Sympathizing with the
Patriot cause, Salomon joined the New York branch of the
Sons of Liberty. In September 1776, he was arrested by the
British as a
spy, but quickly pardoned. However, the British authorities detained him for 18 months on a boat as an interpreter for
Hessian troops, since Salomon could speak
German. Salomon used his new position to help
prisoners of war from the
Continental Army escape, encouraged Hessian troops to desert, and collaborated with
Hercules Mulligan and
Cato to carry out other acts of espionage. In 1778 Salomon was arrested again, convicted of espionage, and sentenced to death. He eventually escaped and made his way with his family to
Philadelphia, where the
Continental Congress was located.
Financing of the American Revolutionary War Once resettled in Philadelphia, Salomon resumed his activities as a broker. He became the agent to the French
consul as well as the
paymaster for all French forces in North America. In 1781, he began working extensively with
Robert Morris, the newly appointed
Superintendent of Finance of the United States. From the period from 1781 to 1784, records show Salomon's fundraising and personal lending helped provide over $650,000 in financing to General
George Washington in his war effort. His most meaningful financial contribution, however, came immediately prior to the
Siege of Yorktown. In August 1781, the
Continental Army trapped Lieutenant General
Charles Cornwallis in the Virginia coastal town of
Yorktown. George Washington and the main army, and
Count de Rochambeau with his French army, decided to march from the
Hudson Highlands to Yorktown and deliver the final blow. But Washington's war chest was completely empty, as was that of Congress. Without food, uniforms and supplies, Washington's troops were close to mutiny. Salomon brokered the sale of a majority of the war aid from France and the
Dutch Republic, selling bills of exchange to American merchants. Salomon also personally supported various members of the
Continental Congress during their stay in Philadelphia, including
James Madison and
James Wilson. He requested below-market interest rates, and he never asked for repayment. Salomon is believed to have granted outright bequests to men who he thought were unsung heroes of the revolution who had become impoverished during the war. One example is
Bodo Otto, a senior surgeon in the continental army. Otto joined the army at the age of 65 and served for the entire war. Among other things, he established the hospital at
Valley Forge, where he often used his own funds to purchase medical supplies. Due to Salomon's bequest, Otto was able to rebuild his medical practice in
Reading, Pennsylvania, at war's end. The
Treaty of Paris, signed on September 3, 1783, ended the Revolutionary War but not the financial problems of the newly established nation. America's war debt to France was never properly repaid, which was part of the cascade of events leading to the
French Revolution.
Jewish community Salomon was involved in Jewish community affairs, being a member of
Congregation Mikveh Israel in Philadelphia, and in 1782 made the largest individual donation toward the construction of its main building. In 1783, Salomon was among the prominent Jews involved in the successful effort to have the Pennsylvania Council of Censors remove the religious test oath required for office-holding under the State Constitution. These test laws were originally written to disenfranchise the Quaker majority (Quakers objected to taking oaths at all), but many were caught up in this anti-democratic ploy. It was Salomon's old friend
Robert Morris who actually introduced legislation to end the test laws in Pennsylvania. In 1784, Salomon answered
antisemitic slander in the press by stating: "I am a Jew; it is my own nation; I do not despair that we shall obtain every other privilege that we aspire to enjoy along with our fellow-citizens."
Freemasonry Like Washington and many prominent men associated with the American revolution, Salomon was a
Freemason. He received his first two degrees in Philadelphia's Lodge No. 2, Ancient York Rite in 1764. After the war, his
Master Mason degree was conferred in 1784 (possibly in Maryland Lodge, No. 27), the year before his death. ==Death==