On August 14, 1776, the South Carolina and American General Gazette in Charleston published two remarkable items on the same page.
One was the Declaration of Independence. The other was an account of the death of Francis Salvador, a 29-year-old Jewish patriot who had been killed fighting for the American cause just two weeks earlier.
Born in London in 1747, Salvador belonged to one of England's most prominent Sephardi Jewish families. His ancestors had fled religious persecution in Portugal, settling first in Holland before establishing themselves in Britain.
The family had amassed considerable wealth through international commerce and finance. His uncle and father-in-law, Joseph Salvador, was a prominent financier and a leading figure in London's Jewish community. Francis enjoyed a privileged upbringing, receiving private tutoring and traveling extensively in Europe.
But a series of financial setbacks, beginning with the Lisbon earthquake of 1755, damaged the family's fortunes.
In 1767, Salvador married his first cousin, Sarah Salvador, in a union documented in the records of Jewish marriage contracts maintained by London's historic Bevis Marks Synagogue.
By the early 1770s, the family was looking to its extensive landholdings in South Carolina as a possible means of financial recovery. His uncle Joseph owned approximately 100,000 acres in the Ninety Six District, in what are now Abbeville and Greenwood counties. The holdings formed part of the larger Hamilton's Survey and later became known locally as "Jews' Land."
In December 1773, at the age of 26, Salvador arrived in Charleston, leaving behind his wife Sarah and their four children in England. He intended to establish himself in America and eventually bring them across the Atlantic.
Salvador settled near Coronaca Creek, where he acquired property and established an indigo plantation known as Cornacre.
Salvador had come to America to rebuild his family's fortune, not to challenge the British Crown. But as tensions between Britain and its colonies intensified, he became increasingly involved in the revolutionary cause. He soon established close ties with leading South Carolina revolutionaries, including William Henry Drayton, Henry Laurens, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney and John Rutledge.
On December 19, 1774, just a year after arriving in America, Salvador was elected as one of ten representatives from the Ninety Six District to the First Provincial Congress, which convened the following January.
He thereby became the first professing Jew known to have been elected to a legislative assembly in colonial America, where religious tests barred Jews from public office in many colonies.
Salvador participated actively in the Provincial Congress, serving on committees responsible for political organization, military preparedness and negotiations with Loyalists who opposed the break with Britain.
When the Second Provincial Congress convened in November 1775, Salvador emerged as an outspoken supporter of independence. He also chaired its Ways and Means Committee, helping arrange financing for South Carolina's militia forces.
On March 26, 1776, Salvador and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney co-chaired a committee responsible for reviewing the final text of South Carolina's new constitution.
The constitution was adopted that day, establishing a new state government and transforming the Provincial Congress into South Carolina's first General Assembly.
By the summer of 1776, South Carolina's western frontier had become a battleground.
The British sought to maintain alliances with Cherokee forces, while Cherokee leaders were increasingly alarmed by colonial expansion into their territory. Fighting between Cherokee warriors, Loyalists and Patriot settlers spread across the region.
On July 1, 1776, Cherokee warriors attacked the home of Captain Aaron Smith, who commanded a company of local Patriot militiamen near the Little River. Smith, his wife and several of their children were killed.
One of Smith's surviving sons managed to reach Salvador's plantation with news of the attack. The young man had been wounded, losing two fingers to gunfire.
Salvador immediately mounted his horse and rode approximately 28 miles to alert the militia's commander, Major Andrew Williamson.
His dangerous ride through the South Carolina backcountry later earned him the nickname "the Jewish Paul Revere." Like the Boston patriot who had warned Massachusetts colonists of approaching British troops in April 1775, Salvador raced to alert local militia leaders that frontier settlements were under attack. He then joined Williamson's forces in the campaign that followed.
Writing to William Henry Drayton, one of South Carolina's leading revolutionary figures, on July 18, Salvador described settlers fleeing their homes and struggling to protect their families.
"The whole country was flying," he wrote, "some to make forts, others as low as Orangeburg."
Initially, Williamson could muster only about 40 men. Within days, however, the militia had grown to several hundred.
While Salvador was helping to organize the defense of the frontier, he and his fellow patriots were still awaiting news from Philadelphia.
On July 24, Drayton wrote to Salvador from Charleston: "No news yet from Philadelphia; every ear is turned that way, anxiously listening for the word, independence."
In fact, the Declaration of Independence had already been adopted three weeks earlier.
On the evening of July 31, 1776, Williamson led approximately 330 mounted militiamen toward the Cherokee settlement of Seneca Town, near the Keowee River. Their objective was to approach the enemy position before daybreak.
As Williamson's men advanced in the early hours of August 1, they encountered an ambush. Cherokee warriors and Loyalist fighters had concealed themselves behind a fence, filling the gaps with branches and vegetation.
When the American advance guard passed, the attackers opened fire.
Salvador was riding beside Williamson when he was wounded three times and fell from his horse. Williamson's horse was also shot, but the commander escaped injury. Before Salvador's comrades could reach him, a Cherokee warrior scalped him.
In an August 4 letter to John Rutledge, who had been elected the first president of South Carolina a few months earlier, Williamson recounted approaching Salvador after the attackers had been driven off. Despite his wounds, Salvador was still conscious.
"He asked whether I had beat the enemy. I told him yes. He said he was glad of it."
Salvador then shook Williamson's hand, said farewell and told him he expected to die within minutes.
According to Williamson's report, Salvador died at about 2:30 a.m. on August 1, 1776, approximately 45 minutes after being wounded. He was the first Jew known to have died fighting for American independence.
Henry Laurens, who had served alongside Salvador in the Provincial Congress, wrote to his son John that Salvador's death was universally regretted.
Salvador's wife and four children never joined him in America. His burial place remains unknown.
In 1950, Charleston's Jewish community honored his memory with a plaque in the park behind City Hall. Its inscription reads: "Born an aristocrat, he became a democrat; an Englishman, he cast his lot with America; true to his ancient faith, he gave his life for new hopes of human liberty and understanding."
As America celebrates its 250th anniversary, Francis Salvador deserves to be remembered among the patriots who helped secure its freedom.
He fought and died for American independence, most likely without ever knowing that it had at last been declared.