How America’s First Jewish Commodore Saved Monticello
Uriah P. Levy’s obscurity reflects the lingering impact of the anti-Semitism that dismissed his accomplishments—yet also inspired his devotion to Thomas Jefferson.
As the token Jew in America’s pre-Civil War Navy who rescued Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, Commodore Uriah P. Levy demonstrated how far Jews could go back then—and how deeply hatred of Jews ran back then, too.
You don’t have to be Jewish to love Uriah Phillips Levy—or to wonder why this American hero remains unknown. The first Jew to reach the top naval rank of commodore, Levy fought honorably during the War of 1812, surviving British imprisonment. A pioneer in applying his era’s reforming spirit to the military, he opposed flogging as abusive. He also emerged as perhaps America’s first historical preservationist, saving Jefferson’s architectural jewel, Monticello, from decay. Today, Jefferson’s statue adorns the Capitol Rotunda thanks to Levy—the only statue there privately donated.
Levy’s obscurity reflects the lingering impact of the anti-Semitism that dismissed his accomplishments—yet also inspired his devotion to Jefferson.