THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Friday, March 5, 1976 23

A Bicentennial Feature

Jews Played Significant Role in Revolutionary War Effort

Editor's Note: The fol-
lowing important article
on the American Bicenten-
nial appeared in World
Over magazine. The au-
thor,
Shirley Stern,
stated:
-

Throughout the history of
the United States, Ameri-
can Jews played an impor-
tant role in the development
of our country.
At the time of the Revolu-
tionary War, in which this
country won its independ-
ence from England, there
were about 2,500 Jews lMng
in the American colonies.
One of those who fought
for the Revolutionary cause
was Francis Salvador. In
1773; when Salvador was 26
years old, he left- England
and settled in the colony of
South Carolina. His neigh-
bors soon elected him as
their delegate to the first
South Carolina Provinicial
Congress. There he served
as financial adviser to the
Assembly and helped to
draft the State Constitu-
tion.

the War of Independence.

A hero of the Revolution-
ary War was a French-born
Jew named Benjamin
Nones. Almost as soon as
Nones arrived in Philadel-
phia, he enlisted in the Re-
volutionary Army. Nones
fought in many of the bat-
tles of the Carolina__Cam-
paign, including the sieges
of Charleston and Savan-
nah, and was cited for cour-
age and bravery and prom-
oted to the rank of major.
One of the best known
heroes of the Revolutionary
War was Haym Salomon.
Haym Salomon did not ac-
tually fight in the battles of
the War, but his role in our
victory was one of the most
important of all.
Salomon was a wealthy
man, and our country was
very young and very poor.
The new nation needed
money to pay its leaders and
soldiers. Salomon helped to
raise money to pay the sala-
ries of these men and also
loaned money to several de-
legates of the Continental
Congress, for their states
were poor and often did not
send them their expense
money on time.

country. Included in the
Congressional Record of
1850 is the statement that
Salomon was "one of the
truest and most efficient
friends of the country at a
very critical period of its
history."
As the years passed, the
Jewish community in the

United States flourished
under the American spirit
of freedom and equality.
Many Jews came from Eng-
land and Germany and set-
tled in various parts of the
country. Wherever they
went they established syn-
agogues and Jewish schools
and lived as good Jews and
loyal citizens of the United
States.
One of the outstanding
American Jewish personali-
ties of the post-Revolution-
ary War period was Judah
Touro. Touro was born in
Boston, but came to New
Orleans in 1802, at the age
of 23, without money or
prospects. He became a
merchant and prospered;
soon he was very wealthy,
When, on Aug. 1, 1776,
When
Touro • was
the Cherokee Indians, en-
wounded and almost died in
couraged by the British,
the War of 1812, he decided
attacked the frontier set-
to share his wealth with
tlements in South Caro-
those who needed it while he
The financial help of was still alive. He became a
lina, Salvador defended
his home and the homes of Salomon was of major im-
philanthropist and helped to
his neighbors with a small portance in winning the build synagogues, a home
army of 330 men. He was Revolutionary War and for orphan boys, and the
the first Jew to be killed in helping to establish our first free library in New
Orleans. He expressed his
Special Bar Mitzva at Beth Shalom
patriotism
ism by making a
large contribution to build a
Calls Attention to Soviet Jew Roitburd
monument to memorialize
Cong. Beth Shalom will trying to leave the Soviet the Battle of Bunker Hill.
symbolically honor the Bar Union since October 1972.
Touro died when he was
Since applying for an exit 79 years old, but even after
Mitzva of Alexander- Roit-
burd, son of Soviet prisoner visa, the family has been his death his good work
of conscience Lev Roitburd, subjected to persecution and continued, for he left a for-
Saturday by calling up a harassment. Roitburd was tune to hospitals, relief
, young boy to represent him. arrested while attempting organizations, syn-
The gesture is part of a to speak to a delegation of agogues, Hebrew schools,
world-wide observance to U.S. Senators and was and other worthy causes.
express solidarity with the beaten in front of his son.' - Many other Jews partici-
Soviet Jewish Roitburd fam- He is serving a two-year pated in the continuing de-
ily. The Roitburds have been sentence.
velopment of our country.
They were active in busi-
ft
ness, in politics, in the mili-
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of endeavor. A man who
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gained fame and success in
a number of different fields
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was Mordecai Manuel Noah.
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well as a loyal American
Bearing theapproval of the
of America approval
and was one of the first peo-
Orthodox Rabbinate of America
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ple to have the dream of a
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Jewish state in Israel.
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Uriah P. Levy was a Jew
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who rose to the highest rank
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in the United States Navy.
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Levy first went to sea as a
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sailing master and then a
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lieutenant in the Navy. In
• SALAMI
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the Navy he rose rapidly to
commander, captain, and
finally, commodore, the
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highest rank the Navy then
gave. He served his country
loyally and bravely from the
War of 1812, against the
British, until his death in
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--

Jews in New York, to help-
unite the Jews of America.
Many years before, the
earliest Jewish settlers in
the New World had prom-
ised that Jews would
never become community
charges.

an end to corporal punish-
ment in the Navy.

Levy was throughout his
life a dedicated and reli-
gious Jew. He would have
been proud to know that the
first permanent Jewish
chapel ever built by the
United States Armed
Forces was called the Com-
modore Levy Chapel. Today
it stands near the main gate
of the naval station in Nor-
folk, Va.
During
the
1860's
hundreds of Jewish soldiers
fought in the Civil War for
the Union cause. One of
these brave men, Sergeant
Leopold Karpeles, rallied
the men of the 57th Massa-
chusetts Volunteers around
the flag, convincing them
not to retreat. Because of
his heroism, his regiment
won the Battle of the 'Wil-
derness on May 6, 1864.
Karpeles became the first
Jewish soldier to be
awarded the Congressional
Medal of Honor.
As time went on the Jew-
ish population of the United
States grew larger. The first
large wave of immigration
came from Germany be-
tween 1820 and 1880. These
Jews came to escape the
German ghetto and the per-
secution they suffered
there. In 1820 there were
about 6,000 Jews in this
country. By 1880 there were
about 400,000.

As the new arrivals came,
that promise was being ful-
filled. Child-care agencies,
free loan societies, health
and educational services,
family welfare agencies,
and other necessary organi-
zations were developed to
bring needed services to the
Jewish immigrants from
.Germany.
A major educational in-
stitution, Hebrew Union
College, was established in
1875, by the newly-formed
Union of American Hebrew
Congregations, to train Re-
form rabbis.
The neir immigrants did
:indeed become part of the
American mainstream.

They became farmers, mer- -
chants, laborers, political
leaders, religious leaders,
professionals, artists, and
scientists.' Soon they were
Americans in every sense of
the word, and before long
they would be called upon to
serve the needs of a larger
new group of Jewish immi-
grants from Eastern Eu-
rope.

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Levy's concern for hu-
man dignity led him to
convince Congress to put

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