This Memorial Day, as part of our ongoing America @ 250 series, we mourn the soldiers who gave their lives for the United States, taking inspiration from the stories of these five Jewish American fighters who made the ultimate sacrifice in service of our country.

The Revolutionary

A memorial erected in 1960 by the Jewish community of Greenwood, South Carolina honors Francis Salvador (1747–1776), a figure sometimes called the “Jewish Paul Revere.” The inscription commemorates him both as the first Jewish South Carolinian elected to public office and the first Jew to die for American independence. 

His life reflects both early Jewish participation in American political life and the broader struggle for liberty during the Revolutionary era.

Born in London to a wealthy Sephardic Jewish family with roots in the Netherlands, Salvador emigrated alone to the colony of South Carolina in 1773, leaving behind his wife and children with plans to reunite later. Settling in Coronaca, he quickly became involved in revolutionary politics. 

Just two years later, in January 1775, he was elected as a deputy to South Carolina’s Provincial Congress, and helped shape resistance to British rule. His work included contributing to the formation of a state constitution, drafting a bill of rights, and communicating colonial grievances to the royal governor. Salvador strongly supported independence and worked to maintain unity within the colony as tensions against the British rose.

In 1776, amid escalating conflict, Cherokee forces allied with the British attacked American frontier settlements. Salvador rode approximately thirty miles to warn colonial militia leaders, then joined a force of about 330 men. On July 31, they were ambushed near the Keowee River. Salvador was mortally wounded and died the following