Joseph Holt | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Holtc. 1860–1865 | |
| Judge Advocate General of the United States Army | |
| In office September 3, 1862 – December 1, 1875 | |
| President | Abraham Lincoln Andrew Johnson Ulysses S. Grant |
| Preceded by | John F. Lee |
| Succeeded by | William McKee Dunn |
| 25thUnited States Secretary of War | |
| In office January 18, 1861 – March 5, 1861 | |
| President | James Buchanan |
| Preceded by | John B. Floyd |
| Succeeded by | Simon Cameron |
| 18thUnited States Postmaster General | |
| In office March 9, 1859 – December 31, 1860 | |
| President | James Buchanan |
| Preceded by | Aaron V. Brown |
| Succeeded by | Horatio King |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1807-01-06)January 6, 1807 Breckinridge County,Kentucky, U.S. |
| Died | August 1, 1894(1894-08-01) (aged 87) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Harrison Margaret Wickliffe |
| Education | Centre College |
| Signature | .png) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Army (Union Army) |
| Years of service | 1862-1875 |
| Rank | Brigadier general |
| Commands | Judge Advocate General's Corps |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War |
Joseph Holt (January 6, 1807 – August 1, 1894) was an American lawyer, soldier, and politician. As a leading member of theBuchanan administration, he succeeded in convincing Buchanan to oppose the secession of the South. He returned to Kentucky and successfully battled the secessionist element thereby helping to keep Kentucky in the Union. PresidentAbraham Lincoln appointed him theJudge Advocate General of the United States Army. He served as Lincoln's chief arbiter and enforcer of military law, and supporter of emancipation. His most famous roles came in theLincoln assassination trials.[1]
Joseph Holt was born inBreckinridge County, Kentucky, on January 6, 1807. He was educated atSt. Joseph's College inBardstown, Kentucky andCentre College inDanville, Kentucky. He settled inElizabethtown, Kentucky, and set up a law office in town. He married Mary Harrison and moved toLouisville, Kentucky, in 1832. There, he became assistant editor of theLouisville Public Advertiser and theCommonwealth's Attorney from 1833 to 1835. Holt moved toPort Gibson, Mississippi, and practiced law there as well as inNatchez, Mississippi andVicksburg, Mississippi. Holt and his wife contractedtuberculosis. Mary died of it, and Joseph returned to Louisville to recuperate.
Following Mary's death, Holt remarried, to Margaret Wickliffe. In 1857, Holt was appointedCommissioner of Patents byPresidentBuchanan and moved toWashington D.C. He served until 1859 when Buchanan appointed himPostmaster General. The Buchanan administration was shaken in December 1860 and January 1861, when theConfederacy was formed and many cabinet members resigned, but Holt was both against slavery and strongly for theUnion. Supported by his close ally Attorney GeneralEdwin M. Stanton, he was appointedSecretary of War upon the resignation ofJohn B. Floyd ofVirginia, who joined the Confederacy. Stanton and Holt convinced President Buchanan he had to speak out against secession as an illegal act. Buchanan did so, but he also thought he had no power whatsoever to stop the secession. When Lincoln took office, Holt returned to Kentucky and worked successfully to keep the state out of the Confederacy. Kentucky was virtually neutral until Confederate units invaded in September 1861, and the Unionist element took control.[2]
Holt joined theArmy as a colonel in 1862 and was appointed by President Abraham Lincoln to be theJudge Advocate General of theUnion Army.[3][4] As Judge Advocate General of the Army, Holt oversaw the expansion of military law to include the military prosecutions of citizens who were not in the military service. He crafted the argument to the Supreme Court in Ex Parte Vallandigham,[5] By the time he joined the Army, he believed that the only means to prevent treason from occurring again was to ensure that slavery was abolished for all time, and eventually equal treatment under the law enforced in the South.[6]
In 1864, he was promoted to brigadier general. He was the first Judge Advocate General to hold a general's rank. He personally prosecuted the court-martial against Major GeneralFitz John Porter for crimes ofdisobedience of a lawful order and misbehavior in front of the enemy. Lincoln also offered Holt the position ofSecretary of the Interior that same year andAttorney General later in 1864, but Holt declined both offices.[7]
He was one of the many politicians considered for theRepublicanvice presidential nomination in 1864. It went toAndrew Johnson, and Lincoln was re-elected.
According to University of New Mexico, School of Law Professor Joshua E. Kastenberg, Holt engaged in political activities that were important for the Union's war efforts, but would not be constitutionally permissible today.[8] For instance, Holt crafted legislation that stripped Union Army deserters of their citizenship. The Supreme Court overturned this legislation in Tropp v. Dulles in 1958. Holt's reasoning for this law was that Copperheads and other pro-slavery southern sympathizers encouraged desertions. Holt also used the Army's power to suppress newspapers as well as oversee the arrest and trial of CongressmanBenjamin Gwinn Harris of Maryland who "uttered treasonous statements" in the House of Representatives.[9]
On April 14, 1865, Lincoln was assassinated by Confederate sympathizerJohn Wilkes Booth. Booth's accomplice,Lewis Powell seriously injuredSecretary of StateSeward, and Vice President Johnson was also targeted. Holt prepared an order for the signature of Johnson for the arrest of Confederate PresidentJefferson Davis and five other suspects. Booth was caught on April 26, 1865, but killed byBoston Corbett, a soldier who violated orders.
As Judge Advocate General of the Army, Holt was the chief prosecutor in the trial of the accused conspirators before a military commission chaired by General David Hunter. Two assistant judge advocates,John Bingham and GeneralHenry Lawrence Burnett assisted Holt. The defendants wereGeorge Atzerodt,David Herold,Lewis Powell,Samuel Arnold,Michael O'Laughlen,Edman Spangler,Samuel Mudd, andMary Surratt. The trial began on May 10, 1865, and lasted two months. Holt and Bingham attempted to obscure the fact that there were two plots. The first plot was to kidnap Lincoln and exchange him for Confederate prisoners held by the Union. The second was to assassinate Lincoln, Johnson, and Seward and so throw the government into chaos.
On June 29, 1865, the eight were found guilty of conspiracy to kill the President. Arnold, O'Laughlen, and Mudd were sentenced to life in prison, Spangler to six years in prison, and Atzerodt, Herold, Powell, and Surratt to be death.[10][11][12] They were executed on July 7, 1865. Surratt became the first woman to be executed by the U.S. federal government.
Holt's public image was besmirched by the trial and his prosecution of it, and many historians believe that the controversy surrounding it ended Holt's political career. In 1866, Holt issued a pamphlet, titledVindication of Judge Advocate General Holt From the Foul Slanders of Traitors, Confessed Perjurers and Suborners, Acting in the Interest of Jefferson Davis, in which he attempted to defend himself against the various allegations and clear up some of the confusion stemming from the trial.
Holt served as Judge Advocate General until he retired on December 1, 1875. He had a quiet retirement and died in Washington on August 1, 1894. His personal library was put up for auction byC.G. Sloan & Co. in Washington, D.C. in December 1894.[13] He is buried in the Holt Family Cemetery inAddison, Kentucky.Holt County, Nebraska, is named after him, as is the hamlet ofHoltsville, New York and the town ofHolt, Michigan.[14]
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| Preceded by | United States Postmaster General Served under:James Buchanan March 9, 1859 – December 31, 1860 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | U.S. Secretary of War Served under: James Buchanan January 18, 1861 – March 5, 1861 | Succeeded by |
| Military offices | ||
| Preceded by | Judge Advocate General of the United States Army September 3, 1862 – December 1, 1875 | Succeeded by |
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