Francis Salvador
Encyclopedia
Francis Salvador was the first American
Jew
to be killed in the American Revolution
, fighting on the South Carolina
frontier
. Salvador was born in London
, where his great-grandfather, Joseph Salvador
, was a prominent businessman, and leader of the local Portuguese
-speaking Sephardic
Jewish community.
with the original settlers in 1733. When Spain attacked Georgia
in 1740, most of the Jewish families fled to Charleston, fearing the Spanish Inquisition. Jews from London began arriving in Charleston in the 1730s, and were later joined by Jews from Germany, the Netherlands and the West Indies. Francis Salvador was the only Jew to settle on the frontier. The Salvador and DaCosta families in London bought 200000 acres (809.4 km²) in the new district of Ninety-Six (known as "Jews Land"), and began to populate it. The Salvador family was financially ruined by the Lisbon earthquake of 1755
and subsequent failure of the East India Company
, retaining their land in South Carolina and little other wealth. Francis Salvador bought 7000 acres (28.3 km²), and moved there in 1773, intending to send for his wife, Sarah, and their children as soon as he was able.
in December 1773, Salvador at once entered into the American cause, and became close friends with the leaders of the Revolution in the South, including Pinckney, Rutledge, Drayton, Laurens, and Hammond. Salvador was elected to South Carolina's General Assembly within a year of arriving, the first Jew to hold that office in any of the English colonies in North America
. He was just 27, and would hold the post until his death.
Although Jews legally could neither hold office nor vote, no one objected when Salvador was elected, along with his friend and fellow planter Richard Rapley, as the two frontier representatives from Ninety-Six to the provincial congress. He was chosen for important committee assignments: drawing up the declaration of the purpose of the congress to the people; obtaining ammunition; assessing the safety of the frontier, and working on the state constitution.
In 1774, Salvador was chosen to be a delegate to the revolutionary Provincial Congress of the colony, which first met in Charleston in January 1775. The group framed a bill of rights
and composed an address to South Carolina's royal governor setting forth the colonists' complaints against the Crown
. Salvador was appointed to a commission that tried to convince the Tories
in the northern and western parts of the colony to join the American cause.
The second Provincial Congress assembled in November of 1775. Salvador was one of the champions for Independence. He urged his fellow delegates to instruct the colony's delegation to the Continental Congress to cast their vote for independence. Salvador chaired the ways and means committee of this second Congress, at the same time serving on a select committee authorized to issue bills of credit as payment to members of the militia. He was also made part of a commission established to preserve the peace in the interior parts of South Carolina
.http://www.lib.unc.edu/apop/firstfamilies/13.jpg
. Salvador was shot. Falling among the bushes, he was discovered by the Indians and scalped
. He died from his wounds, age 29.
Concerning his death, Colonel William Thomson wrote to William Henry Drayton
, in a letter dated "Camp, two miles below Keowee, August 4th, 1775", as follows: "Here, Mr. Salvador received three wounds; and, fell by my side. . . . I desired [Lieutenant Farar], to take care of Mr. Salvador; but, before he could find him in the dark, the enemy unfortunately got his scalp: which, was the only one taken. . . . He died, about half after two o'clock in the morning: forty-five minutes after he received the wounds, sensible to the last. When I came up to him, after dislodging the enemy, and speaking to him, he asked, whether I had beat the enemy? I told him yes. He said he was glad of it, and shook me by the hand – and bade me farewell – and said, he would die in a few minutes."
A patriot journal, The Rememerance, wrote: "he was universally loved and esteemed."
Salvador probably never learned that the delegation in Philadelphia had heeded his advice and voted for independence.
In 1950, to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Charleston's Jewish congregation, the City of Charleston erected a memorial to Francis Salvador, the first Jew to die for the American Revolution.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Jew
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
to be killed in the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
, fighting on the South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
frontier
Frontier
A frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a boundary. 'Frontier' was absorbed into English from French in the 15th century, with the meaning "borderland"--the region of a country that fronts on another country .The use of "frontier" to mean "a region at the...
. Salvador was born in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, where his great-grandfather, Joseph Salvador
Joseph Salvador
Joseph Salvador was a British-Jewish businessman, perhaps most notable for being the first and only Jew to have become a director of the British East India Company. He was descended from Portuguese Jews who had escaped persecution at home during the Portuguese Inquisition and had left for the...
, was a prominent businessman, and leader of the local Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
-speaking Sephardic
Sephardi Jews
Sephardi Jews is a general term referring to the descendants of the Jews who lived in the Iberian Peninsula before their expulsion in the Spanish Inquisition. It can also refer to those who use a Sephardic style of liturgy or would otherwise define themselves in terms of the Jewish customs and...
Jewish community.
Emigration to America
Francis Salvador, along with the DaCosta family of London, hoped to settle poor Jews and their own family members in the New World. They sent 42 Jews to SavannahSavannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
with the original settlers in 1733. When Spain attacked Georgia
Province of Georgia
The Province of Georgia was one of the Southern colonies in British America. It was the last of the thirteen original colonies established by Great Britain in what later became the United States...
in 1740, most of the Jewish families fled to Charleston, fearing the Spanish Inquisition. Jews from London began arriving in Charleston in the 1730s, and were later joined by Jews from Germany, the Netherlands and the West Indies. Francis Salvador was the only Jew to settle on the frontier. The Salvador and DaCosta families in London bought 200000 acres (809.4 km²) in the new district of Ninety-Six (known as "Jews Land"), and began to populate it. The Salvador family was financially ruined by the Lisbon earthquake of 1755
1755 Lisbon earthquake
The 1755 Lisbon earthquake, also known as the Great Lisbon Earthquake, was a megathrust earthquake that took place on Saturday 1 November 1755, at around 9:40 in the morning. The earthquake was followed by fires and a tsunami, which almost totally destroyed Lisbon in the Kingdom of Portugal, and...
and subsequent failure of the East India Company
East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
, retaining their land in South Carolina and little other wealth. Francis Salvador bought 7000 acres (28.3 km²), and moved there in 1773, intending to send for his wife, Sarah, and their children as soon as he was able.
