Isabelle Wolfe Research Paper

Isabelle Wolfe Baruch

Isabelle Wolfe, born 4 Mar 1850 in Winnsboro, Fairfield, South Carolina, the daughter of Sailing Wolfe, a young merchant and planter of Winnsboro, and Sara Cohen, daughter of Rabbi Hartwig Cohen of Charleston. Isabelle, known as “Belle” married Simon Baruch who had immigrated from Schwersenz, near Poland, in East Prussia, to Camden, South Carolina in 1855 to avoid Prussian conscription. At the time he immigrated to America, Simon was fifteen years old and the only person he knew in America when he arrived was a man by the name of Mannes Baum. Mr. Baum was the owner of a general store in Camden, SC and was married to an aunt of Baruch’s mother.

Simon worked for Baum as a bookkeeper and, with Baum's help, he taught himself

When Simon left for war, Mannes Baum presented him with the uniform and sword he wore into service. Simon eventually became Surgeon General of the Confederacy on served on Robert E. Lee’s staff.

Prior to the war he had met and fallen in love with Isabelle Wolfe and they became engaged. While he was away in service, Isabelle painted his portrait in the family home in South Carolina. On Sherman’s March to the Sea, Sherman’s raiders set the Wolfe house afire, and as “Belle” rescued the portrait, a “Yankee soldier” ripped it with his bayonet and then slapped her. The evil deed was witnessed by a Union officer who in turn, beat the attacker with his sword.

Although Simon was now a resident of South Carolina and also an ex Confederate soldier, marriage to him was not a welcome thought for Belle’s father, Sailing Wolfe who remarked: "Marriage to a gentile is bad enough, but marriage to a Yankee, never, ever, it is out of the question." Isabelle Wolfe eventually married Baruch. After the war, Isabelle and Simon moved to New York City, where Dr. Baruch set up what became a prominent medical practice on West 57th

Bernard Baruch was an adviser to presidents from World War I to World War II and became a confidant of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. It is because of him that the Mrs. Simon Baruch University Award bi-annually by the General Organization of the United Daughters of the Confederacy became endowed. This award is presented to the author of a previously unpublished monograph or full-length book manuscript dealing with Confederate history, including the ante-bellum period, the causes that led to secession and the War Between the States. The award is presented in even-numbered years and consists of a $500 author’s award and a $2000 publication award. It is considered as a grant-in-aid for the purpose of encouraging research in Southern