Jewish Soldiers in the Civil War: The Union Army with Adam Mendelsohn

Hello all!

I am very happy to welcome Dr. Adam D. Mendelsohn to The Rogue Historian Podcast. Adam is a professor of history and the director of the Kaplan Centre for Jewish Studies at Cape Town University. Today we’re speaking primarily about his most recent publication, Jewish Soldiers in the Civil War: The Union Army.

I absolutely loved this book and have assigned part of it to my own students.

We discuss historiography, of course (my fav) and get down to business with the book - noting Jewish attitudes toward the twin causes of preservation of Union and emancipation, the unique experience of being a Jew in the 19th-century military, the Shapell Roster (a valuable digital resource for researching Jewish soldiers), and of course, antisemitism in the army.

Have a listen…

Adam is currently working on the companion piece covering Jewish soldiers who served in the Confederacy, and he has promised to give me the first interview when it comes out in a year or so (YAY!). In the meantime, make sure to grab a copy of the book and let me know what you think.

You can also listen (and watch!!) on YouTube…and please be sure to subscribe to the channel while you’re there.

Please be sure to follow the show on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or wherever you listen to such things. There’s lots more on deck and I am certain you are going to dig it!

With compliments,

Keith