(Civil War/ Antisemitica). Autograph Letter Signed by Edward A. Walker written to George W. Knight.

(AMERICAN-JUDAICA).

9th July

Nashville, TN

1865

This is a letter from one Union veteran to another, a scant three months after the Civil War’s end. Walker, a machinist, describes life in Nashville after the war: “The city has been filled with returned Rebs.,” many of whom resumed working at the shops they were employed in before the war. Walker describes how the men get along well in the shop he works in, describing conversation with Confederate veterans about battles they fought in on opposing sides, and then cheerfully adds an antisemitic remark about a coworker: “We are truly a mixed set in the shop - all nations represented - and wonder of wonders! there is a genuine Jew at work for a living, his name is Maximilian and being of a huge tendency, this hot weather makes him pant for a saloon or a snug little shop to sell 2d hand clothing in - so much for the Jew.” Walker (1838-1923), originally of Maine, was a Union corporal with the First Minnesota Infantry. He carried on a correspondence during the war with George W. Knight of Massachusetts, always addressed to “Friend Knight.”