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South Commemorates Judah P.
Sons of the Confederacy to Erect Monument in Richmond
to Rebel Secretary of State
By WALTER HART BLUMENTHAL
Reprinted by courtesy of the American Hebrew
who were important figures in molding
,if the United States had careers so packed
me and vicissitude as the eminent dew
,is genius to the Confederacy during the
This Disraeli of the South won the
U rument Avenue, in Richmond, Va., showing statue of
il J. li. B. Stuart, famous Civil War cavalryman,
' t'Hi iround, and Robert li. Lee, of the Confederate
" < >n this avenue is also a statue of Jefferson Daxns,
's planned to rear a memorial to Judah P. Bcnja-
i / Fifty thousand dollars is to be expended.
(Courtesy Dementi Studio)
'■'teem even of his foes. Since his death there has
"•‘ii no lessening of his fame. England, where he
'|"nt the latter part of his life, called him one of
’I"* -reatest legal luminaries in the annals of her
Ifu. !• nends of freedom the world over still revere
ut-mory for his devotion to a Lost
1 ;i ■ He was a magnificent rebel!
he, like Jefferson Davis and
he oic figures of the Confed-
"Ught the disunion of our na-
1 are honored now, both North
"'i'll, because they followed the
I of their convictions. The
Judah 1\ Benjamin has grown
'hmi faded. Twenty-two years
' death appeared Pierce But-
’ hiaut biography of him in the
'ii Crisis Series. Last year in
•u inal of the American Bar
II ion was printed a lengthy
ot his achievements. The State
ida, in 1925, accepted as a gift
public-spirited citizens the Gam-
M1> i°n in which Benjamin found
until he could escape after the
h*r of Lee at Appomattox. This
- was restored and is preserved
-torical memorial to the Secre-
State of the Confederate
r ;i \
timi
and
man.
faun-
rath,
a ft 11
lor-
Aim*
the
•W.„
re>n-
of i-
t lor
hie
ret
>ui
hlii
as ;
tar
anem
ia wyer
School
.ludah
of the
in the
States. The year 1927 was ma-ked bv an
mous gift of $50,000 from a New York
as an initial sum to establish in the Yale
of Law a fund to perpetuate the name of
1 . Benjamin. A ale reveres tin* memory
>°uth who mati undated as a sophomore
class of 1829, making an excellent scholastic rec
ord. Benjamin left college prior to his gradua
tion, and began tin* study of law in a notary’s
office in New Orleans, where he was admitted to
the practice ot law in 1832, and soon became the
recognized leader of the Louisiana Bar. Indeed,
he declined appointment to the bench of the
Supreme Court of the United States.
Last November the Sons of Confederate Vet
erans adopted a resolution to erect a monument
to Judah I*. Benjamin in Richmond, Va., and
a fund of $59,991) for this purpose is now being
collected. Thus the prestige of this celebrity gains
lustre th ough the years. Though he was born
abroad and died abroad, Americans are glad to
call him one of their own. The old tragic struggle
between the Blue and the Grey now brings the
illustrious leaders of both sides into the mellow
perspective of Time.
The.e is no need here to recount his rise, nor
the extraordinary range of his talents. In the
re-ent vogue of’biographies, no American’s life
lias been limned whose span of years was fraught
with more picturesque and varied happenings.
Having been United States Senator from Louisi
ana prior to the War, Judah I*. Benjamin not
only served in turn as Attorney General, Secre
tary of War, and then as Secretary of State for
the Secessionist South, but during those critical
years he wielded an influence on the trend of
affairs that cannot, perhaps, be adequately appre
ciated. Moreover, at the end of the war, when he
fled to England in 1865, virtually penniless and
with only his prestige and ability to commend
him, he took up the study of English law at the
age of fifty-five and within seven years received
the appointment of Queen’s Counsel. During this
he wrote his celebrated treatise on the law
time
Of tin
a century
sale of personal property, which for halt
became a classic on both sides of the
„ viiminn 1-la stands at the heart of the town and ts one of
J££S2£k?T«" '«**»• H " e Judah p stcre,ar ? of ." ,e JyJL itney ’
found a hiding-place from the Federal Army, before escaping to Englatnd.
Judah l\ Benjamin whose picturesque career was one
of the amazing salients of the Civil War, and who
became the leading barrister of Britain, with peerless
oratorical gifts. He died at Baris in 1884, aged 73.
Atlantic, as ‘ Benjamin's Sales”. There was in his
nature an optimism that recognized no defeat. Anil
among the recollections of his intimates that have
come down to us it is reiterated that under every
tribulation he remained cheerful, and that his good
breeding and his superb mentality were never
eclipsed by the turn of events, however dark, lie
was affable, yet dignified; deliberate, yet dynamic.
Holding in sequence three posts in the Confederate
Cabinet he was a big enough man to be willing to
sacrifice himself for the cause he held so dear. Thus
when tin* Confederates, at a certain point, needed
powder and sent an urgent message to the War
Department for a supply, Benjamin, at a secret
Cabinet meeting, informed President Davis und his
colleagues that the powder could not be sent, for the
simple reason that there was none. The Cabinet
agreed it would be unwise to permit the true reason
to become publicly known. Benjamin suggested that
lie lx* censured for the lack of powder. This was
done, and he resigned as Secretary of War. To the
utter amazement of the public (in face of the cen
sure and resignation), Benjamin was appointed Sec-
retaiy of State. Not until 1887 did the facts liecome
generally known that to save the morale
o! the South in an awkward situation
he hud suffered himself to be a vol-
unta y scapegoat.
At Richmond, Va., the.e is a lioule-
va.d, known as Monument Avenue,
upon which memorials have been
erected to outstanding Confede ates.
Heie one notes an equestrian statue
of General .J. E. B. Stuart, the dash
ing cavalry leader. At the next inter
section, one gazes with admiration
upon the figure of the peerless Rob-
e:t E. Lee, on horseback. A little tar-
ther on, an elaborate memorial to
Fiesident Jefferson Davis deserves
more than a passing glance. Then the
visitor, after going three blocks,
reaches an equestrian statue of I homas
J. (Stonewall) Jackson. Last No
vember a magnificent memorial was
erected to Matthew Fontaine Maury,
“pathfinder of the seas” and cartog
rapher, who (Continued on page 32)