August Bondi

August Bondi[2] (Jewish name Anshl; July 21, 1833, in Vienna, Austria – September 30, 1907, in St. Louis, Missouri, United States) was an Austrian-American Jew involved in the Border War (Bleeding Kansas) and later the American Civil War. In Kansas, he was a part of the Pottawatomie Rifles and fought alongside abolitionists John Brown and James Lane.[3][4][5]

August Bondi
Born(1833-07-21)July 21, 1833
Vienna, Austria
DiedSeptember 30, 1907(1907-09-30) (aged 74)
St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Allegiance United States
Service/branchUnion Army
Years of service1861–
Unit5th Kansas Cavalry Regiment
Battles/warsBleeding Kansas (1854–1861)
American Civil War (1861–1865)
A Salina, Ks., historical marker:[1] "August Bondi, 1833–1907, Jewish-American Abolitionist, Salina Resident"

August Bondi was born July 21, 1833, in Vienna, Austria. The Bondis, Jewish European refugees, fled the Austrian Empire after the failed revolutions of 1848 and settled in St. Louis, Missouri. August Bondi moved to the Pottawatomie Creek valley in Franklin County, Kansas in 1855 with his business partner, Jacob Benjamin and began homesteading. The Bondi and Benjamin homesteads were near the forks of Mosquito Creek northwest of Dutch Henry's Crossing (Lane, Kansas).[4]

Some sources claim that, as Free Soilers who hated slavery, their farm was attacked and burned by "Border Ruffians" (pro-slavers), and that a neighboring farmer, John Brown, rushed to their aide with his sons. However, Bondi recounts in his autobiography that he first met Brown's sons when their herd of Devon cattle wandered onto his farm, and he first met John Brown while traveling to elect a delegate to the 1855 Free State Constitutional Convention.[4] The Brown family did help to evict a pro-slavery squatter from Bondi's claim while he was in St. Louis in January 1856, and Bondi's farm was burned while he was away guarding pro-slavery prisoners captured during the Battle of Black Jack in June 1856.[4]

Bondi, along with several other Free Staters, laid out the town of Greeley, Kansas in December 1856.[4] Bondi became Postmaster, served as town constable and lived on a farm south of Greeley until enlisting in the Union Army in November 1861.[4] Bondi enlisted in the 5th Kansas Cavalry and served until he was seriously wounded three years later. Bondi settled in Salina, Kansas in 1866 becoming Postmaster and later a County Judge. A believer in the brotherhood of all men, he rose to be a 32nd-degree Mason. Bondi died September 30, 1907, while visiting St. Louis.[6]

Lloyd Alexander wrote a historical novel for young people titled, Border Hawk: August Bondi, illustrated by Bernie Krigstein.

References
  1. Beets, Jason (30 August 2018). "Salina dedicates marker to local abolitionist". The Salina Journal. Archived from the original on 21 October 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  2. Some sources give his name as August Mendel Bondi, including his grandfather's name as a middle name
  3. Stillman, Yankl (March 2004). "August Bondi and the Abolitionist Movement". Jewish Currents. Archived from the original on 2011-10-01. Retrieved 2011-03-25.
  4. "Excerpts from the Autobiography of August Bondi (1833–1907)" (PDF). University of Kansas. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-04-23. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  5. Klinger, Jerry. "August Bondi: The Abolitionist Jew who fought to free the American Slaves" (PDF). Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-08-11.
  6. "August Bondi Dead, The Topeka State Journal, 01 Oct. 1907". Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Lib. of Congress. October 1907. p. 3.
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