Recovering the memories of Jewish Civil War soldiers by our own Pat Young

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Recovering the memories of Jewish Civil War soldiers
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by Patrick Young, Esq. - Blogger

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A massive research project is underway to identify Jews who fought in the American Civil War and to catalog their names and biographic information. Previously, in 1895, Simon Wolf published a listing of every Jew he could find information on who served in the Civil War. He included men on both sides and from all branches of the services. His list of soldiers, as well as some sailors, and marines ran 400 pages long. Until recently there had never been an attempt to update the list with all of the new sources that the internet has made available.

More: http://www.longislandwins.com/columns/detail/recovering_the_memories_of_jewish_civil_war_soldiers
 
Thanks for posting this CMWinkler.

This is one of two massive projects concerning Jewish history. The other is Yad Vashem's project to identify by name all six millions Jews who perished in the Holocaust.

http://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/pressroom/pressreleases/pr_details.asp?cid=657#!prettyPhoto


4 Million Victims of Holocaust Identified

Yad Vashem continues efforts to recover identities of remaining Jews murdered in the Shoah

21 December 2010

Yad Vashem has identified two-thirds of the Jews murdered in the Holocaust - 4 million names.

“In the past decade (2001-2010) we have succeeded in adding about 1.5 million victims' names to the Names Database, increasing by some 60% the information we had,” said Avner Shalev, Chairman of Yad Vashem. “The Germans sought not only to destroy the Jews, but to obliterate any memory of them. One of Yad Vashem's central missions since its foundation, the recovery of each and every victim's name and personal story, has resulted in relentless efforts to restore the names and identities of as many of the six million Jews murdered by the Nazis and their accomplices as possible. We will continue our efforts to recover the unknown names, and by harnessing technology in the service of memory, we are able to share their names with the world.”

In 2004, Yad Vashem launched the Central Database of Shoah Victims’ Names onto its website, with 3 million names. At the same time, a new 11th hour project to recover unknown names was initiated. Names are recovered via Pages of Testimony, special forms filled out in memory of the victims by people who remember them, and by combing archival lists and documentation for names. Of the 4 million names currently known, some 2.2 million (about 55%) come from Pages of Testimony and the remainder from various archival sources and postwar commemoration projects.

While in Western Europe in particular there were often lists kept of the Jews and deportation, making identification easier, in countries of Eastern Europe and the areas of the former Soviet Union, as well as Greece, much information was still lacking.

“During the last five years we have concentrated our names recovery efforts in areas where most of the names remain unknown,” said Alexander Avraham, Director of the Hall of Names at Yad Vashem. “We have made great progress. In 2005, we knew the names of some 20% of Jews murdered in Ukraine, today we know 35%; in Byelorussia the figure has risen from 23% to 37% today, Poland (1938 borders) from 35% to 46%, Hungary from 45% to 65%, and Greece from 35% to 70%.”

The indexing of the names database and the names recovery project are supported by the Victim List Project of the Swiss Banks Settlement, Hi-Tech Entrepreneur Yossie Hollander, the Claims Conference, Dayenu Ltd led by Gail & Colin Halpern and family, the Nadav Fund and the Noaber Foundation, The National Fund of the Republic of Austria for Victims of National Socialism, the American Society for Yad Vashem, the Fondation pour la Memoire de la Shoah, Wexner - The Legacy Heritage Fund, Stichting Collectieve Marorgelden Israel, Dora Zitno, Hanna Rubenstein, Edith Steinlauf, and additional supporters.

The entire Central Database of Shoah Victims’ Names is available on www.yadvashem.org in English, Hebrew and Russian. Assistance in filling out Pages of Testimony in Israel is available at: +972 2 644 3808.
 
Interesting!
My reenacting persona is Albert Sailhorst, Sgt. in Bankhead's/Scott's Battery.....I have tried to research him, but can find no census records (I have his war record, but it is scant on information).....I have often wondered if he was Jewish......
 
When I was speaking to the head researcher, I suggested that the database be searchable by place of birth, if known. This was going to simply be put in a list of characteristics, but now they say they will make it a field of its own, which will make it much easier to organize data by countries of birth. Always good to come away from an interview having made a positive contribution to the project.
 
