November 21: “The Brains of the Confederacy”

Judah P. Benjamin was appointed Secretary of War of the Confederacy on this date in 1861. Benjamin was a plantation owner, slaveholder and attorney who had served as U.S. senator from Louisiana (the second Jewish senator in history) and had twice declined appointment to the Supreme Court. Republican Senator Benjamin Wade referred to him as an “Israelite with Egyptian principles” because of Benjamin’s frequent defenses of slavery on the Senate floor. As the Civil War began, Benjamin served as Attorney General under President Jefferson Davis (whom Benjamin had once challenged to a duel before the two men became fast friends). As Secretary of War, Benjamin withheld reinforcements during the Battle of Roanoke Island, resulting in a large Confederate surrender; Congressional censure followed, which Benjamin accepted without protest rather than reveal the Confederacy’s dire shortage of manpower. He next became Secretary of State for the duration of the war and sought to win Great Britain’s support for the Confederate cause while advocating for freeing any slaves who were willing to fight in the Confederate army. After Robert E. Lee’s surrender in 1865, Benjamin fled with Jefferson Davis and the rest of the cabinet and made his way to England, where he became a barrister. He was widely suspected of helping to mastermind the assassination of Abraham Lincoln (on Good Friday, 1865; Judah Benjamin was cast as Judas), but historical investigations have given no credibility to the charge.

“Mr. Benjamin had impressed me with the lucidity of his intellect, his systematic habits, and his capacity for labor. But to these qualities must be added indomitable faith in the future and a courage which no reverses could dampen.” —Jefferson Davis