July 2019

Saving Monticello: The Newsletter

The latest about the book, author events, and more

Newsletter Editor - Marc Leepson

Volume XVI, Number 7                                                         July 1, 2019

“The study of the past is a constantly evolving, never-ending journey of discovery.” – Eric Foner

URIAH LEVY’S DEEDS: If you’ve ever been to downtown Norfolk, Virginia, chances are you’ve driven by—if not visited—the striking Hampton Roads Naval Museum, which sits on the Elizabeth River and includes the massive, World War II battleship, the U.S.S. Wisconsin.  

I just learned through a new posting on the museum’s website that the museum has in its collection a much (much) smaller Navy object that I had not known existed:

A julep silver cub that Uriah Levy received after he came home from the War of 1812—having been imprisoned along with the rest of the crew of his chip, The Argus—in England for sixteen  months.

The cup (below) is engraved with Levy’s initials, along with a Latin inscription, Dant Facta Hanc Coronam (“Deeds gave this crown). As I wrote in Saving Monticello, Jefferson M. Levy had that motto emblazoned—along with a French-style coat of arms of two laurel sprays enclosing the letter “L”—on the headboard of a bed in one of the upstairs rooms at Monticello that JML used as a dressing room and clothes closet.

 Hampton Roads Naval Museum educator Alicia Pullen, who wrote the excellent post, correctly notes that neither the motto nor the crest appears “in either Levy’s maternal or paternal line, which suggested that Uriah Levy may have created the insignia to celebrate his 1814 release from English military prison.”  

The base of the cup, she points out, is engraved with the date “1814, likely celebrating Levy’s return home.”  

Her post goes on to briefly recount UPL’s post-1814 Navy career (he died in service in 1862), noting that his promotion to Captain in 1844 was “uncommon in the Navy, having started as a cabin boy [on a merchant ship] and promoted to captain.” She also talks about the antisemitism he faced in the Navy and Uriah Levy’s ultimately successful campaign to end flogging.

Pullen notes that perhaps Levy’s “most significant contribution to the American people” was his “effort to preserve, conserve, and repair President Thomas Jefferson’s home at Monticello.”  

And she goes on to mention that UPL’s nephew Jefferson Levy took control of the property in 1879 after it went into a second period of decline. Her conclusion is right on the mark: “The Levys’ efforts in restoring one of the nation’s most notable historic landmarks demonstrated their devotion and understanding for historic preservation as a way of maintaining the legacy of its leaders and the past.”

You can read the entire post—which includes a reference to Saving Monticello—at http://bit.ly/UriahCup

EVENTS: I’m still in seven-day-a-week writing mode for my next book, and won’t have another public event for any of my books in July.  

There’s always the chance that I may have a last-minute talk or signing, though. For the latest on that, or to check out my scheduled 2019 events, go to the Events page on my website at https://leepsoncalendar.blogspot.com

If you’d like to arrange an event for Saving Monticello, or for any of my other books, email me. For info on my latest book, Ballad of the Green Beret, go to http://bit.ly/GreenBeretBook

GIFT IDEAS:  Want a personally autographed, brand-new paperback copy of Saving Monticello? Please e-mail me at marcleepson@gmail.com  I also have a few as-new, unopened hardcover copies, along with a good selection of brand-new copies of my other books.