Chapter IV: Part I: , for 1776, London, 1776, pp. 100-6. (The narrative is somewhat (2)

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.

"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.)

"Amos and Judah, venerated names,
Patriarch and Prophet press their equal claims,
Like generous coursers running 'neck and neck,'
Each aids the work by giving it a _check_.
Christian and Jew, they carry out one plan,
For though of different faiths each is in heart a MAN."

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:

CONGRESS SHALL MAKE NO LAW RESPECTING AN ESTABLISHMENT OF RELIGION
OR PROHIBITING THE FREE EXERCISE THEREOF.

An eminent and thoughtful foreigner, a statesman of world-wide fame, passing through Fairmount Park, earnestly gazed 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]

FOOTNOTES:

[23] The statue of Religious Liberty was erected by the Independent Order of B'nai B'rith, pursuant to the resolution to that effect, adopted by the General Convention of the Order at Chicago in 1874. Of that Convention Hon. Simon Wolf was President, and the adoption of the measure by the Convention, as well as the eventual success of the undertaking through the active support of the various lodges, were due mainly to Mr. Wolf's indefatigable efforts.--_Ed._

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 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_].

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

FOOTNOTES:

[24] Replies to inquiries of Colonel W. G. Worthington, quoted by the latter in his advocacy of the enfranchisement of the Jews of Maryland. ("_Speeches on the Jew Bill in the House of Delegates of Maryland," by H. M. Brackenridge, Philadelphia, 1829_).

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.

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.

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 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.

ISAAC RICE, 10th Infantry.

D. S. ROEDELSHEIMER.

E. ROSE, 10th Infantry.

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

DAVID ROSENHEIM, 1st Infantry.

JOHN ROSENTHAL, Ordnance Corps.

NATHAN SCHOENFARBER, 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.

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.

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.

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).

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."

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.

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.

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 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 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 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.

A REMARKABLE EPISODE.

EXTRACT FROM "RECOLLECTIONS OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN AND HIS ADMINISTRATION," BY L. E. CHITTENDEN, HIS REGISTER OF THE TREASURY.

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