Judah Benjamin

Judah Benjamin (1811-1884) was a prominent Confederate politician, and lawyer, who served as a representative in the Louisiana state legislature, as United States Senator for Louisiana, in several Cabinet posts in the government of the Confederate States of America, and as a distinguished barrister and Queen's Counsel in England. He was the second Jew to serve as a U.S. Senator, and, arguably, the first in the Cabinet of a North American government (the legitimacy of the Confederate States government is debatable).

Judah Benjamin in Southern Victory
Judah Benjamin was Secretary of State President Jefferson Davis and served in the Cabinets of many others of the Confederacy's first generation of leaders. He led his country's diplomatic efforts in the War of Secession. During the presidency of James Longstreet, Judah Benjamin was the ambassador to the United States. Despite his best efforts, he was not able to prevent the Second Mexican War of 1881-82.

During the closing days of the Second Mexican War, Benjamin became aware that Senator Wade Hampton III was attempting to recruit support for a coup should Longstreet go through with his plans to end slavery. He also knew that Hampton had unsuccessfully attempted to recruit Thomas Jackson, a fact which surprised Jackson.

Judah Benjamin in The Guns of the South
Judah Benjamin served as Jefferson Davis's Secretary of State and as one of the Confederacy's representatives to the peace conference that resulted in the end of the Second American Revolution and the recognition of the CS. He was a particularly shrewd man, and was one of the few Confederate leaders privy to the truth about the Rivington Men. For these reasons, Lee asked Benjamin to continue in the position of Secretary of State when Lee was elected.

Benjamin was wounded during the Rivington Men's attack on Robert E. Lee's inauguration as president. The bullet passed through his calf, but did not damage the bone.

Similar themes by other writers
Judah Benjamin is also a major character in Gray Victory by Robert Skimin, also an alternate history depiction of a victorious Confederacy. In that scenario, Benjamin is seduced and assasinated by an Abolitionist conspirator, seeking to re-ignite the war between the Confederacy and the US in order to end slavery.