Interesting!
My reenacting persona is Albert Sailhorst, Sgt. in Bankhead's/Scott's Battery.....I have tried to research him, but can find no census records (I have his war record, but it is scant on information).....I have often wondered if he was Jewish......
They may or may not find him. They are using multiple databases, newspapers, cemeteries, etc. But, of course, if he does not show up in them they will miss him.
 
Interesting!
My reenacting persona is Albert Sailhorst, Sgt. in Bankhead's/Scott's Battery.....I have tried to research him, but can find no census records (I have his war record, but it is scant on information).....I have often wondered if he was Jewish......

Just curious: what suggests to you that he's Jewish? I've never heard that last name before.
 
@Pat Young I have just this moment come across this in my USAT General Lyon research. Don't know if it's of any use but it's certainly a Jewish soldier of the Confederacy:

Excellent group of three Autograph Letters Signed by Gustavus Thalheimer, who served with the 3rd Virginia Infantry - Local Defenses, penned while hiding in New York after escaping the Confederacy before the fall of Richmond, and one from Richmond, includes: ALS, 3p. octavo, New York, April 6, 1865, and reads in part:

"...Thank God I arrived here safe on Sunday last. I just luckily missed the Genl. Lyon which was burned up in sight. Now how can I ever thank and love the Great & Almighty Providence for having preserved me from such a terrible & dreadful death. And also our old & good friend Mr. Goodman whose timely information induced me to change my transportation to the Genl. Sedgewick direct for this place. The first day we only got down to Fort Caswell, and the water not being high enough to pass over the bar we layr there until Thursday morning...On Friday about 10 o’c AM we spied ahead a vessel smoking very much. At first we were afraid it was a rebel privateer. We kept steadily on, and on getting near found it to be a steamer on fire, and on approaching still nearer to our great dismay it was the Genl. Lyon. Men were floating about in boats on spar pieces of wood and anything that would support a person. The stmr. was on the shoals of Cape Hatteras, and the Genl S. could not approach near enough to save any on board, but it picked up all the men it could in the boats & c. The list of saved has appeared in the N.Y. Herald, but I have heard of no women or children being saved. Now how lucky I have been and with Sarah also...I was surprised the next day to find she had a cousin here. I was taken to him found him to be a very nice man by the name of Jacob Simsheimer, and after telling him I had his cousin here he said he would come in the afternoon and take her to his house...I started to write a letter to send by Flag of Truce on Monday home but before I had finished the news came of the fall of Richmond...I am very well situated here and shall stay two or three mos. and got to the N.Y. Com. School and learn something unless ordered home by Pa sooner..."

Thalheimers (in Richmond) was founded in 1842 by Jewish German immigrant, William Thalheimer. The second generation included Gustavus and Charles, causing the store name to change to William Thalheimer and Sons. Thalheimers operated continually for 150 years.

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/5371802_the-heir-to-the-jewish-dry-goods-store-thalheimer

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This picture is supposedly he.

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Recovering the memories of Jewish Civil War soldiers
Expired Image Removed
by Patrick Young, Esq. - Blogger

Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on email Share on print More Sharing Services
Join The Immigrants’ Civil War on Facebook

A massive research project is underway to identify Jews who fought in the American Civil War and to catalog their names and biographic information. Previously, in 1895, Simon Wolf published a listing of every Jew he could find information on who served in the Civil War. He included men on both sides and from all branches of the services. His list of soldiers, as well as some sailors, and marines ran 400 pages long. Until recently there had never been an attempt to update the list with all of the new sources that the internet has made available.

More: http://www.longislandwins.com/columns/detail/recovering_the_memories_of_jewish_civil_war_soldiers


Pat:

Once this project is complete, how will the general public have access to it?
 
