In a news program that aired worldwide, Raab discussed a Revolutionary War-era archive sold by The Raab Collection
The Raab Collection was featured this week on the TV news program, The 700 Club, in a segment titled “The Jewish Heroes of the American Revolution.” Produced by the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), the show aired on Freeform on July 18. Viewers can also catch it on demand at CBN.com and YouTube. The 700 Club is distributed to an average daily audience of one million viewers.
Earlier this summer, the CBN invited Nathan Raab, president of The Raab Collection and author of The Hunt for History, to take part in a program chronicling important Jewish leaders during the Revolution. During a full-day video shoot in Raab’s Philadelphia gallery, Nathan discussed Mordecai Sheftall, the highest ranking Jewish officer during the Revolutionary War, as well as a groundbreaking archive the firm discovered, acquired, and sold.
Sheftall (1735-1797) was born in Savannah, Georgia, into an Orthodox Jewish family. He joined the fight for American independence, earning a commission as a Colonel in 1777 and Deputy Commissary General to the federal troops in Georgia and South Carolina in 1778. In December 1778, the British captured Sheftall and his son and confined them aboard a prison ship, where they were persecuted for their attempts to keep Kosher.
Massachusetts Reverend Moses Allen, a fellow prisoner of war, commended Sheftall’s faith and bravery in the face of such treatment. The two formed a bond of mutual respect and admiration. When Allen perished while attempting escape, Sheftall requested to pay for a proper burial, but his British captors refused.
Raab discovered and acquired an archive of material related to Sheftall, including four pages from Allen’s diary and a letter of Sheftall, which shed light on Sheftall’s experience as a POW, his relationship with Allen, and the bond between these two religious leaders.
The archive was sold to a private collector. Their story of patriotism, heroism, and friendship, however, will continue to enlighten and inspire with the broadcast of “The Jewish Heroes of the American Revolution.”
During the filming, Nathan also displayed several documents from the Revolutionary era, including a letter of George Washington, and spoke about how important historical documents are discovered, preserved, and collected.
