Apelbaum is the author of “Jewish Life in Mr. Lincoln’s City,” a collection of stories about Jews living in the Washington area during the Civil War era.
Besides writing, what else do you do? Or are you a full-time author?
I’m the executive director at the Jewish Historical Society. The book is an outgrowth of an exhibit. It has the exhibition materials plus different essays on companion topics.
Any interesting tidbits from the book about District-area Jews during the Civil War that you’re willing to share with our readers?
There was one woman named Eugenia Levy Phillips who was known as a “hot-blooded secessionist in a skirt.” She was born in Charleston and married a lawyer who became a congressman in the 1850s. She was accused of spying for the Confederacy, and she probably was. [Her husband] pledged his support to the Union, and she pledged hers to the Confederacy.
In 1861, she was arrested with her two daughters and held under house arrest. … [Her] husband negotiated her release on condition that they move South, [where] she taught her daughters to spit on Union soldiers.
Are there any other stories people may not know about?
I think it’s a neat little thing that’s sort of lesser known, in that Washington, D.C., had the first memorial to President Lincoln. … The Jewish merchants that were known as the Lansburgh brothers (of the Lansburgh’s department stores) made the first donation toward that memorial.
Where can people see the exhibit that goes along with the book?
The idea was to display the exhibit at the two Jewish synagogues that were in existence during the Civil War. It opened at the Washington Hebrew [Congregation] and now it’s over at Beth El Hebrew [Congregation] in Alexandria.
– Alana Goodman
