As Jews around the world celebrate Passover—and as America approaches its 250th birthday—let’s recall the story of an impromptu Passover seder that took place on a Civil War battlefield, thanks to one Jewish private.
It was April 1862, one year after the Civil War between the Union and Confederate states began. The Union’s 23rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment was stationed in the woods of what is now Fayetteville, West Virginia. Private Joseph A. Joel, an Ohio native, decided that even on the battlefield, he wanted to celebrate Passover. He and 20 others in the regiment asked their commanding officer—future President Rutherford B. Hayes—for leave that evening. He agreed.
The regiment had a Jewish “sutler”—a merchant who followed armies during the Civil War to sell provisions—and they asked him to procure matzah. The next morning, seven barrels of matzah, two Haggadot, bitter herbs, and prayer books arrived by train. Foragers searched the woods and nearby towns for additional food and drink. Townspeople contributed two kegs of cider, chickens, and eggs, and a lamb was also provided for the seder. In his 1866 account of the events, Joel recalled receiving it:
“We were still in a great quandary; we were like the man who drew the elephant in the lottery. We had the lamb but did not know what part was to represent it at the table; but Yankee ingenuity prevailed, and it was decided to cook the whole and put it on the table, then we could dine off it and be sure we had the right part,” Joel said.
Joel and company celebrated Passover in a log cabin they had put together using timber from the woods. “There, in the wild woods of West Virginia, away from home and friends, we consecrated and offered up to the ever-loving God of Israel our prayers and sacrifice,” he recalled. “I doubt whether the spirits of our forefathers, had they been looking down on us, standing there with our arms by our side ready for an attack, faithful to our God and our cause, would have imagined themselves amongst mortals, enacting this commemoration of the scene that transpired in Egypt.”
Other Jewish soldiers, both Union and Confederate, shared similar stories of Passover observance in the field—soldiers purchasing matzah for their units, townspeople inviting troops to seder meals, and more.
Joel’s resourcefulness and dedication highlight how deeply rooted Judaism was in America. In fact, an 1897 editorial compared Passover to the Fourth of July, emphasizing their shared themes of liberation.