Representative to Congress
After arriving in CharlestonCharleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
in December 1773, Salvador at once entered into the American cause, and became close friends with the leaders of the Revolution in the South, including Pinckney, Rutledge, Drayton, Laurens, and Hammond. Salvador was elected to South Carolina's General Assembly within a year of arriving, the first Jew to hold that office in any of the English colonies in North America
British colonization of the Americas
British colonization of the Americas began in 1607 in Jamestown, Virginia and reached its peak when colonies had been established throughout the Americas...
. He was just 27, and would hold the post until his death.
Although Jews legally could neither hold office nor vote, no one objected when Salvador was elected, along with his friend and fellow planter Richard Rapley, as the two frontier representatives from Ninety-Six to the provincial congress. He was chosen for important committee assignments: drawing up the declaration of the purpose of the congress to the people; obtaining ammunition; assessing the safety of the frontier, and working on the state constitution.
In 1774, Salvador was chosen to be a delegate to the revolutionary Provincial Congress of the colony, which first met in Charleston in January 1775. The group framed a bill of rights
Bill of rights
A bill of rights is a list of the most important rights of the citizens of a country. The purpose of these bills is to protect those rights against infringement. The term "bill of rights" originates from England, where it referred to the Bill of Rights 1689. Bills of rights may be entrenched or...
and composed an address to South Carolina's royal governor setting forth the colonists' complaints against the Crown
The Crown
The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
. Salvador was appointed to a commission that tried to convince the Tories
Tory
Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
in the northern and western parts of the colony to join the American cause.
The second Provincial Congress assembled in November of 1775. Salvador was one of the champions for Independence. He urged his fellow delegates to instruct the colony's delegation to the Continental Congress to cast their vote for independence. Salvador chaired the ways and means committee of this second Congress, at the same time serving on a select committee authorized to issue bills of credit as payment to members of the militia. He was also made part of a commission established to preserve the peace in the interior parts of South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
.http://www.lib.unc.edu/apop/firstfamilies/13.jpg
Fighting in the American Revolution
Early in 1776 the British had induced the Indians to attack the South Carolina frontier to create a diversion in favor of British operations on the sea-coast; and on July 1, 1776, the Indians began attacking frontier families. Salvador mounted his horse and galloped to Major Williamson, 28 miles (45 km) away, and gave the alarm. Salvador took part in the engagements that followed. On July 31, Major Andrew Williamson captured two white loyalists, who led his 330 men into an ambush prepared by their fellow Tories and Seneca Indians on the Keowee RiverKeowee River
The Keowee River is created by the confluence of the Toxaway River and the Whitewater River in northern Oconee County, South Carolina. The confluence is today submerged beneath the waters of Lake Jocassee, a reservoir created by Lake Jocassee Dam....
. Salvador was shot. Falling among the bushes, he was discovered by the Indians and scalped
Scalping
Scalping is the act of removing another person's scalp or a portion of their scalp, either from a dead body or from a living person. The initial purpose of scalping was to provide a trophy of battle or portable proof of a combatant's prowess in war...
. He died from his wounds, age 29.
Concerning his death, Colonel William Thomson wrote to William Henry Drayton
William Henry Drayton
Other notable men have similar names, see: William Drayton .William Henry Drayton was an American planter and lawyer from Charleston, South Carolina...
, in a letter dated "Camp, two miles below Keowee, August 4th, 1775", as follows: "Here, Mr. Salvador received three wounds; and, fell by my side. . . . I desired [Lieutenant Farar], to take care of Mr. Salvador; but, before he could find him in the dark, the enemy unfortunately got his scalp: which, was the only one taken. . . . He died, about half after two o'clock in the morning: forty-five minutes after he received the wounds, sensible to the last. When I came up to him, after dislodging the enemy, and speaking to him, he asked, whether I had beat the enemy? I told him yes. He said he was glad of it, and shook me by the hand – and bade me farewell – and said, he would die in a few minutes."
A patriot journal, The Rememerance, wrote: "he was universally loved and esteemed."
Salvador probably never learned that the delegation in Philadelphia had heeded his advice and voted for independence.
In 1950, to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Charleston's Jewish congregation, the City of Charleston erected a memorial to Francis Salvador, the first Jew to die for the American Revolution.
Born an aristocrat, he became a democrat;
An Englishman, he cast his lot with the Americans;
True to his ancient faith, he gave his life;
For new hopes of human liberty and understanding.
Sources
- Gerber, Jane S.Jane GerberJane S. Gerber is a professor of Jewish history and the director of the Institute for Sephardic Studies at City University of New York. She is also the author of many books, including Jews of Spain: A History of the Sephardic Experience, and other books. Gerber was formerly the president of the...
(1992). The Jews of Spain : a history of the Sephardic experience. New York: Free Press. ISBN 0029115736. - Gibbes, Robert Wilson (1853–1857). Documentary history of the American revolution. New York: D. Appleton & Co.
- Levitan, Tina (1952). The Firsts of American Jewish History 1492–1951. Brooklyn: The Charuth Press.
- Pencak, William (2005). Jews and Gentiles in Early America 1654–1800. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. ISBN 9780472114542.