The Jewish Confederates FROM THE PUBLISHER
In his latest study of the Civil War, Robert N. Rosen introduces readers to the community of Southern Jews of the 1860s, heretofore lost to historians and the general public. With the exception of Judah P. Benjamin, Jewish Confederates are largely unknown even to specialists of American Jewish history and Civil War history. Rosen reveals the remarkable breadth of Southern Jewryﾽs participation in the war and strength of Jewish commitment to the Confederate cause. Intrigued by the apparent irony of their story, Rosen weaves a surprisingly complex chronicle that dispels common misconceptions about the Confederacy, its leadership and soldiers, and its Jewish population.
Rosen finds that although many members of the established, prominent Jewish communities of Charleston, Richmond, and Savannah volunteered for battle, the majority of Jewish Confederates were recent immigrants. He describes the communities they established throughout the South and explains their reasons for supporting the cause of Southern independence.
This chronicle relates the experiences of officers, enlisted men, businessmen, politicians, nurses, rabbis, and doctors. He recounts the careers of such important Jewish Confederates as Judah P. Benjamin, a member of Jefferson Davisﾽs cabinet; Col. Abraham C. Myers, quartermaster general of the Confederacy; Maj. Adolph Proskauer of the 125th Alabama; Maj. Alexander Hart of the Louisiana 5th; and Phoebe Levy Pember, the matron of Richmondﾽs Chimborazo Hospital. He narrates the adventures and careers of Jewish officers and profiles the many "Jewish Johnny Rebs" who fought in infantry, cavalry, and artillery units in every major campaign.
About the Author:
Robert N. Rosen was born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina. Three of his grandparents were emigrants from the "Pale of Settlement"—Russia, Poland, and Belorus. The other grandparent was born in this country just after her parents arrived from Austria in the 1890s. Rosen attended public schools in Charleston, where his high school history teacher was the Charleston historian Solomon Breibart. He studied at the University of Virginia and at Harvard University, where he received an M.A. in history, as well as at the University of South Carolina Law School. The author of A Short History of Charleston and Confederate Charleston: An Illustrated History of the Place and the People During the Civil War, he has practiced law for twenty-six years in Charleston and is listed in The Best Lawyers in America. Rosen has served on the boards of the South Carolina Historical Society and Historic Charleston Foundation, and he chairs the Arts and History Commission of the City of Charleston.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
While prominent, largely forgotten Jewish leaders such as Confederate Secretary of State Judah Benjamin and Q.M. Gen. Abraham C. Myers are re-examined in Rosen's account of the Jewish confederacy, the real contribution of this book to Civil War scholarship is its thorough look at the contradictions and ironies implied by the title, and the capsule biographical sketches of quite a few of the 2,000 Jewish men who served in the Confederate army and navy. Looking at the total Southern Jewish population of less than 25,000--based mainly in the cities of Memphis, Nashville, Mobile and Shreveport--Rosen concludes that, contrary to the commonly held idea of "old" Jewish families being the mainstay of the contingent, the typical Jewish soldier was a recent immigrant who "enlisted to prove he was a man and a worthy citizen"--albeit a citizen sometimes subject to prejudices just as virulent as anti-black racism. In addition to tracking the exploits of many soldiers, Rosen also chronicles the trials and tribulations of Jewish civilians behind the lines and the growth of anti-Semitism as the war progressed. This groundbreaking study is liberally illustrated with photographs and maps, and is written clearly and energetically as a trade book, despite its academic stamp and thoroughness. (Oct.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
Library Journal
A native of Charleston, SC, Rosen (Confederate Charleston: An Illustrated History of the Place and the People During the Civil War) uses his own background and experience to recount the lives of Southern Jews from the 1700s until well after the Civil War. Loyal Southerners, the Jews accepted living in a slaveholding society, and their young men flocked to enlist when war came. The author delves into the lives of a number of prominent individuals and families, among them two U.S. senators, Judah Philip Benjamin of Louisiana and David Levy Yulee of Florida. The experiences of many other enlisted men, officers, nurses, politicians, rabbis, doctors, and businessmen are also chronicled. Rosen also explains why so many Jews chose the South as their home and why they remained loyal to it, arguing that Southern society and the Confederate army and navy may have been more tolerant of Jews than the North. The glossary provides definitions of Judaic terms. Larger public and academic libraries should consider this readable book, as should all libraries with strong Judaic or military collections.--David Alperstein, Queens Borough P.L., Jamaica, NY Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.\
Roy Hoffman - New York Times Book Review
Comprehensive and readerly . . . Rosen has done yeoman's work in gathering together the stories . . . [it] works best as a kind of living diorama.
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
An eye-opening, myth-shattering, stereotype-breaking work of originality, elegance, and wisdom. A must-read for Civil War buffs, Jewish history fans, and all Americans interested in learning—and you will learn much—about Jewish southerners who placed loyalty to their adopted states above the moral teachings of their tradition (at least as we now interpret them). You may not agree with these Jewish Confederates, but you will surely understand them better. — Alan M. Dershowitz
Apart from a few prominent individuals such as Judah P. Benjamin and Phoebe Yates Pember, Jewish Confederates have been virtually invisible in the massive body of published work on the Civil War. Robert N. Rosen's impressive study illuminates the world of southern Jews and their role in the Confederacy's bid for independence. It is a major contribution to Confederate studies, and to the broader literature on the Civil War. — Gary W. Gallagher
Perhaps no identifiable group of Southerners represented a greater paradox than the Jewish community spread all the way from Richmond to New Orleans. In The Jewish Confederates Robert N. Rosen opens a window on the unlikely story of a people apart, with their own religion and cultural customs, functioning within a Southern community that regarded itself as separate and distinct from other Americans. Through the lives of people as diverse as the Confederate statesman Judah Benjamin and the Louisiana teenager Clara Solomon, Rosen reveals the surprising tolerance in the South for this one minority, and the sacrifices they made to prove themselves full citizens of the supposedly xenophobic Southern republic — Willaim C. Davis
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