A Battle, a Monument, and a Bridge.

It's Bunker Hill Day! Most of us have retained some glancing acquaintance with the more notable episodes of the American Revolution from our school days. Except a certain lady visitor to Boston who ran into a spot of bother even after a refresher course on the Freedom Trail. But oh well, not everyone can be facty and she made up for her gaffes by leaving quickly.

There was a parade, held the Sunday before as (a newish) tradition dictates, that ended at the Bunker Hill Monument. And the Monument is where our story begins.

There almost wasn't one. It turns out revolutions are pricey things. Ours was no exception. The Continental Congress began to print its own money starting with plates engraved by that very same gentleman engraver who managed not only to get captured by the British, but to lose his borrowed horse on his famous ride. A better rider was Sybil Ludington who went twice as far at half his age and managed to keep her horse.

The Continentals were printed on the same presses that spread the news of the Revolution by some well-known inkers and some we have forgotten. The British promptly enlisted the help of counterfeiters and managed to ruin the upstart economy which was admittedly stressed already by debt and lack of revenue. Start as you mean to go on, I suppose.

So the founding fathers took off their tricorns and went begging. They had a particularly generous benefactor in Haym Solomon. So generous was he that he died penniless after fighting as a Patriot, being captured twice, and surviving torture because the government couldn't pay off its loans. Or he may have been involved in market speculation. His wife, née Rachel Franks, came from one of the most prominent Jewish families of the Revolution, the Levys. It was her uncle, Nathan Levy, who started the Mickveh Israel in Philadelphia, home to Jewish Patriots fleeing British occupation. The Hazan was Gershom Mendes Seixas of the equally important Seixas family. It was in response to his brother, Moses Seixas, that President Washington wrote the moving letter To the Hebrew Congregation in Newport:


For happily the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens, in giving it on all occasions their effectual support.


And now we come full circle, for it was Judah Touro, son of Touro Synagogue's Hazan, whose donation of $10,000 allowed for the completion of the Bunker Hill Monument. 

Copyright Andy Ryan

This history is largely unknown to the residents of Charlestown who live near Breed's Hill, the actual site of the monument. Their ignorance was hardly noteworthy until news broke that the bridge that connects their town to Boston was to be named after not just the monument but a local Jewish civil rights activist, Lenny Zakim. A small group of Townies opposed the decision to honor this incredible man and did so with rhetoric unworthy of the legacy of those who died for freedom on that day. But, to paraphrase our first president,

Happily, the Government of Boston gave to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance.

A great way to celebrate our Jewish Patriots after touring Beantown, is to head over to Zaftigs Deli in Brookline. The hot corned beef sandwich is a delicious nod to two of the heritages that helped shape this country.