Existing comment:
First Known Jewish Midshipman at the Naval Academy; Raphael J. Moses, Jr., Class of 1864
Raised in Georgia, Moses (1844-1909) resigned from the Academy to fight for the South. He was an acting midshipman in the Georgia Navy and the Provisional Navy. In action in major engagements, he twice ran the Northern blockade of the Atlantic. Moses was nominated for promotion to Master before being captured in December 1864. Exchanged early in 1865, he joined the Georgia Volunteers serving with Lee in Northern Virginia. He was paroled April 9, 1865.
Admitted to the bar in 1866, Moses practiced law in Georgia before moving to New York City in 1872 where he specialized in insurance law and receiverships. In 1900, his focus turned almost exclusively to aerodynamics.
In 1865, Moses married Georgiana Samuel. They had seven children -- the third, Lawrence, graduated from the Naval Academy (1890). Joining the Marine Corps, he retired as a colonel in 1926. Seven other members of the Moses family would attend the Naval Academy. All were in active service except one who was discharged owing to a physical disability. |