Francis Salvador

Francis Salvador ( 1747 - 1776 ) was the first American Jew to be killed in the American Revolution . He was born in London, where his great-grandfather, Joseph Salvador , was a prominent businessman, and leader of the local portuguese -speaking sephardic Jewish community.¹ His family had extensive interests in America, including a large parcel of land in South Carolina . This land was virtually the only piece of wealth they managed to hold on to, as the family was virtually ruined by both the Lisbon earthquake of 1755 and the failure of the East India Company not too long thereafter. Young Francis moved to the family land in South Carolina in 1773 , with the hope that he would be able to recoup some of their losses. He intended to send for his wife, Sarah, and their children as soon as he was able. Having arrived in Charleston that December, Salvador established himself as a planter on 7,000 acres (28 km²) he acquired from his uncle. He quickly found himself pulled into the American movement for independence; within a year of arriving, Salvador was elected to South Carolina's General Assembly, the first Jew to hold that office in any of the English colonies. He was just 27, and would hold the post until his untimely death. In 1774 , Salvador was chosen to be a delegate to the revolutionary Provincial Congress of the colony, which first met in Charleston in January 1775. The group framed a bill of rights and composed an address to South Carolina's royal governor; the address set forth the colonists' complaints against the crown. Salvador was appointed to a commission which negotiated with Tories in the northern and western parts of the colony. The commission's primary goal was to ensure that these colonists would not actively aid the English crown. The second Provincial Congress assembled in November of 1775 , and Salvador pressed for its members to instruct the colony's delegation to the Continental Congress to cast their vote for independence. Salvador chaired the ways and means committee of this second Congress, at the same time serving on a select committee authorized to issue bills of credit as payment to members of the militia. He was also made part of a commission established to preserve the peace in the interior parts of South Carolina. The English Superintendent of Indian Affairs was attempting to negotiate treaties with the Cherokees that would cause the tribe to attack colonists. The Cherokees responded to these overtures from the British with some alacrity, attacking settlements along the frontier on July 1, 1776, and massacring and scalping their inhabitants. Salvador promptly mounted his horse and rode some thirty miles to raise the alarm. He then returned to the front lines, aiding the militia in the defense of the besieged settlements. On the morning of August 1 , Salvador was shot by a Cherokee. He was discovered after falling into some bushes, and was promptly scalped. He died forty-five minutes later; he was only twenty-nine. As a side note, Salvador probably never learned that the delegation in Philadelphia had heeded his advice and voted for independence, as he was fighting on the frontier when the vote was taken.²