America's First Jewish Congregation

In 1776, the British forces took possession of New York City. Many of Shearith Israel’s congregants fled the city, with a significant number of the men joining the military of the American patriots. Several British soldiers desecrated two of Shearith Israel’s Torah scrolls; the Congregation maintains these scrolls as historical memorials of the Revolutionary War period. The soldiers who desecrated the Torah scrolls were severely punished by the British military authorities.