Posted on 08/19/2003 12:03:11 PM PDT by archy
Jewish center to stage play on Grant's anti-Semitic order
By JUDITH EGERTON • August 10, 2003
jegerton@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal
BY KEITH WILLIAMS, THE COURIER-JOURNAL
Playwright Nancy Gall-Clayton has written a Civil War play about Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's ordering Jews out of his territory.
Few historians know about it, and Gen. Ulysses S. Grant omitted it from his autobiography. But it happened. During the Civil War, the Union Army leader issued an order expelling Jews from their homes, including 30 families in Paducah, Ky.
President Abraham Lincoln revoked the order about three weeks later, but much damage had already been done.
Jewish families in several towns and states were harassed and uprooted from their homes with only 24 hours' notice. It made no difference that some had relatives who were fighting for the Union or who had already died for the Union cause. Deeply hurt and outraged, the Jews of Paducah fled up the Ohio River to Cincinnati, where they found refuge with other Jewish families.
Grant's shocking action inspired Louisville playwright Nancy Gall-Clayton, a former lawyer with a lifelong interest in social justice. She first learned about the incident from her husband, bankruptcy attorney Jan Morris, who had heard it as a child in Sunday school. After extensive research, including a look at the official records of the Union and Confederate armies, Gall-Clayton turned the little-known fact of American history into a two-act drama called "General Orders No.11."
The play will have its premiere next month at the Jewish Community Center as a presentation of CenterStage, the center's theater company directed by John Leffert.
It depicts the Kahn family, which is expelled from Paducah, and two related stories. One involves a young Jewish couple detained by the Union Army as they travel to Paducah to visit the Kahns; the other concerns the business relationship between Jesse Grant, father of the Union general, and Cincinnati merchants who were Jewish.
The drama takes place between December 1862 and the spring of 1863. Scenes occur in Paducah, in Cincinnati, at a Union Army office in Tennessee and in a Chicago train station.
Staging an original play is something new for CenterStage, which typically produces popular musicals. But Gall-Clayton's play about injustice and anti-Semitism was a perfect fit for the Jewish Community Center, which strives to build social tolerance, spokeswoman Marsha Bornstein said.
"The opportunity arose, and we thought very strongly that, if anyone produces this play, it should be us," she said. The production is financed partly by a grant from the Jewish Community Federation's Foundation for Planned Giving.
Grant issued the order from which Gall-Clayton took her play's title on Dec. 17, 1862. It said in part:
"The Jews, as a class violating every regulation of trade established by the Treasury Department and also department orders, are hereby expelled from the department within twenty-four hours from the receipt of this order."
If any Jews returned, Grant said, they should be arrested. The order affected areas in western Tennessee, southern Illinois, northern Mississippi and far Western Kentucky.
Why Grant issued the order is a mystery. Gall-Clayton did not uncover any reasons for the banishment of Jews. The order appears to be based on unfounded prejudicial fears that Jews were collaborating with Confederate rebels or profiteering from the war. Gall-Clayton's research shows that Grant's father, Jesse Grant, who had a strained relationship with his soldier son, was involved in business dealings related to the war.
Although the play is based on historical events and actual experiences of Jews during that time, most of the characters are fictional. Gall-Clayton did include two figures from history: Jesse Grant and Cesar Kaskel, a Paducah businessman who took his objections to Lincoln in Washington. Neither Lincoln nor Grant appears in the play.
Injustice toward a group of people by an American Civil War hero is not a story writers of history are always eager to tell. But Gall-Clayton believes it's an important one to hear.
"Even an American hero can be anti-Semitic," she said, adding, "Things like this can happen today — we can learn from this. ... You want to respect officers and leaders, but that doesn't mean they are immune from acting on prejudice."
Gall-Clayton's play has 12 characters, but that doesn't worry director Leffert, who is adept at staging musicals with large casts. Directing an original drama with the playwright by his side was a new, collaborative experience, and one he has enjoyed.
"It's incredibly helpful," he said. "I've been able to turn to her and see what she means. Or if something isn't working, she's been open to changing things to make it work."
As for the play, Leffert described it as being "very honest" about the hard subject of anti-Semitism. "What I like is that it has everything — humor, warmth and drama."
The production will feature period costumes created by Butch Sager, who designs costumes for Derby Dinner Playhouse, and lighting by Theresa Bagan. Sets will be minimalistic and somewhat abstract, Leffert said, to create an intimate environment for the story.
