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Francis Salvador performing his duty signing the official currency for South
Carolina. (Illustration by Art Seiden, Courtesy of Seymour Brody)
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Francis Salvador
First Jew To Serve In An American Legislature Also Became First Jew To Die For U.S. Independence
By Bethanne Kelly Patrick
Military.com Columnist
When Francis Salvador, an English Jew, came to the American colonies from his native London in 1773, he was "tired of living the life of a dandy," according to Seymour Brody's book, "Jewish Heroes and Heroines in America." He escaped that lifestyle very effectively by devoting himself to the patriot cause -- a cause for which he died in battle a few short years after arriving in his new homeland.
An indigo planter, Salvador had planned to develop family landholdings in South Carolina's frontier district of Ninety-Six and make his fortune in the New World. His patriot sympathies, his education and abilities impressed the state leadership in Charleston. Salvador was elected a delegate to the Revolutionary Provincial Congress of South Carolina in 1775. There, he formed collegial bonds with figures like Charles Pinckney and Edward Rutledge while they all participated in rejecting British rule and declaring South Carolina an independent state. Salvador was the first Jew to serve in a legislative body in America.
As Brody notes, Salvador acquired many honors. He was given a commission to sign and stamp South Carolina currency, he served as financial adviser to the Congress, and he participated in drafting the state's constitution.
Salvador was no passive onlooker; he threw himself into the colonies' cause wholeheartedly. When the British attacked Charleston in August 1776, Salvador first rode 28 miles to warn neighbors of a British-provoked Indian attack -- thus earning his reputation as another Paul Revere -- then led a night expedition of militiamen against Tories and hostile Cherokee Indians near the Keowee River. A volunteer in the expedition, he nonetheless fought and died like a career soldier, being wounded three times before he was scalped.
The plaque erected in tribute to Salvador by the Historical Commission of South Carolina describes him simply: "Born an aristocrat, he became a democrat; an Englishman, he cast his lot with America; true to his ancient faith, he gave his life for new hopes of human liberty and understanding."
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