Salomon, Haym, 1740-1785

Haym Salomon was born in 1740 in Leszno, Poland, to a Sephardic Jewish family descended from Spanish and Portuguese Jews who gradually migrated to Poland following Ferdinand and Isabella's expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492. Although most Jews in Central and Eastern Europe spoke Yiddish (Judeo-German), it is alleged that because Salomon left Poland with his family while still young, he could not read and write Yiddish. (Spanish Jews, or Sephardim, typically spoke Ladino, a language based on Hebrew and Spanish, rather than Yiddish.) In his youth, he studied Hebrew.[2]

During his adult travels in Western Europe, Salomon acquired a knowledge of finance and fluency in some of the world languages of the day.[3] He returned to Poland in 1770 but left for England two years later in the wake of the Polish partition. In 1775, he immigrated to New York City, where he established himself as a financial broker for merchants engaged in overseas trade.[4][5]

Sympathizing with the Patriot cause, Salomon joined the New York branch of the Sons of Liberty. In September 1776, he was arrested as a spy. The British pardoned him, but detained him for 18 months on a British boat as an interpreter for Hessian soldiers, German troops employed by the British. Salomon used his position to help prisoners of war from the Continental Army escape, encouraged the Hessians to desert the war effort, and collaborated with Hercules Mulligan and Cato to carry out other espionage activities. In 1778 Salomon was arrested again, convicted of espionage, and sentenced to death. Again, he escaped, making his way with his family to the revolutionary capital in Philadelphia.[6]

Once resettled, Salomon resumed his activities as a broker. He became the agent to the French consul as well as the paymaster for the French forces in North America. In 1781, he began working extensively with Robert Morris, the newly appointed Superintendent for Finance for the Thirteen Colonies.[7]

From the period of 1781–1784, records show Salomon's fundraising and personal lending helped provide over $650,000 (approximately over $16 million in 2021 dollars[8]) in financing to General George Washington in his war effort. His most meaningful financial contribution, however, came immediately prior to the final battle at Yorktown.[9]

In August 1781, the Continental Army trapped Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis in the Virginia coastal town of Yorktown. George Washington and the main army, and Count de Rochambeau with his French army, decided to march from the Hudson Highlands to Yorktown and deliver the final blow. But Washington's war chest was completely empty, as was that of Congress. Without food, uniforms and supplies, Washington's troops were close to mutiny.[9]

Washington determined that he needed at least $20,000 to finance the campaign. When Morris told him there were no funds and no credit available, Washington said: "Send for Haym Salomon". Salomon raised $20,000, through the sale of bills of exchange. With that contribution, Washington conducted the Yorktown campaign, which proved to be the final battle of the Revolution.[5]

Salomon brokered the sale of a majority of the war aid from France and the Dutch Republic, selling bills of exchange to American merchants. Salomon also personally supported various members of the Continental Congress during their stay in Philadelphia, including James Madison and James Wilson. He requested below-market interest rates, and he never asked for repayment.[10]

Salomon was involved in Jewish community affairs, being a member of Congregation Mikveh Israel in Philadelphia, and in 1782 made the largest individual donation toward the construction of its main building.

Like Washington and many prominent men associated with the American revolution, Salomon was a member of the Masonic fraternity. He received his first two degrees in Philadelphia's Lodge No. 2, Ancient York Rite in 1764. After the war, his Master Mason degree was conferred in 1784 (possibly in Maryland Lodge 27), the year before his death.[11][12]