![]() He had suffered a financial blow during the war, having invested much of his money in slaves prior to secession. Traveling with armed guards after the South’s surrender, Moses took the gold and silver to Augusta, where he negotiated an agreement with a Union general, who promised to use the money to care for and feed former Confederate soldiers.Īfter the war, Moses returned to Columbus, where he resumed his law practice. Moses is famous for carrying out the last orders of the Confederacy, when President Jefferson Davis ordered him to keep boxes filled with $40,000 worth of gold and silver bullion and make sure it was used to help defeated returning soldiers. Three of Moses’ sons fought for the Southern cause, one was killed in battle. Lee, and was with him during the Battle of Gettysburg. During the war, Moses became close with Confederate General Robert E. Once, when food supplies were low, Moses went back to Georgia to make personal appeals for people to donate food and money. His nephew, Edward Warren Moise, who had trained to be a lawyer with his uncle in Columbus, spent $10,000 organizing a company of 120 soldiers which became part of the Confederate army. At 49 years old, Moses was too old to fight for the Confederacy, but was appointed as the Confederate Commissary for Georgia, in charge of supplying and feeding 54,000 Confederate soldiers. By 1860, Moses owned 47 slaves, and was listed as a “farmer” in the US Census, even though he continued his law practice.Īs sectional tensions heightened, Moses became a staunch secessionist and a fiery orator for the Southern cause. Moses became a very successful planter, which required more labor. ![]() He had found a new way to preserve peaches during shipping, using champagne baskets instead of pulverized charcoal. In 1851, he became the first planter to sell peaches outside of the state, shipping his produce to New York. He soon became a pioneer in the development of the commercial peach growing industry in Georgia. Moses became one of the most prominent lawyers in the state of Georgia, but also joined the ranks of Southern planters with his purchase of the Esquiline Plantation. Columbus was closely tied to Apalachicola through the cotton trade and Moses already had contacts and clients in Columbus when he arrived in 1849. Born and raised in South Carolina, Moses came to Columbus in 1849 from Apalachicola, Florida, where he had been a lawyer. ![]() Perhaps the most notable Jewish citizen of Columbus was Raphael J. The women of the congregation raised the money to furnish the new building and sewed the curtains and ark curtains themselves. In 1859, B’nai Israel purchased a house on 10th Street and 4th Avenue, which they converted into a synagogue. The group also used this rented space for a school, which taught the members’ children about Judaism, as well as Hebrew and German. They initially gathered in members’ homes, but later met in a building on the northeast corner of 10th Street and 5th Avenue. Many of these founding members were German immigrants. This growing number of Jews banded together in 1854, forming the congregation B’nai Israel. One of these merchants was Rebecca Dessau, who owned her own millinery shop while her husband owned a dry goods business. Five were skilled craftsmen, including four tinners and one shoemaker. Of approximately 37 Jews listed in the 1859 Columbus city directory, 17 were dry goods merchants and 3 were clothing merchants. By 1859, there were 20 Jewish families in Columbus, most of whom were involved in retail trade. ![]() Moses, who was elected mayor of Columbus in 1844. As Columbus’ industrial economy blossomed, growing numbers of Jews were attracted to the west Georgia town. ![]()
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