That Obnoxious Order
The Response
Hundreds of angry letters, many from B’nai B’rith chapters, reached President Lincoln’s desk in late December. Cesar Kaskel of Paducah, Kentucky, led a Jewish delegation to meet with the President.
During the meeting, Kaskel explained how long-time residents of the Jewish community in Paducah, including two Union army veterans, were given just 24 hours to leave their homes. Lincoln wrote to General-in-Chief of the Army Henry Halleck to have General Orders No. 11 immediately rescinded.
Cesar Kaskel led a delegation from Paducah, Kentucky, to entreat the President to rescind Grant’s order.
Henry Kuttner, President of the Missouri Lodge of B’nai B’rith, wrote to President Lincoln asserting that the Jews were a class of “loyal citizens.”