Uriah Levy's life experiences and his personality from the age of 10 to 69 put him in the middle of many pivotal scenes of early American history. He was a 4th generation American of Sephardic Jewish parents, born in Philadelphia in 1792. He chose a profession that few other Jews in his day would dare to try. Driven by patriotism, and resisting the extensive prejudice he encountered, he rose to the Navy's highest rank in 1859, just before the beginning of the Civil War. During his 50 years of service, despite being court-martialed six times, he helped abolish flogging of sailors in the Navy, and personally helped to preserve President Jefferson's historic home of Monticello in Virginia.
Mr. Tucker will perform the life of Uriah Levy in full US Navy uniform circa 1862.