Lincoln's Forgotten Ally - (Civil War America) by Elizabeth D Leonard (Paperback)

About the Book

Lincoln's Forgotten Ally: Judge Advocate General Joseph Holt of Kentucky

Book Synopsis

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 and 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.

Review Quotes

"A captivating biography of Joseph Holt. . . . Displaying the dexterity of an accomplished historian, Leonard reconstructs Holt's personal life to reveal a fascinating portrait of the type of representative -- but not "great" -- man who was instrumental in constructing the modern American nation."--Annals of Iowa

"A model of scholarly biography."--Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society

"A well-written and compelling biography. . . . Leonard skillfully illuminates, in a readable and engaging fashion, aspects of Holt and his world. . . . A useful book, both for the classroom and a popular audience."--Southern Historian

"A well-written, scholarly, and well-documented book. . . . Highly recommended for both academic and general readers interested in the Civil War, Reconstruction, the Lincoln assassination, and legal history."--Register of the Kentucky Historical Society

"An outstanding example of how even a diffident life like Holt's can be made emblematic of great themes in an era of great conflict."--Civil War News

"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

"Leonard has done a great service to Holt and to modern readers by releasing his story from its reconciliationist captives. Holt's commitment to the Union. . . . reclaims the central tenet of Lincoln's willingness to go to war: preservation of the Union."--Journal of the North Carolina Association of Historians

"Leonard skillfully and meticulously reconstructs Holt's 87-year life. . . . Judge Advocate General Holt will no longer be forgotten."--Civil War Book Review

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

"With Leonard's skillful research and careful assessment. . . . Joseph Holt will no longer remain an obscure figure."--Journal of American History