Cesar J. Kaskel (1833 – ?) was a Prussian-born Southern Unionist during the American Civil War.[1][2]
Cesar J. Kaskel | |
|---|---|
 Kaskel's signed oath of allegiance, submitted with a passport application in 1862 | |
| Born | 1833 |
| Died | Unknown |
| Nationality | Prussia until 1858 United States after 1858 |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Years active | 1861–1865 |
| Known for | Victim of General Order No. 11 (1862) and successful lobbying to reprimand the order |
Kaskel was a staunch supporter of the Union, serving as vice-president of the unionist Paducah Union League Club.[1] Despite his outspoken loyalty to the United States, Kaskel and thirty Jewish families were forcibly expelled from Paducah, Kentucky in 1862 under General Order No. 11.[3][4][5]
Deported from Paducah, Kaskel embarked on a press campaign against the order.[6] Described as a "Paul Revere-like ride to Washington" by historian Jonathan Sarna,[3] the deportation was widely condemned.[7] Kaskel successfully met with President Abraham Lincoln to protest the order, which Lincoln reprimanded on January 4, 1863.
Civil War
editArriving in Kentucky
editKaskel immigrated to Paducah, Kentucky, in 1858. Kaskel opened a business in partnership with one Solomon Greenbaum, which struggled due to the Union blockade of Southern industry throughout the war.[1] Despite his floundering business, Kaskel sided with the Union, and his brother Julius served in the Union Army.[1]
General Order No. 11
editEnraged by wartime cotton smuggling,[8] Major-General Ulysses S. Grant scapegoated Jewish merchants for the cotton black market.[1] Grant ordered the mass deportation of Jews on December 17, 1862, from the Department of Tennessee, which included Paducah.[9][10][4]
Captain L. J. Waddell sent Kaskel personal notice of Grant's orders and demanded Kaskel leave the city.[1][11]
OFFICE OF PROVOST MARSHAL
Paducah, Ky., December 28, 1862
C.J. Kaskel— Sir: In pursuance of General Order No 11, issued from General Grant's headquarters, you are hereby ordered to leave the city of Paducah, Kentucky, within twenty-four hours after receiving this order. By order,
L.J. WADDELL,
Captain and Provost Marshal
Meeting with Lincoln
editKaskel fled Kentucky on the steamship Charley Bowen, making stops in Cairo, Illinois and Cincinnati, Ohio, while his story was picked up by the Associated Press.[1] With support from the local Jewish community, Kaskel met with Ohio congressman John A. Gurley, who took Kaskel to meet with President Lincoln.[1][6][3]
After their meeting, Lincoln ordered General-in-Chief of the Armies Henry Halleck to reprimand the order. Halleck wrote to Grant, "If such an order has been issued, it will be immediately revoked."[12]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h Cashon, John Philip. 2016. Paducah and the Civil War. Arcadia Publishing Inc. http://www.myilibrary.com?id=964896.
- ^ Robertson, John E. L., and Ann E. Robertson. 2014. Paducah, Kentucky: A History. Charleston, SC: The History Press. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=1189864.
- ^ a b c Maslin, Janet (April 4, 2012). "The Exodus From Paducah, 1862". The New York Times. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
- ^ a b "Ulysses S. Grant and General Orders No. 11 (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2024-03-22.
- ^ "General Orders No. 11". www.libertymagazine.org. Retrieved 2024-03-22.
- ^ a b Kaskel, Dan (December 25, 2018). "Cesar Kaskel, the Jews and President Lincoln". The Times of Israel. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
- ^ "Gen. Grant and Jews". The New York Times. January 18, 1863. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
- ^ Chernow, Ron (10 October 2017). Grant. Penguin. ISBN 978-0-525-52195-2.
- ^ Grant, Ulysses Simpson (1967). The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant, Volume 7. SIU Press. ISBN 978-0-8093-0880-4.
- ^ "CONTENTdm". Archived from the original on 2020-03-26.
- ^ Ash, Stephen V., 'Civil War Exodus: The Jews and Grant's General Order No. 11', in Jonathan D. Sarna, and Adam D. Mendelsohn (eds), Jews and the Civil War: A Reader (New York, NY, 2010; online edn, NYU Press Scholarship Online, 24 Mar. 2016), https://doi.org/10.18574/nyu/9780814740910.003.0017, accessed 22 Mar. 2024.
- ^ Sarna, Jonathan D. (2012-03-23). "When General Grant Expelled the Jews". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 2024-03-22.