The Blue & the Gray
The Gray: Isaac Schwarz
Merchant and Soldier (1834-1898)
Isaac Schwarz, a founding member of Beth El Hebrew, was a sergeant with the 17th Virginia Infantry, formed to combat Union advances from Washington. After being wounded in the Second Battle of Bull Run and honorably discharged, he ran a dry goods shop on King Street.
Isaac Schwarz, merchant, Beth El Hebrew Congregation founder, and Confederate veteran.
Isaac Schwarz’s discharge papers from the Confederate Army.
A Confederate monument erected in 1889 to honor Alexandria’s war dead still stands at Prince and South Washington Streets. It marks the site where soldiers like Schwarz gathered to march into battle.