Jewish Virginians in the Richmond Light Infantry Blues

The Richmond Light Infantry Blues was Virginia’s oldest and most prestigious military company. At the outbreak of the Civil War, it elected Obadiah Jennings Wise (1831-1862), eldest son of former Virginia governor Henry A. Wise, as its captain. Among its other captains during that war was Ezekiel “Zeke” J. Levy, who enlisted as a fourth sergeant and rose through the ranks. He was the most prominent but certainly not the only Jewish Virginian to serve in this storied unit.

Virginia’s capitol moved to Richmond in 1779 during the American Revolutionary War. Shortly after the war ended, William Richardson formed the “Richmond Light Infantry” in 1789, but its red uniforms were unpopular due to their association with British infantry. They switched to blue uniforms with white trim in 1793 and became known as “the Blues”.

Around the same time, the 1786 Virginia Act for Establishing Religious Freedom opened the door to Jewish immigration into the state. Prior to this, merchants Jacob Cohen and Isaiah Isaacs are believed to be the first Jewish residents of Richmond. After 1786, the city’s Jewish population grew until on the eve of the American Civil War, there were three Orthodox congregations.

A more tolerant attitude toward Jews prevailed in the antebellum South, though some prejudice and discrimination still occurred. South Carolina’s colonial charter guaranteed religious freedom and allowed Jews to own property, so a large population of Jews settled in Charleston, South Carolina. Most famously, Judah P. Benjamin (1811-1884) was the first Jewish person to hold a Cabinet position in North America when he became Jefferson Davis’ Secretary of War in September 1861.

Most Jewish residents of Richmond belonged to upper middle class families and a majority owned slaves, mainly as house servants. According to the Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities, over one hundred Richmond Jews fought for the Confederacy in the Richmond Grays, Light Infantry Blues, and other units. There were two companies of Richmond Grays–both served in the 1st Virginia Infantry Regiment. The Light Infantry Blues was originally in the 1st VA, but requested to join Henry A. Wise’s command in western Virginia in early June 1861.

The Richmond Light Infantry Blues were sworn into Confederate service on June 17, 1861 with just 70 men, after a third of its original number were discharged due to old age, disability, or transfers. Fifteen of its original number were Jewish. Isaac J. Levy, brother of Ezekiel Levy, enlisted as a private and served until his death in the trenches around Petersburg in 1864. Others included Henry Adler, Bernard Goldstein, Abraham Isaacs, Thomas W. Lyon, William Lovenstein, Joseph Levy, Lewis Myers, Calvin Myers, Hugo Plant, Henry Rosenheim, Jacob Semon, Joseph Schoenthal, Jacob Son, and Levi Wasserman.

The Blues joined Henry A. Wise in the Kanawha Valley and became part of the Wise Legion, serving as its most active company. Though the Blues engaged in several reconnaissances in western Virginia, they never saw action until being transferred to the North Carolina coast. Levi Wasserman fired their first shot during the Battle of Roanoke Island, February 7–8, 1862, which turned into a disaster when Capt. O. Jennings Wise was killed and half the company captured.

According to Robert N. Rosen, author of The Jewish Confederates (2000), the Levy brothers attempted to keep kosher and observe their religious traditions during the war, which “did not affect Levy’s standing with the men of his company.” Ezekiel Levy (1833-1908) commanded the Blues as a lieutenant at various times and was finally promoted to captain in November 1864.

The Soldiers’ Section of Richmond’s Hebrew Cemetery, at N 4th and Hospital Streets, is the only Jewish military cemetery in the United States and contains the graves of 30 Jewish Confederate soldiers. Ezekiel and Isaac Levy are buried in Hebrew Cemetery, but not in the Soldiers’ Section.

The Richmond Light Infantry Blues, and its descendant, the 1st Battalion, 183rd Infantry Regiment, was active for 207 years, until the 1-183rd was finally deactivated in 1996.

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Sources

Collins, Darrell L. 46th Virginia Infantry. Lynchburg: H.E. Howard, Inc., 1992.

Cutchins, John A. A Famous Command: The Richmond Light Infantry Blues. Richmond: Garrett & Massie Publishers, 1954.

Rosen, Robert N. The Jewish Confederates. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2000.