Were you aware that 10,000 Jews fought in the Civil War? The 7,000 who fought for the Union and 3,000 for the Confederacy represented the highest percentage of any ethnic group in the United States at the time.
The approximately 50 people attending the Lunch and Learn session at Congregation Ohr Torah in Edison on February 26 learned this information and more from Jonathan Gruber’s film “Jewish Soldiers in Blue & Gray.”
Attendees heard more about Jewish involvement in the Civil War than they had learned in their lifetime of formal education—from the infamous edict by General Ulysses S. Grant expelling Jews from Union-occupied cities, to the bravery exhibited by Jewish soldiers and officers, to celebrations of Jewish festivals and holidays on the battlefield, and the reasons Jewish soldiers fought.
President Abraham Lincoln quickly quashed Grant’s edict, and Jewish troops generally were valued on the battlefield, where many received medals of honor. Jews fought in the war for a variety of reasons—whether to support the way of life of the city/state that welcomed them and allowed them to freely practice their faith or because they used the Torah to justify or denigrate the existence of slavery. Following the war, rumors of lack of Jewish participation spurred antisemitism; only published lists of those who served quashed the untruths.
The event organizer, Aliyana Wasserman of Edison, searches various web and social media outlets to find topics that the audience would find interesting at regularly scheduled sessions. In this case, the film filled a gap in the history of American Jewry.
Highland Park’s David Blain said the session was “all new to me. I didn’t know the history, that Jews fought for the Confederacy, and that there were rabbis who supported both sides.
Definitely eye-opening.” Sue Kheel, also of Highland Park, was “pleased with the balance of viewpoints expressed. It must have been difficult to film in a way that neither the Union nor Confederate narrative was emphasized. It was extremely well done.” Edison’s Janet Rivenson said, “I never realized Jews played such a significant role in the Civil War.”
