Alexander Hart
Encyclopedia
Alexander Hart was a major
in the Confederate Army
during the American Civil War
.
A veteran of many battles, Hart is recorded to have led troops in the Confederate victories at the Second Battle of Winchester (see Winchester II Confederate order of battle
), and Second Battle of Kernstown
(which Hart noted in his journal). Hart records in his journal that his regiment also participated in pushing back Union troops at the Battle of Smithfield Crossing
. During the Battle of Strasburg
, Hart's regiment captured numerous Union troops. As quoted in his journal, Hart notes that his regiment "Captured a Lt. Col. And some dirty non-coms. Officers and men."
Sources record that Hart fought at the Battle of Monocacy
(see Monocacy Confederate order of battle
), but his journal makes no mention of this battle. Rather, Hart records travelling with his troops across Virginia
on the date of the battle.
Hart is also noted to have led his regiment at Gettysburg
(see Gettysburg Confederate order of battle
). Hart's journal mentions that he was injured in battle upon at least two occasions, first at Antietam
, and later in the war, which resulted in his capture by Union Army
forces at the Battle of Opequon
.
Simon Wolf's 1895 book entitled The American Jew as Patriot, Soldier and Citizen notes that Hart held the rank of a non-commissioned colonel during the war, prior to being commissioned as a major in 1863. The book further notes Hart's injuries being suffered at Gettysburg
and Sharpsburg
, where he also was taken prisoner.
After returning to Confederate territory as part of a prisoner exchange, Hart later was assigned to the general staff of a Montgomery, Alabama
-based General Williams.
, Virginia
, August 15, 1866, and had four children. (See the Hart family genealogy).
Two of Leonora's brothers also fought for the Confederacy, including Captain Ezekiel "Zeke" Levy and Isaac J. Levy both of the 46th Virginia Infantry
. The latter was killed in action, Sunday, August 21, 1864, just shy of his twenty-second birthday. Isaac J. Levy's tombstone contains descriptions of his valor and commitment to his faith. One such example of his adherence to the strictures of Jewish observance are contained in a letter to his sister Leonora in which he describes the observance of his last Passover
in 1864.
Captain Ezekiel Levy is mentioned in Hart's diary's April 2, 1865 entry. Hart's sister-in-law (Leonora's sister) Sarah Levy married Corporal Edwin I. Kursheedt, a soldier in the Louisiana Washington Artillery battalion
.
Numerous Jewish soldiers are listed as having fought under Hart's command in The American Jew as Patriot, Soldier and Citizen. Amongst the Jewish officers that fought in the Louisiana Fifth were Lieutenant L.S. Lipman, who died in battle May 9, 1863, and is buried in the Cemetery for Hebrew Confederate Soldiers in Richmond, Virginia
, and Captain David Cohen Labatt. About Labatt, the book notes that "...in consequence of severe illness, contracted in the service, resulting in chronic asthma, Captain Labat was compelled to resign his commission, J. Bankhead Magruder
, the General commanding, endorsed the Captain's letter of resignation with the words: 'Captain Labat's resignation is a loss to the public service.'"
It is probable that while in New Orleans, Hart worshiped at the Shangarai Chasset
(Gates of Mercy) congregation. (Parenthetcally, in 1873 this congregation merged with another New Orleans Jewish congregation to form the present-day New Orleans Touro Synagogue
.) In his journal, while leaving Richmond by train on April 2, 1865, Hart mentions that "Be. Florance was...there." A Benjamin Florance (as well as an Isaac Hart, likely his father) are listed among the founding trustees of that New Orleans synagogue in the December 1843 issue of the Occident and American Jewish Advocate.http://www.theoccident.com/Occident/volume1/dec1843/elections_december_1843.html
Hart briefly writes in his journal about his observance of the Passover
holiday during 1865 en route to serve General Williams.
Hart settled after the war in Staunton, Virginia
, where continuing in the family's commitment to Jewish community, in 1876 he organized and became the founding president of the Temple House of Israel synagogue
http://www.thoi.org, a position he held for eighteen years. The edifice which housed Hart's original congregation still stands in central Staunton.
As the Jewish community in nearby Harrisonburg, Virginia
, became more organized and established a Sunday school for the young, Hart provided guidance. John Wayland, in his History of Rockingham County (c. 1912) writes that in 1890 "Major Hart of Staunton..." confirmed the first class in the congregation's "...new place of worship."