@Pat Young I have just this moment come across this in my USAT General Lyon research. Don't know if it's of any use but it's certainly a Jewish soldier of the Confederacy:

Excellent group of three Autograph Letters Signed by Gustavus Thalheimer, who served with the 3rd Virginia Infantry - Local Defenses, penned while hiding in New York after escaping the Confederacy before the fall of Richmond, and one from Richmond, includes: ALS, 3p. octavo, New York, April 6, 1865, and reads in part:

"...Thank God I arrived here safe on Sunday last. I just luckily missed the Genl. Lyon which was burned up in sight. Now how can I ever thank and love the Great & Almighty Providence for having preserved me from such a terrible & dreadful death. And also our old & good friend Mr. Goodman whose timely information induced me to change my transportation to the Genl. Sedgewick direct for this place. The first day we only got down to Fort Caswell, and the water not being high enough to pass over the bar we layr there until Thursday morning...On Friday about 10 o’c AM we spied ahead a vessel smoking very much. At first we were afraid it was a rebel privateer. We kept steadily on, and on getting near found it to be a steamer on fire, and on approaching still nearer to our great dismay it was the Genl. Lyon. Men were floating about in boats on spar pieces of wood and anything that would support a person. The stmr. was on the shoals of Cape Hatteras, and the Genl S. could not approach near enough to save any on board, but it picked up all the men it could in the boats & c. The list of saved has appeared in the N.Y. Herald, but I have heard of no women or children being saved. Now how lucky I have been and with Sarah also...I was surprised the next day to find she had a cousin here. I was taken to him found him to be a very nice man by the name of Jacob Simsheimer, and after telling him I had his cousin here he said he would come in the afternoon and take her to his house...I started to write a letter to send by Flag of Truce on Monday home but before I had finished the news came of the fall of Richmond...I am very well situated here and shall stay two or three mos. and got to the N.Y. Com. School and learn something unless ordered home by Pa sooner..."

Thalheimers (in Richmond) was founded in 1842 by Jewish German immigrant, William Thalheimer. The second generation included Gustavus and Charles, causing the store name to change to William Thalheimer and Sons. Thalheimers operated continually for 150 years.

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/5371802_the-heir-to-the-jewish-dry-goods-store-thalheimer

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This picture is supposedly he.

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Thanks. I'll forward this to the project in case they don't have the info.
 

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Recovering the memories of Jewish Civil War soldiers
Expired Image Removed
by Patrick Young, Esq. - Blogger

Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on email Share on print More Sharing Services
Join The Immigrants’ Civil War on Facebook

A massive research project is underway to identify Jews who fought in the American Civil War and to catalog their names and biographic information. Previously, in 1895, Simon Wolf published a listing of every Jew he could find information on who served in the Civil War. He included men on both sides and from all branches of the services. His list of soldiers, as well as some sailors, and marines ran 400 pages long. Until recently there had never been an attempt to update the list with all of the new sources that the internet has made available.

More: http://www.longislandwins.com/columns/detail/recovering_the_memories_of_jewish_civil_war_soldiers
Interesting that you show a marriage certificate of a person named Jacobs as in our small area of north florida I know two people named Jacobs, one jewish and the other a baptist.so how can they determine who was who just by a name.
 
Interesting that you show a marriage certificate of a person named Jacobs as in our small area of north florida I know two people named Jacobs, one jewish and the other a baptist.so how can they determine who was who just by a name.
They don't.

One problem with Wolf's list from 1895 is that he often relied on name profiling. For the Shapell roster, there has to be more evidence than "his name sounds Jewish." In the Jacob Jacobs case there was this affidavit in the file which refers to him as having been married by a rabbi:

jacobs affidavit.PNG
 
@Pat Young I have just this moment come across this in my USAT General Lyon research. Don't know if it's of any use but it's certainly a Jewish soldier of the Confederacy:

Excellent group of three Autograph Letters Signed by Gustavus Thalheimer, who served with the 3rd Virginia Infantry - Local Defenses, penned while hiding in New York after escaping the Confederacy before the fall of Richmond, and one from Richmond, includes: ALS, 3p. octavo, New York, April 6, 1865, and reads in part:

