Adam D. Mendelsohn's Jewish Soldiers in the Civil War: The Union Army is an excellent addition to the discourse of Jewish American's contributions to the nation. Based on extensive research and the materials in the Shapell Civil War Database, Mendelsohn details Jewish enlistees "experience in the Union army from mustering in, to life in camp and in the field, reenlistment, demobilization and return home, as well as how they... recalled the conflict after 1865." (Pg 17).

While prior publications, particularly Simon Wolf's The American Jew As Patriot, Soldier and Citizen have been focused on the question of how many Jews served, Mendelsohn is instead focused on the individual experience. This is due to the evidence available, that lacking any Jewish majority units, there was no "one" Jewish experience of serving in the Union Army, instead each enlistee's service was their own, some maintained their faith, while others sought to minimize, change their names, or simple blend in with their units. Of particular interest was the discussion of food ways, balancing the Kosher laws against the pork heavy supply chain.

Jewish Soldiers in the Civil War is divided into 6 chapters, with 6 appendices. Each chapter focuses on a specific aspect of military service. From first joining the army, through training, combat or other service, concluding with the legacy and memory of the war. Throughout this textual narrative, there is extensive quoting from primary sources and inset pages including reproductions of letters, photos and other artifacts. We frequently read the words of the soldiers, their family's or their communities. One especially entertaining entry details a Passover seder, but Mendelsohn is thorough also detailing the antisemitism in American society, as demonstrated in the description or language used for those supplying the Union army. The appendices detail the creation and methodological underpinning of the Shapell roster as well as lists of veterans and numerical statistics such as country of birth for enlistees.

A definite must read for those exploring Jewish American history, but will appeal to readers of minority studies, the Civil War or history.

This ARC was provided by NetGalley and NYU Press in exchange for an honest review.

After discovering that Jewish Soldiers in the Civil War: The Union Army by Adam D. Mendelsohn was available, I had to read this book. When I first received the copy and inspected it, I knew that with fifty pages of chapter endnotes (plus his position as Associate Professor of History at the University of Cape Town) that Mendelsohn’s research would be impeccable. Later, I would find out that my presumption was correct.

Although I’m not a military historian, I absolutely love history. I was impressed not only by the author’s research and fluid, easy-to-read writing, but also by the massive support he received from the Shapell Manuscript Collection Foundation. In particular, the Director of The Shapell Roster of Jewish Service in the American Civil War, Adrienne DeArmas, wrote the forward to this book. The author wrote this book after working with the Shapell Manuscript Collection Foundation. The Foundation and Mendelsohn worked (and continue to work) to reconstruct the names of all Jewish Civil War veterans.

In addition to his introductory chapter, the author arranged the manuscript using six (6) chapters and provided a total of six (6) appendixes. Interspersed throughout each chapter were photographs of people, letters, and other archival material which not only provided additional information, but also gave readers’ eyes a break from the pages. The appendixes were particularly useful as they contained information regarding the origins of the Shapell Roster, the methodology used to construct it, a listing of all Jewish Medal of Honor recipients, and even statistical data, among other items.

The usefulness of these appendixes can’t be overemphasized. Earlier in the year, I read Appelbaum’s Habsburg Sons: Jews in the Austro-Hungarian Army, 1788-1918 (2021). And while I enjoyed the book and learned from it, that author didn’t include any appendixes, which, unfortunately, limits the book to readers whose primary interest is in only history. Mendelsohn’s book, on the other hand, will likely appeal to people who, while interested in history, are also interested in family genealogy.

In both the Statistics appendix and the Hebrew Union Veterans Association appendix, the author lists names, ranks, regiment names, and some biographical information for veterans, ensuring that this book can easily command a space in any genealogist’s personal library or, indeed, on any library shelf.

Spurred on by an 1895 publication that listed the names of Jewish veterans of the Union Army during the Civil War, the author walks us through the whys and hows of Jewish enlistment in the war. During the Civil War, at least one in four enlisted men were immigrants. And like other immigrants who were exposed to discrimination, native and immigrant Jews also experience the prevailing racism. However, because antisemitism traveled (and continues to travel) across borders, many immigrants themselves were virulently antisemitic. Through Mendelsohn’s research, I learned that more than 10% of Jewish enlisted men changed their names outright using aliases or used an Americanized version of the same in order to combat nativism.

However, the most startling fact that I learned from this book was about General Grant’s General Order No. 11 that was instituted in 1862. General Order No. 11 expelled Jews from the military department under his control. This was no small matter, as Grant had several states under his jurisdiction. But Mendelsohn states that,

“…Their European experiences…provided Jews with better practice at living with prejudice than the Germans and the Irish had…” (Pg. 105)

Mendelsohn shows readers how Jewish collective memory suppressed Jewish Civil War achievements for almost thirty (30) years after the war ended. He also explained how this suppression was linked not to any feelings of lack of pride in the Jewish soldiers, but instead focused on healing fractured relationships among Union and Confederate Jewry. In addition, Mendelsohn revealed that by ‘sweeping the war under the rug’, the Jewish community hoped to avoid further antisemitic outbursts from the public, with the author calling the persistent antisemitism of the era an, “…unstable grenade…”

The one part of the book, however, that I really appreciated were the chapters where Mendelsohn focused on the human aspects of the war. At the time, there were numerous German-only and Irish-only regiments in the Union Army. However, with a smaller population, many Jewish recruits either chose to serve either alongside their relatives or by enlisting as ‘lone soldiers’ in a local company. As a result, it wasn’t unusual for there to be only a single Jew in an entire regiment. The result of this isolation being loneliness and the potential for antisemitic bullying, which often occurred.

Mendelsohn did not paint an ‘everything is rosy’ portrait. He objectively discussed the subject from a neutral standpoint, even pointing out the less-than-illustrious personages of the time. The author dispelled myth and corrected the inaccuracies of the 1895 publication to show that Jewish soldiers were,

“…mortal men in momentous times, grappling with the complexities of being Jews in the Union army…” (Pg. 224).

This was an excellent book. If you know someone who’s interested in Civil War history, history in general, or in the contribution of Jews to American history, then this would be a perfect gift.

A look at yet another untold part of US History. Jewish Soldiers in the Civil War. What didn't I learn about this in my high school history class when we studied the Civil War. Oh I know we as a country have a habit of erasing Jews from history.