NOVEMBER 23 • 2023 | 73
J
N

nearly unbelievable 
group and individual 
bravery.
But Jewish Civil 
War soldiers faced 
antisemitic tropes, or 
as the author blunt-
ly states: “ignorant, 
baseless stereotypes” 
that other soldiers did 
not encounter. Such 
antisemitic sentiments 
were stronger amongst 
Americans on the 
home front, manifest-
ing in such conclusions 
that Jews would not 
fight or that Jews were 
profiting from the war 
while not enlisting. While 
in camp, there were inci-
dents of antisemitic remarks 
and sometimes abusive acts 
against Jewish soldiers. It was 
also hard to celebrate Jewish 
holidays and Shabbat; Jewish 
chaplains were rare, indeed.
Jews who did join the 
Union Army rarely served 
alongside other Jews. A 
regiment, the basic organi-
zational unit of armies of the 
era, rarely had more than one 
or two Jews in the ranks, or 
even rarer, a larger group of 
Jewish soldiers. 
In some ways, whether a 
soldier was Jewish or not was 
not an issue. When a battle 
began, all that mattered was 
one’s conduct under fire, not 
one’s heritage. 

WELL-RESEARCHED
Mendelsohn does a superb 
job of discussing the various 
nuances of soldiering in the 
Union Army as Jews. He does 
so through extensive empir-
ical research, especially into 
the resources of the Shapell 
Manuscript Foundation. 
Indeed, Mendelsohn is one of 
the first to explore the Shapell 
Roster, a massive collection 

of thousands of letters, diaries 
and other documents specif-
ically from Jewish Civil War 
soldiers. This research allows 
the author to present numer-
ous stories of individual Jewish 
soldiers. He also includes some 
letters and illustrations in the 
book, which makes the work 
a cut above the usual scholarly 
treatment. These sidebars, so 
to speak, ranging from stories 
about Mark Twain to Rabbi 
Morris J. Raphall, are not only 
pertinent, but also provide 
great insight into the main 
narrative.
Most of all, Mendelsohn 
writes about people, Jews who 
were soldiers, along with their 
families and communities. 
If a reader is looking for a 
Civil War battlefield tactical 
narrative, then this book will 
fall short. It is not about the 
battles of the war. It is focused 
on the lives of Jewish soldiers 
themselves in the Civil War — 
as Jews and Americans. 
I highly recommend this 
outstanding work of history: It 
is insightful and well-written. 
General readers of history will 
find it informative and read-
able. Civil War history buffs 
will love it. 

Adam 
Mendelsohn

Advance America

ALDI 

Bling Bling

Book Beat

Church’s Chicken/White Castle 

Conservative Cuts

Dollar Castle 

DTLR

J Anthony

Kroger

Lee Beauty Supply

McDonalds

Medical Weight Loss 

Metro PCS 

Metropolitan Dry Cleaners

Mookey’s Beans & Greens 

Original Bread Basket

Rainbow

Street Corner Music 

Step In Style

Suit Depot 

T Nails

Top That

Lincoln Shopping Center

Greenfield and 10½ Mile

Lincoln 
Shopping Center

