detailed reference to the
leading members of the various Jewish communities throughout the land,
and carry us into fields beyond our present scope, which have already
received the careful attention of other writers.[27]
* * * * *
One specially significant example of American Jewish citizenship and
manly worth yet claims our attention. In New York, foremost in every
patriotic movement, were the brothers Joseph and Jesse Seligman. The
place that they filled in the affairs of that time and since has
become a part of our country's history. Their influence in maintaining
the financial credit of the Government during the war was of far
reaching import for the cause of the Union, and the recognition of
their services led President Grant to offer to Joseph Seligman, who
died in 1880, a place in his Cabinet as Secretary of the Treasury. The
universal esteem in which Joseph and Jesse Seligman were held, not
alone as men of affairs, but as patriots, citizens and philanthropists,
was well betokened by the expressions given to the public feeling when
Jesse Seligman died. Some of these expressions may well be cited here,
for Jesse Seligman was, _par excellence_, as perfect a type of the
American Jew as he was typically an American citizen. He died in April,
1894, and from among the innumerable tributes to his worth, we cite a
few of the expressions of some of the leading men of the metropolis,
whose stations are a guarantee of their judgment and sincerity, and
most of whom had known him through a generation of years.
Lengthy, comparatively speaking, in view of the necessary limitations
of this volume, as are these several presentations, they yet command
our full consideration by reason of their great significance.
* * * * *
Hon. Carl Schurz, on the occasion of the Memorial Services at the New
York Hebrew Orphan Asylum, Decoration Day, May 30, 1894, painted for
his audience in the following deeply thoughtful utterances a vivid
picture of a model Jew and a model man: