The Civil War, a watershed event in American history, marked a climactic moment in the history of New York's Jewish community. Jews served and died on the battlefield, attended to wounded soldiers, sewed uniforms for soldiers and mourned the death of their President with as much depth as the Christian population. Never had American citizenship felt more compatible with Jewish identity, and never were the rewards of a newfound industrialized American prosperity more within reach. Howard Rock tells the tale of this important era in Jewish history, which would transform New York City Jews into the largest Jewish community in the world.