UNC Press - Lincoln's Forgotten Ally

432 pp., 6.125 x 9.25, 22 illus., notes, bibl., index

Civil War America

Cloth

ISBN 978-0-8078-3500-5

Published: October 2011

Lincoln's Forgotten Ally

Judge Advocate General Joseph Holt of Kentucky

By Elizabeth D. Leonard

Awards & Distinctions

2012 Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize, Gettysburg College and the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

Joseph Holt, the stern, brilliant, and deeply committed Unionist from Kentucky, spent the first several months of the American Civil War successfully laboring to maintain Kentucky's loyalty to the Union, then went on to serve as President Lincoln's judge advocate general. In Lincoln's Forgotten Ally, Elizabeth Leonard offers the first full-scale biography of Holt, who has long been overlooked and misunderstood by historians and students of the war.

In his capacity as the administration's chief arbiter and enforcer of military law, Holt strove tenaciously, often against strong resistance, to implement Lincoln's wartime policies, including emancipation. After Lincoln's assassination, Holt accepted responsibility for pursuing and bringing to justice everyone involved in John Wilkes Booth's conspiracy. It was because of this role, in which he is often portrayed as a brutal prosecutor, and because of his hard position toward the South, Leonard contends, that Holt's reputation suffered. Leonard argues, however, that Holt should not be defined by what Southern sympathizers and proponents of the Lost Cause came to think of him. Lincoln's Forgotten Ally seeks to restore Holt, who dedicated both his energy and his influence to ensuring that the Federal victory would bring about lasting positive change for the nation, to his rightful place in American memory.

About the Author

Elizabeth D. Leonard is the John J. and Cornelia V. Gibson Professor of History at Colby College. She is the author of several books, including Lincoln's Avengers: Justice, Revenge, and Reunion after the Civil War.

Reviews

"[Leonard] has admirably brought Holt to life. . . . A sympathetic and sensible reading of a difficult personality and the making of federal legal power, recommended for serious readers and university libraries."
--Library Journal

Leonards book is biography at its best in that it illustrates, informs, and deepens the written history of the American people and ones understanding of human nature.
--Journal of Illinois History

"Joseph Holt was a fascinating fellow who found himself thrust into the midst of extraordinary events. A staunch Kentucky Unionist surrounded by secessionists, this brilliant attorney entered the public stage as part of the Buchanan administration, and rose to national prominence--and historic significance--as Abraham Lincoln's judge advocate general. For too long historians have neglected Holt's career. Until now. Elizabeth Leonard has done a superb job of capturing the life of one of the Civil War era's most significant and intriguing public men."
--J. Matthew Gallman, University of Florida, author of Northerners at War: Reflections on the Civil War Home Front

"Elizabeth Leonard has rescued Joseph Holt from undeserved historical obscurity. A Kentucky Democrat and slaveholder before the Civil War, Holt became a staunch Unionist and Lincoln's efficient judge advocate general of the army. This biography powerfully brings to light the strong reputation he earned in the war and Reconstruction era."
--James M. McPherson, Princeton University