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Life in the Carolinas in the Revolutionary period is difficult to imagine. First of all, in 1775, North Carolina was a geographic expression – like Africa or the equator – not a coherent or homogenous political entity. Its territory encompassed a huge cross-section of the eastern coast and contained a diverse mix of inhabitants.

“Betwixt every peal the awful voice of Morgan is heard, whose gigantic stature and terrible appearance carries dismay among the foe wherever he comes.” That was how a participant described Daniel Morgan during the unsuccessful American attempt to capture Quebec on the last day of 1775. “He seems to be all soul,” another of Morgan’s men said, “and moves as if he did not touch the earth.”

When the Revolutionary War began in April of 1775, the population of Jews in America was barely countable. They were two thousand out of two million, but they sprang into upholding the Patriot position:
“The freedoms that the evolution (sic) sought to secure for New World people were essential for the Jews, if they were to exist and prosper here—or anywhere… the Jews of America had no sense of belonging to any other nation… For… those reasons, most… eagerly supported the Revolution. In whatever capacity they served, they contributed…out of proportion to their paucity.”