The playwright hopes "General Orders No. 11" will encourage people to examine their biases and to speak out when they see prejudice.
"This little band of Jews stayed together and sent their leader to see Lincoln. That actually happened, and it took a lot of courage to do that. If they hadn't, who knows how long that order would have been in force and how many others would have suffered."
Staged readings of "General Orders No. 11" have been done at Horse Cave (Ky.) Theatre, the Aronoff Center for the Arts in Cincinnati and the Streisand Festival of New Jewish Plays, a program presented by the San Diego Center for Jewish Culture. Gall-Clayton's play was one of three national winners of the Streisand Festival, which was originated by singer Barbra Streisand but no longer has any connection with her.
Gall-Clayton, 57, has been a writer since she could hold a pencil. As a child, she wrote poems, including one that was published in Jack and Jill magazine when she was 9. In the 1990s, she began writing plays. Two of her short works were finalists in the national 10-minute play contest sponsored by Actors Theatre of Louisville as part of the Humana Festival of New American Plays.
About seven years ago, she gave up practicing law to take playwriting classes and write full time. In all, she has written more than 30 plays. Her works include "Just Taking Up Space," a play about juvenile justice, which was developed and produced at Horse Cave Theatre, and "The Colored Door at the Train Depot," about Anna Mac Clarke of Lawrenceburg, Ky., the first African-American WAC to command an all-white unit in World War II.
I did some quick Google searches on the issue and found this. While the article does not get into why Lincoln revoked the order, this piece sheds some light on the greasy politican on the penny.
http://militaryhistory.about.com/library/prm/blgrantsignobleact5.htm
"On January 21, Halleck sent Grant another communiqué. In it, he explained why he had revoked the order. "It may be proper to give you some explanation,"
Halleck wrote. "The President has no objection to your expelling traitors and Jew peddlers, which, I suppose, was the object of your order; but, as it in terms proscribed an entire religious class, some of whom are fighting in our ranks, the President deemed it necessary to revoke it." Halleck's letter seemed nearly apologetic. After he received the message revoking his order, it still took Grant three days to put it into effect."
(sigh)!
You know, I thought the possibility that liquor peddlers among the sutlers dealing with the troops might have been involved, and was going to make a comment along those lines in the remarks block, but figured the editing problems I had in cut-and-pasting the ticket info out deserved comment, lest it appear I'd butchered the piece to eliminate content.
But it looks like we had some similar thoughts aliong those lines, though I doubt that Grant had any problems keeping his personal supply well enough stocked.
Then, on the other side, there was Benjamin Judah....
-archy-/-
Statesman Judah P. Benjamin held the positions of attorney general, secretary of war, and secretary of state and became a confidant of President Davis throughout the "unpleasantries"
I agree. This play seems to be a pitiful attempt to turn incidence into co-incidence. That is; this order must be anti-Semitic because it mentions Semites. There were Jews on both sides of the conflict, Union and Confederate. From Judah P. Benjamin to recent immigrants at the time that wanted to prove themselves to be good Yanks or Rebs, depending on their port of disembarkation.
I'd considered that, thinking maybe it had something to do with sutlers teravelling in the troops wake, or with peddlers supplying them with liquor. But that would be more neatly dealt with by restricting them to their homes, not driving them from them. There's something more at work here, I believe, but I'm not certain quite what.
-archy-/-
I hope the next generation will do a better than the ones of there past, stop whining, bitching and complaining, get off your duffs and try being positive.
Well, if you're about to take a bite of a well-baked cake, beautifully crafted and frosted with an artists touch, do let me know if you'd like to know if it's infested with weevils and maggots or not before you begin eating.
Likewise, I hope the next generation can avoid a few of the errors and sins my generation and those before committed, as they will surely have their own faults and need not carry the excess baggage of ills from the past just from habit.
It may not be possible to open their eyes to such flaws; but keeping them concealed or covered over by the dust of history will do them no good either. I hope the moral judgements of the young are illustraited well enough with failures and flaws from the past that they can avoid at least some similar temptations in their future.
But never mind that. Have some more cake.
-archy-/-
Aw what the heck, Grant wasn't that bad I guess, pass me the booze and send a couple of those girls on in here. Partytime!
I forgive him too. But I believe I'd rather follow the examples of some of the better examples of followers of Christ- to be found on BOTH sides- or Abraham, rather than deify Grant or follow those examples set by him.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.