Joseph Holt

For the English ship-owner and politician, see Joseph Hoult.
For other uses, see Joseph Holt (disambiguation).
Joseph Holt
18th United States Postmaster General
In office
March 9, 1859 – December 31, 1860
President James Buchanan
Preceded by Aaron V. Brown
Succeeded by Horatio King
25th United States Secretary of War
In office
January 18, 1861 – March 5, 1861
President James Buchanan
Abraham Lincoln
Preceded by John B. Floyd
Succeeded by Simon Cameron
6th Judge Advocate General of the United States Army
In office
September 3, 1862 – December 1, 1875
Preceded by John F. Lee
Succeeded by William M. Dunn
Personal details
Born (1807-01-06)January 6, 1807
Breckinridge County, Kentucky
Died August 1, 1894(1894-08-01) (aged 87)
Washington, D.C.
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Mary Harrison Holt
Margaret Wickliffe Holt
Occupation Lawyer, Politician

Joseph Holt (January 6, 1807 – August 1, 1894) was a leading member of the Buchanan administration and was Judge Advocate General of the United States Army, most notably during the Lincoln assassination trials.

Early life

Joseph Holt was born in Breckinridge County, Kentucky, on January 6, 1807. He was educated at St. Joseph's College in Bardstown, Kentucky and Centre College in Danville, Kentucky. He settled in Elizabethtown, Kentucky and set up a law office in town. He married Mary Harrison and moved to Louisville, Kentucky in 1832. There he became assistant editor of the Louisville Public Advertiser and the Commonwealth's Attorney from 1833 to 1835. Holt moved to Port Gibson, Mississippi, and practiced law there, as well as in Natchez, Mississippi and Vicksburg, Mississippi. Holt and his wife contracted tuberculosis. Mary died of it, and Joseph returned to Louisville to recuperate.

James Buchanan's administration

Holt remarried, to Margaret Wickliffe. In 1857, Holt was appointed Commissioner of Patents by President Buchanan, and moved to Washington. He served in this position until 1859 when Buchanan appointed him Postmaster General. The Buchanan administration was shaken in December 1860 and January 1861, when the Confederacy was formed and many cabinet members resigned, but Holt was anti-slavery and a strong supporter of the Union. He was appointed Secretary of War upon the resignation of John B. Floyd of Virginia. Holt served as Secretary of War until the end of Buchanan's presidency.

Judge Advocate General

Holt joined the Army as a colonel in 1862 and was appointed by President Abraham Lincoln to be the Judge Advocate General of the Union Army; two years later, he was promoted to brigadier general. He was the first Judge Advocate General to hold general's rank. In this position he personally prosecuted the court-martial against Maj. Gen. Fitz John Porter for crimes of disobedience of a lawful order and misbehavior in front of the enemy. Lincoln also offered Holt the position of Secretary of the Interior that same year and Attorney General later in 1864, but Holt declined both offices. He was one of the many politicians considered for the Republican Vice Presidential nomination in 1864. The VP nomination went to Andrew Johnson, and Lincoln was re-elected.

Abraham Lincoln assassination

Joseph Holt (center) along with John Bingham (left) and Henry Burnett (right) were the three prosecutors in charge of the Lincoln assassination trial.
President Buchanan and his Cabinet, c. 1859 (left to right: Jacob Thompson, Lewis Cass, John B. Floyd, James Buchanan, Howell Cobb, Isaac Toucey, Joseph Holt and Jeremiah S. Black)

On April 14, 1865, President Lincoln was assassinated by Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth. Booth's accomplice Lewis Powell attacked Secretary of State Seward, and Vice President Johnson was also targeted. Holt prepared an order for the signature of now-President Johnson for the arrest of Confederate President Jefferson Davis and five other suspects. Booth was caught on April 26, 1865, but was killed by Boston 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 General Henry Burnett assisted Holt. The defendants were George Atzerodt, David Herold, Lewis Powell (a/k/a Paine), Samuel Arnold, Michael O'Laughlen, Edman Spangler, Samuel Mudd, and Mary 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 throw the government into chaos. It was important for the prosecution not to reveal the existence of a diary taken from the body of Booth. The diary made it clear that the assassination plan dated from 14 April. Surprisingly, the defense did not call for Booth's diary to be produced in court. Holt was accused of withholding evidence, but it was never proven.

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 Mrs. Surratt to be hanged. Mrs. Surratt became the first woman executed by the United States federal government since its formation.[1][2][3] They were executed July 7, 1865. O'Laughlen died in prison in 1867. Arnold, Spangler, and Mudd were pardoned by President Johnson in early 1869. Accusations still remain that Mrs. Surratt's sentence of hanging was reduced but that Holt purposely delayed its taking effect until it was too late.

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 titled Vindication 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.

Later life

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. He is buried in the Holt Family Cemetery in Addison, Kentucky. Holt County, Nebraska is named after him, as is the hamlet of Holtsville, New York and the town of Holt, Michigan.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Gillespie, L. Kay (2009). Executed Women of the 20th and 21st Centuries. University Press of America. ISBN 0761845666. See page 152.
  2. ↑ Griffin, John Chandler (2006). Abraham Lincoln's Execution. Pelican Publishing Co. ISBN 1589803957. See page 68.
  3. ↑ O'Shea, Kathleen (1999) [1]. Women and the Death Penalty in the United States, 1900-1998. Praeger Publishing. ISBN 027595952X. See page 101.

Further reading

External links

Political offices
Preceded by
Aaron V. Brown		 United States Postmaster General
Served under: James Buchanan
March 9, 1859 – December 31, 1860 		Succeeded by
Horatio King
Preceded by
John B. Floyd		 U.S. Secretary of War
Served under: James Buchanan
January 18, 1861 – March 5, 1861 		Succeeded by
Simon Cameron
Military offices
Preceded by
John F. Lee		 Judge Advocate General of the United States Army
September 3, 1862 – December 1, 1875 		Succeeded by
William M. Dunn
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