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בס"ד

 

Sketches From the Seat of War

by "A Jewish Soldier"
 

Beginning in November, 1861, "The Jewish Messenger" printed a remarkable series of letters, entitled "Sketches From the Seat of War", and signed only by "A Jewish Soldier". This anonymous Jewish recruit in the Army of the Potomac described basic training, the city of Washington, D.C. and its defenses, discussed the issue of Jewish chaplains in the Union Army (this is found elsewhere on this website in the Letters of Rabbi Arnold Fischel). The name and regiment of "A Jewish Soldier" are not known, but he was obviously a very intelligent, highly educated and devout young man. From his Hebrew pronunciation it is likely he was a Sephardi. On March 21, 1862, "The Jewish Messenger" reported: "Our esteemed correspondent, a "Jewish Soldier", having left Washington for the South, his "Sketches from the seat of war" are necessarily discontinued for the present, to be resumed we trust, at an early date." No more letters from "A Jewish Soldier" appeared after that.
 

"Four Hundred Thousand Men"
A Tour of Washington City
Lincoln, McClellan, and Lane
Jews in the Union Army
Military Hospitals
Alexandria, Virginia and its Jewish Population
Basic Training
The Washington Monument
The Rebels