LITMIR.BIZ

Скачать книгу

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."

      "Galveston, Texas, May 17, 1894.

      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.

      

      "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.

      Yours sincerely,

       T. N. Waul."

      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 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 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. 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

Скачать книгу