"...Thank God I arrived here safe on Sunday last. I just luckily missed the Genl. Lyon which was burned up in sight. Now how can I ever thank and love the Great & Almighty Providence for having preserved me from such a terrible & dreadful death. And also our old & good friend Mr. Goodman whose timely information induced me to change my transportation to the Genl. Sedgewick direct for this place. The first day we only got down to Fort Caswell, and the water not being high enough to pass over the bar we layr there until Thursday morning...On Friday about 10 o’c AM we spied ahead a vessel smoking very much. At first we were afraid it was a rebel privateer. We kept steadily on, and on getting near found it to be a steamer on fire, and on approaching still nearer to our great dismay it was the Genl. Lyon. Men were floating about in boats on spar pieces of wood and anything that would support a person. The stmr. was on the shoals of Cape Hatteras, and the Genl S. could not approach near enough to save any on board, but it picked up all the men it could in the boats & c. The list of saved has appeared in the N.Y. Herald, but I have heard of no women or children being saved. Now how lucky I have been and with Sarah also...I was surprised the next day to find she had a cousin here. I was taken to him found him to be a very nice man by the name of Jacob Simsheimer, and after telling him I had his cousin here he said he would come in the afternoon and take her to his house...I started to write a letter to send by Flag of Truce on Monday home but before I had finished the news came of the fall of Richmond...I am very well situated here and shall stay two or three mos. and got to the N.Y. Com. School and learn something unless ordered home by Pa sooner..."

Thalheimers (in Richmond) was founded in 1842 by Jewish German immigrant, William Thalheimer. The second generation included Gustavus and Charles, causing the store name to change to William Thalheimer and Sons. Thalheimers operated continually for 150 years.

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/5371802_the-heir-to-the-jewish-dry-goods-store-thalheimer

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This picture is supposedly he.

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"Gus" Thalhimer is mentioned in Robert Rosen's (very impressively researched) The Jewish Confederates on p. 164 in a letter the author quotes from Philip Rosenheim who lists several of his Jewish friends in his Richmond militia company.
 

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Because of the of varying definitions of Jewishness as a religion, ethnicity, nationality or (more strongly in the 20th century) as a culture, the whole endeavor of identifying and listing Jews is more art than science. With so many judgement calls and subjectivity involved, no two researchers will come up with identical lists. And that's putting aside the ethical issue of identifying long dead people as Jewish who, in their lifetime, threw aside their heritage, converted to Christianity, led Christian lives, and may not have wanted to be identified as Jewish.
When I spent a lot of time researching Florida's Jewish Civil War soldiers, it soon became clear that I had to develop strict guidelines about who I was going to consider Jewish for purposes of the study. I followed the lead of Anton Hieke, a German professor, who has written extensively about the mid-nineteenth century German-Jews of the South and created a massive database of Jews from the Carolinas and Georgia. Hieke stressed that it was irresponsible to go by names, professions, birthplace or any combination of those. Instead, Hieke pointed me to Jewish cemetery rolls, Jewish newspapers social items, synagogue and Jewish lodge membership lists, etc. These sources gave families as well as individuals and, then, using census rolls, it could be possible to find other Jews by tracing marriage links, house-mates, employers-employees, etc. Like Hieke, I think that it's only responsible to consider these people Jewish after establishing one of these connections. I found many individuals, about whom everything seems to scream Jewish, but for whom there was zero nexus with the anything Jewish ( I'm amazed at how many people named Levy in 19th century America cannot be identified as Jewish, and don't get me started on Myers/Meyer/Mayer or Geigers, etc.) I'm assuming that the Shapell people are also using this time consuming - and subjective- standard, and I hope they will reveal the "proof" of Jewish identity they used for each soldier. For example, I would be interested in seeing how they figured out that August Shimmel is Jewish. I think this sort of research is not very useful without that kind of information.
 
http://www.jewish-history.com/civilwar/joseph_goldsmith.html


Joseph Goldsmith, Jewish Confederate "chaplain"


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, Rev. M.J. 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 as 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 entire 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 impractible, 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."

* Seddon was apparently counting non-Jews having German names as Jewish. It has been determined that the number of Jews in the Confederate Army was only 3,000. Unless he was using intelligence reports based on estimates by Union General McClellan? L.M.B.

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 they should leave quietly and unmolested than 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, traveling 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 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.

* This was written in 1895.

From The American Jew as Patriot, Citizen and Soldier, Philadelphia: Levytype, 1895, p. 103-4.
 
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