Alfred Mordecai

Alfred Mordecai (January 3, 1804 – October 23, 1887) was an American army officer. He contributed to United States' military development through his research and writing, particularly in the area of artillery. He was instrumental in the United States' adoption of the M1857 12-pounder Napoleon. Mordecai served in a number of diplomatic missions for his country, but resigned at the start of the Civil War rather than fight for either side. He was one of the first Jewish Americans to choose the army as a career.

Early and personal life Mordecai was born in Warrenton, North Carolina, the son of Jacob Mordecai (1762–1838), who was in turn the son of Moses Mordecai (1707–1781), an Ashkenazi Jewish immigrant from Bonn. Alfred studied at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where he remained as an assistant professor after graduating top of his class. Mordecai had bought her in 1833, and she worked as his housekeeper and cook. His 1845 Report of Experiments on Gunpowder contains "an immense amount of research experimental material on gunpowder as it behaves in, or with, light and heavy artillery".

Mordecai was again placed in command of the Washington Arsenal in 1844 and later of the Watervliet Arsenal in 1857.

Diplomatic missions In 1853 Mordecai was one of a small group selected by Secretary of War Jefferson Davis to travel to Mexico on a secret mission. Under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the Mexican–American War, the U.S. government had agreed to indemnify American citizens for losses sustained through military action by the Mexican government. A dentist named George A. Gardiner has claimed almost $500,000 for the loss of a silver mine, which Mordecai proved did not exist. Gardiner was subsequently found guilty of fraud. The Delafield Commission in Russia, c. 1855. Left to right: Alfred Mordecai, Lt. Colonel Obrescoff (Russian escort), Richard Delafield, and George B. McClellan Mordecai was promoted to major in 1854. In 1855–57 he was sent, along with Major Richard Delafield and Captain George B. McClellan, as a member of a military commission to act as an observer during the Crimean War.

Mordecai praised the Canon obusier de 12 gun-howitzer, which soon afterward was manufactured in the United States as the M1857 12-pounder Napoleon. Alexander Rose notes that Mordecai's report is a "masterpiece of unbiased scholarship" but that he was curiously dismissive of repeaters and breechloaders. Instead, Mordecai emphasized marksmanship:

Civil War and retirement With the advent of the Civil War in 1861, Mordecai was unwilling to fight either against the Confederacy or against his son, also called Alfred, who was serving in the Union Army. (Alfred Jr. remained in the army and retired in 1904 as a brigadier general. Mordecai served as secretary and treasurer of the Pennsylvania Canal Company from 1867 until his death. Stanley L. Falk notes that Mordecai was "an active and outstanding participant in the development of American military technology." Falk also suggests that Mordecai's work was "valued for its accuracy, its precise and systematic nature, and its immediate usefulness. It was an example and an inspiration for every other worker in the same field, and Mordecai was respected by all of them for his technical contributions no less than he was loved for his fineness of character, integrity, warmth and gentle humor." According to The Jewish Press, Mordecai is best known for "introducing scientific methods into the development of pre-Civil War military munitions that contributed to America's becoming a nineteenth century world power." His memory is entitled in a peculiar degree to the care of army historians, for his work was such as appeals to technical and professional men rather than to the multitude. His contributions came, not in the shape of a few large nuggets, but in a steady stream of gold dust sustained for many years and far outweighing the nuggets in the end. The value of his work consisted in its accuracy, its systematic character, and its immediate utility, and still more in the subtle, potent way in which the spirit of it pervaded almost insensibly the entire corps.

Alexander Rose notes that

Publications A Digest of the Laws Relating to the Military Establishment of the United States (1833) The Ordnance Manual for the Use of Officers of the United States Army (1841; second edition, 1850) Report of Experiments on Gunpowder, made at Washington Arsenal, in 1843 and 1844 (1845) Second Report of Experiments on Gunpowder, made at Washington Arsenal, in 1845, '47, and '48 (1849) Artillery for the United States Land Service, as devised and arranged by the Ordnance Board (1859) Military commission to Europe in 1855 and 1856 (1860)