Georgia to Honor Confederate Jews

Georgia to honor Jewish Confederates

By John Andrew Prime

Shreveport Times

A ceremony Thursday with Georgia G. Sonny Perdue will honor the state’s Jewish men and women who served with the Confederacy in the Civil War, and also will proclaim April 2009 as Confederate History Month and April 26, 2009, as Confederate Memorial Day, a release from the Sons of Confederate Veterans says.

The Sons of Confederate Veterans will be joined by the United Daughters of the Confederacy, The Children of the Confederacy, the Georgia Civil War Commission and members of the Georgia House and Senate in the ceremony at the Georgia state capitol.

The proclamation emphasizes the contributions of Jewish citizens who saw action in the Confederate military and government, according to the release sent by the SCV’s new national commander, Shreveporter Charles McMichael.

Two who made significant contributions to the state were Phoebe Yates Levy Pember of Cobb County and Charles Wessolowsky of Washington County.

Pember was appointed chief matron of Chimborazo Hospital in Richmond, which at the time was the the largest military hospital in the world.

“She dedicated herself to relieving the suffering of soldiers, administering medication, assisting surgeons in operation, patching wounds and caring for patients,” the release says. “Often she served as the final companion to the dying. She wrote a book called ‘A Southern Woman’s Story.'”

Wessolowsky came from Prussia to settle in Sandersville, Ga. “He served as Sergeant Major of Company E, 32nd Regiment, Georgia Infantry. After the war he moved to Albany where he served as city alderman, Clerk of the Superior Court, a term in the Georgia House and a term in the Georgia Senate. He was associate editor of ‘The Jewish Voice.’ He also served as Grand High Priest of the Georgia Masonic Order.”