Lee urges soldier’s artistry

“I hope you will be an artist, as it seems to me you are cut out for one. But, whatever you do, try to prove to the world that if we did not succeed in our struggle, we are worthy of success, and do earn a reputation in whatever profession you undertake,” Robert E. Lee told a young Moses Ezekiel.

Although mostly forgotten by moderns, Moses J. Ezekiel was one of the most renowned artists of the 19th century. Ezekiel was an ardent American patriot and, at the same time, an unrepentant Confederate. He was the first Jewish cadet to enroll at Virginia Military Institute.

Stan Cohen and Keith Gibson’s concise yet thorough book about the American artist and Confederate soldier provides us with a fascinating glimpse into Ezekiel’s life and work. The book is divided into two parts: Part One is about Ezekiel’s life.

Col. Gibson’s connection with Virginia Military Institute, both as an alumnus and in his current positions as historian for VMI and executive director of Museum Programs, allows him to bring a unique and close perspective to this study of Ezekiel. Mr. Cohen has authored or co-authored more than 76 books, many about the Civil War, and also serves on the board of three museums.

Col. Gibson writes in his introduction: “Over thirty-five years ago, I first walked up to the imposing bronze likeness of ‘Virginia’ staring down from her stone pedestal on the post of the Virginia Military Institute (VMI). I recall a passing cadet stopped and proudly explained that the statue was the work of a VMI alumnus, Moses Ezekiel.”

Most would have thought Ezekiel’s eventual entrance into VMI and his subsequent worldwide respect as a sculptor unlikely. As Col. Gibson notes, Moses Ezekiel “grew up in a poverty-stricken neighborhood, part of a very large Jewish family.”

His family immigrated to the United States in 1808 from Holland and settled “in a poor, mixed neighborhood of slaves, Jews and Christians. Here, Moses Jacob Ezekiel was born on October 28th, 1844, the seventh in a family of 14 children.”

He took art lessons in Richmond at age 12 “where he learned the process of reverse glass painting.” A year later, at 13, young Ezekiel did his first sculpture, “a clay bust of his father. Praise for this piece would plant the seed for future vocation.”

But in pursuing his future vocation, Ezekiel would have to contend with not only poverty, but with much of the country’s anti-Semitism, as well. Col. Gibson illustrates this attitude by quoting from an article that ran in an 1860s Richmond Examiner:

“One has but to walk through the streets and stores of Richmond, to get an impression of the vast number of unkempt Israelites in our marts — Every auction room is packed with greasy Jews — Let one observe the number of wheezing Jewish matrons — elbowing out of their way soldiers’ families and the more respectable people in the community.”

Col. Gibson is quick to point out, however, that this vile attitude did not prevent “over 10,000 men of Jewish descent” from joining the Confederates. Moses Ezekiel would be one of those men.

After pleading with his parents to let him attend VMI, his mother stated that she “would not have a son who would not fight for his home and country.” Ezekiel enrolled at VMI in September 1862, part of a class that originally numbered 147 and “included the son of a Virginia governor and sons of the upper crust of Virginia society.” Young Ezekiel benefited from a need-based scholarship known as “state cadetships.” Barely 18, he was soon marching off to defend, not slavery, but hearth and home. Col. Gibson writes:

“Moses did not necessarily believe in defending slavery, which had been protected under state law since 1670. He wished to defend the state if Virginia seceded to avoid providing troops to the Union to, as he said, ‘subjugate her sister Southern states.’ ”

Ezekiel made his views on the subject clear later in life:

“The question of slavery had long been assigned to its proper position. Virginia has prohibited the bringing of slaves as far back as the times of Thomas Jefferson, and in reality, no one in the South would have raised an arm to fight for slavery. It was an evil we inherited, and that we wanted to get rid of, in a way that would be just to the Negroes and just to ourselves.”

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