Although the bulk of the varation from our TL is some way past the year 1900 I needed a POD far enough back to start the change.
- excerpt from Leaders of the Lost Cause, Alfred Kopf Press, published 1956
When Benjamin took shelter at Gambling Plantation he certainly contemplated a permanent exile in either England or possibly France, where his first wife and daughter were resident. He even took passage under a false name to Hamilton in British Bermuda. However either during the voyage or immediately after landing Judah became quite ill. A long sea voyage was impossible and instead he began a long slow convalesce on the island. By the time he had regained his health it was already apparent the President Johnson was not interested in prosecutions, excepting perhaps against Jefferson Davis who remained incarcerated at Fortress Monroe.
Benjamin’s reintroduction to the United States began with a short passage to Washington City and a meeting with President Johnson. Letters from Benjamin to his first wife, Natalie, describe the meeting and subsequent pardon as a pleasant surprise for Judah who had expected greater animosity because of his position in the Confederate government. By the fall of 1866 Benjamin was in New Orleans and had opened a profitable legal practice.
Between 1867 and 1871 Benjamin enjoyed a growing stature both in the South and increasingly among Northerners. No doubt much of this new popularity was from the publication of the lectures he gave at Washington College in 1869. This and his very public correspondence with both Lee and Grant did much to raise his reputation as one of the foremost of the ‘reconcilers’ At the 2nd Appomattox meeting it was Benjamin’s quiet diplomacy that paved the way for Lee’s public support of the new Freeman and Veterans’ Bureau.
- excerpt from Longstreet: A Considered Approach, Petersburg Press, published 1998
Longstreet never enjoyed the popular support that Lee, Davis or Benjamin did. In part this is no doubt due to his taking public office under the Republicans. In temperament he was closest to Benjamin, yet he lacked the intellectual finesse to be seen as both sympathetic to the ‘Negro and Northerner’ and still loyal to the lost cause. Benjamin’s books were a rampart that Longstreet could never erect. Further, though both men lost their wives, Longstreet’s loss was a decade earlier than Benjamin and far less public. Than too Benjamin’s remarriage and the attendance of so many ex-Confederates and Yankees seem to isolate Longstreet even more. Crosses famous picture of Grant, Sherman, Hampton and Polk standing behind Benjamin, while Longstreet is pointedly center right, was graphic proof of is isolation.
- From New Orleans Picayune, April 16, 1870
It is with great sadness that this paper reports the death of Natalie Benjamin, wife of our own Senator Judah Benjamin. Our correspondent has learned that the Senator’s wife took ill suddenly while visiting Briarfield Plantation, just North of the State Capital. The family will receive visitors at their New Orleans residence this Friday from noon until 4 PM.
From the New York Times, May 27, 1872
Senator Judah Benjamin was married today in the nations Capital. Both President Grant and his wife Julia attended along with much of the national government. The bride is Miss Rachael da Costa, a resident of Charleston South Carolina. The ceremony in Washington was non-denominational and was performed in the National Reconciliation Cathedral. An early ceremony at the Jewish Temple in Charleston, occurred in April of this year.
From the New Orleans Picayune, July 7, 1876.
Former Senator and Ambassador Judah Benjamin announced the birth of his 2nd child, a son to be named Jefferson Grant Benjamin. The child was born July 4th. Senator Benjamin has also stated that President Grant has consented to stand as godfather to the child.
- excerpt from Leaders of the Lost Cause, Alfred Kopf Press, published 1956
When Benjamin took shelter at Gambling Plantation he certainly contemplated a permanent exile in either England or possibly France, where his first wife and daughter were resident. He even took passage under a false name to Hamilton in British Bermuda. However either during the voyage or immediately after landing Judah became quite ill. A long sea voyage was impossible and instead he began a long slow convalesce on the island. By the time he had regained his health it was already apparent the President Johnson was not interested in prosecutions, excepting perhaps against Jefferson Davis who remained incarcerated at Fortress Monroe.
Benjamin’s reintroduction to the United States began with a short passage to Washington City and a meeting with President Johnson. Letters from Benjamin to his first wife, Natalie, describe the meeting and subsequent pardon as a pleasant surprise for Judah who had expected greater animosity because of his position in the Confederate government. By the fall of 1866 Benjamin was in New Orleans and had opened a profitable legal practice.
Between 1867 and 1871 Benjamin enjoyed a growing stature both in the South and increasingly among Northerners. No doubt much of this new popularity was from the publication of the lectures he gave at Washington College in 1869. This and his very public correspondence with both Lee and Grant did much to raise his reputation as one of the foremost of the ‘reconcilers’ At the 2nd Appomattox meeting it was Benjamin’s quiet diplomacy that paved the way for Lee’s public support of the new Freeman and Veterans’ Bureau.
- excerpt from Longstreet: A Considered Approach, Petersburg Press, published 1998
Longstreet never enjoyed the popular support that Lee, Davis or Benjamin did. In part this is no doubt due to his taking public office under the Republicans. In temperament he was closest to Benjamin, yet he lacked the intellectual finesse to be seen as both sympathetic to the ‘Negro and Northerner’ and still loyal to the lost cause. Benjamin’s books were a rampart that Longstreet could never erect. Further, though both men lost their wives, Longstreet’s loss was a decade earlier than Benjamin and far less public. Than too Benjamin’s remarriage and the attendance of so many ex-Confederates and Yankees seem to isolate Longstreet even more. Crosses famous picture of Grant, Sherman, Hampton and Polk standing behind Benjamin, while Longstreet is pointedly center right, was graphic proof of is isolation.
- From New Orleans Picayune, April 16, 1870
It is with great sadness that this paper reports the death of Natalie Benjamin, wife of our own Senator Judah Benjamin. Our correspondent has learned that the Senator’s wife took ill suddenly while visiting Briarfield Plantation, just North of the State Capital. The family will receive visitors at their New Orleans residence this Friday from noon until 4 PM.
From the New York Times, May 27, 1872
Senator Judah Benjamin was married today in the nations Capital. Both President Grant and his wife Julia attended along with much of the national government. The bride is Miss Rachael da Costa, a resident of Charleston South Carolina. The ceremony in Washington was non-denominational and was performed in the National Reconciliation Cathedral. An early ceremony at the Jewish Temple in Charleston, occurred in April of this year.
From the New Orleans Picayune, July 7, 1876.
Former Senator and Ambassador Judah Benjamin announced the birth of his 2nd child, a son to be named Jefferson Grant Benjamin. The child was born July 4th. Senator Benjamin has also stated that President Grant has consented to stand as godfather to the child.