Robert Rosen, in The Jewish Confederates, notes that after living in Staunton, Hart moved to Norfolk, Virginia
. He was active in the Confederate War Veterans, serving as a commander in the Pickett-Buchananan Camp in Norfolk. Hart was reported to have led services in the Ohef Sholom Temple http://www.ohefsholom.org when the rabbi was absent. Hart died in ten days shy of his seventy-second birthday, and was buried in Norfolk. His tombstone reads "Major Alexander Hart, 5th La. Inf. C.S.A."
Major (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, major is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel...
in the Confederate Army
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
Military career
Hart hailed from New Orleans and commanded soldiers from the Fifth Louisiana Regiment during the war.A veteran of many battles, Hart is recorded to have led troops in the Confederate victories at the Second Battle of Winchester (see Winchester II Confederate order of battle
Winchester II Confederate order of battle
The following Confederate States Army units and commanders fought in the Second Battle of Winchester. The Union order of battle is listed separately.-Military rank abbreviations:* LG = Lieutenant General* BG = Brigadier General* Col = Colonel...
), and Second Battle of Kernstown
Battle of Kernstown II
-References:* Patchan, Scott C. Shenandoah Summer: The 1864 Valley Campaign. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2007. ISBN 978-0-8032-3754-4.-External links:* for July 24, 1864, of Major Alexander Hart of the 5th Louisiana Regiment.*...
(which Hart noted in his journal). Hart records in his journal that his regiment also participated in pushing back Union troops at the Battle of Smithfield Crossing
Battle of Smithfield Crossing
The Battle of Smithfield Crossing was a small battle during the American Civil War fought August 25 through August 29, 1864, in Jefferson and Berkeley counties in West Virginia....
. During the Battle of Strasburg
Battle of Strasburg
The Battle of Strasburg was a relatively minor engagement in the American Civil War when a small Union force of New Jersey infantry delayed three Confederate divisions from the army of Jubal A. Early at Strasburg, Virginia....
, Hart's regiment captured numerous Union troops. As quoted in his journal, Hart notes that his regiment "Captured a Lt. Col. And some dirty non-coms. Officers and men."
Sources record that Hart fought at the Battle of Monocacy
Battle of Monocacy
The Battle of Monocacy was fought on July 9, 1864, just outside Frederick, Maryland, as part of the Valley Campaigns of 1864, in the American Civil War. Confederate forces under Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early defeated Union forces under Maj. Gen. Lew Wallace...
(see Monocacy Confederate order of battle
Monocacy Confederate order of battle
The following Confederate States Army units and commanders fought in the Battle of Monocacy of the American Civil War in Frederick County, Maryland on July 9, 1864...
), but his journal makes no mention of this battle. Rather, Hart records travelling with his troops across Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
on the date of the battle.
Hart is also noted to have led his regiment at Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
(see Gettysburg Confederate order of battle
Gettysburg Confederate order of battle
The following units and commanders fought in the Battle of Gettysburg on the Confederate side. The Gettysburg Union order of battle is shown separately...
). Hart's journal mentions that he was injured in battle upon at least two occasions, first at Antietam
Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam , fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern soil. It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with about 23,000...
, and later in the war, which resulted in his capture by Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
forces at the Battle of Opequon
Battle of Opequon
The Battle of Opequon, more commonly known as the Third Battle of Winchester, was fought in Winchester, Virginia, on September 19, 1864, during the Valley Campaigns of 1864 in the American Civil War....
.
Simon Wolf's 1895 book entitled The American Jew as Patriot, Soldier and Citizen notes that Hart held the rank of a non-commissioned colonel during the war, prior to being commissioned as a major in 1863. The book further notes Hart's injuries being suffered at Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
and Sharpsburg
Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam , fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern soil. It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with about 23,000...
, where he also was taken prisoner.
After returning to Confederate territory as part of a prisoner exchange, Hart later was assigned to the general staff of a Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
-based General Williams.
Religious/Personal life
Hart, born in New Orleans, was the oldest of twelve children to Isaac and Julia Hart. He married his fiancee Leonora Levy, (noted in his journal entry dated November 30, 1864 as "Leonna") in RichmondRichmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, August 15, 1866, and had four children. (See the Hart family genealogy).
Two of Leonora's brothers also fought for the Confederacy, including Captain Ezekiel "Zeke" Levy and Isaac J. Levy both of the 46th Virginia Infantry
46th Virginia Infantry
The 46th Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment raised in Virginia for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War...
. The latter was killed in action, Sunday, August 21, 1864, just shy of his twenty-second birthday. Isaac J. Levy's tombstone contains descriptions of his valor and commitment to his faith. One such example of his adherence to the strictures of Jewish observance are contained in a letter to his sister Leonora in which he describes the observance of his last Passover
Passover
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
in 1864.
Captain Ezekiel Levy is mentioned in Hart's diary's April 2, 1865 entry. Hart's sister-in-law (Leonora's sister) Sarah Levy married Corporal Edwin I. Kursheedt, a soldier in the Louisiana Washington Artillery battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
.
Numerous Jewish soldiers are listed as having fought under Hart's command in The American Jew as Patriot, Soldier and Citizen. Amongst the Jewish officers that fought in the Louisiana Fifth were Lieutenant L.S. Lipman, who died in battle May 9, 1863, and is buried in the Cemetery for Hebrew Confederate Soldiers in Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, and Captain David Cohen Labatt. About Labatt, the book notes that "...in consequence of severe illness, contracted in the service, resulting in chronic asthma, Captain Labat was compelled to resign his commission, J. Bankhead Magruder
John B. Magruder
John Bankhead Magruder was a career military officer who served in the armies of three nations. He was a U.S. Army officer in the Mexican-American War, a Confederate general during the American Civil War, and a postbellum general in the Imperial Mexican Army...
, the General commanding, endorsed the Captain's letter of resignation with the words: 'Captain Labat's resignation is a loss to the public service.'"
It is probable that while in New Orleans, Hart worshiped at the Shangarai Chasset
Shangarai Chasset
Shangarai Chasset was a nineteenth century New Orleans Orthodox synagogue. The synagogue was located on Rampart Street between St. Louis and Conti Streets ....
(Gates of Mercy) congregation. (Parenthetcally, in 1873 this congregation merged with another New Orleans Jewish congregation to form the present-day New Orleans Touro Synagogue
Touro Synagogue (New Orleans)
Touro Synagogue is the name of a Reform synagogue in New Orleans, Louisiana, named after Judah Touro, Isaac Touro's son.The New Orleans Touro Synagogue is one of the oldest in the United States...
.) In his journal, while leaving Richmond by train on April 2, 1865, Hart mentions that "Be. Florance was...there." A Benjamin Florance (as well as an Isaac Hart, likely his father) are listed among the founding trustees of that New Orleans synagogue in the December 1843 issue of the Occident and American Jewish Advocate.http://www.theoccident.com/Occident/volume1/dec1843/elections_december_1843.html
Hart briefly writes in his journal about his observance of the Passover
Passover
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
holiday during 1865 en route to serve General Williams.
Hart settled after the war in Staunton, Virginia
Staunton, Virginia
Staunton is an independent city within the confines of Augusta County in the commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 23,746 as of 2010. It is the county seat of Augusta County....
, where continuing in the family's commitment to Jewish community, in 1876 he organized and became the founding president of the Temple House of Israel synagogue
Temple House of Israel (Staunton, Virginia)
Temple House of Israel is a Jewish congregation in Staunton, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1876 by Major Alexander Hart, it originally held services in members' homes, then moved to a building on Kalorama street in 1885, the year it joined the Union for Reform Judaism.In 1925 the congregation...
http://www.thoi.org, a position he held for eighteen years. The edifice which housed Hart's original congregation still stands in central Staunton.
As the Jewish community in nearby Harrisonburg, Virginia
Harrisonburg, Virginia
Harrisonburg is an independent city in the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia in the United States. Its population as of 2010 is 48,914, and at the 2000 census, 40,468. Harrisonburg is the county seat of Rockingham County and the core city of the Harrisonburg, Virginia Metropolitan Statistical...
, became more organized and established a Sunday school for the young, Hart provided guidance. John Wayland, in his History of Rockingham County (c. 1912) writes that in 1890 "Major Hart of Staunton..." confirmed the first class in the congregation's "...new place of worship."
Robert Rosen, in The Jewish Confederates, notes that after living in Staunton, Hart moved to Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
. He was active in the Confederate War Veterans, serving as a commander in the Pickett-Buchananan Camp in Norfolk. Hart was reported to have led services in the Ohef Sholom Temple http://www.ohefsholom.org when the rabbi was absent. Hart died in ten days shy of his seventy-second birthday, and was buried in Norfolk. His tombstone reads "Major Alexander Hart, 5th La. Inf. C.S.A."