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Holt (Joseph) Papers
mssHolt
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Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Joseph Holt papers
Creator:
Holt, Joseph, 1807-1894
Identifier/Call Number: mssHolt
Physical Description:
10 Linear Feet
(8 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1800-1960s
Date (bulk): 1850-1890
Abstract: Papers belonging to American lawyer, soldier, and politician Joseph Holt.
Language of Material: Materials are in English.
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more
information.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material,
nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and
obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
[Identification of item]. Joseph Holt papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Joseph Holt Rose, 1970.
Joseph Holt (1807-1894) was an American public official and judge advocate general of the U.S. Army from 1862 to 1875. A native
of Kentucky, he became a well-known lawyer and prominent Democratic politician. In 1857, President Buchanan appointed him
commissioner of patents, and in 1859 he became Postmaster General. In the beginning of 1861, before the outbreak of the American
Civil War, he was Secretary of War. A staunch opponent of the secession movement, Holt was instrumental in preventing Kentucky
from seceding. In September 1862, he was appointed to the newly created office of judge advocate general. In this capacity
he presided over the trial and punishment of John Wilkes Booth's accomplices. A controversy over the trial that involved charges
of misusing the power of a military tribunal and manipulation of the evidence resulted in a growing public demand for his
resignation. He remained in office until 1875 and afterwards continued to try to disprove the charges. He died in Washington,
D.C. in August 1894.
The collection contains correspondence and other documents of Joseph Holt. Included are items relating to American Civil War
law and politics; Kentucky at the outbreak of the Civil War; military law and the office of judge advocate general; the trial
of Lincoln's assassins including Mary Surratt; Holt's personal and family life; the U.S. Patent Office; and U.S. Post Office.
Other correspondents include Gustave Beauregard, Horace Greeley, Winfield Scott, James A. Garfield, Ulysses S. Grant, William
T. Sherman, and Edwin Stanton. There is also a copy of a letter by Holt to Abraham Lincoln where he refused the position of
attorney general (1864 November 5).
Processed by Huntington Library staff. In 2021, Brooke M. Black created a finding aid. In 2022, Melissa Haley enhanced description
of the presidential material present in the collection as part of the American Presidential Papers Project.
Former call number: mssHolt papers.
Organized in the following series 1. Joseph Holt letters to friends and family; 2. Joseph Holt speeches, letters, and articles:
copies; 3. Letters to Joseph Holt; 4. Letters and other items by other authors; 5. Printed material; 6. Newspaper clippings,
newspaper releases, and ephemera.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Judges -- United States -- Archives
Lawyers -- Kentucky -- Archives
Law -- United States -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
Military law -- United States -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
Statesmen -- United States -- Archives
Unionists (United States Civil War) -- Kentucky -- Archives
Kentucky -- History -- 1792-1865 -- Sources
Kentucky -- Politics and Government -- 1792-1865 -- Sources
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Sources
United States -- Politics and Government -- 1849-1877 -- Sources
Family papers -- United States -- 19th century
Letters (correspondence) -- United States -- 19th century
Personal papers -- United States -- 19th century
Professional papers -- United States -- 19th century
Speeches (documents) -- United States -- 19th century
Beauregard, G. T. (Gustave Toutant), 1818-1893
Booth, John Wilkes, 1838-1865
Garfield, James A. (James Abram), 1831-1881
Grant, Ulysses S. (Ulysses Simpson), 1822-1885
Greeley, Horace, 1811-1872
Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865 -- Assassination
Scott, Winfield, 1786-1866
Stanton, Edwin M. (Edwin McMasters), 1814-1869
Surratt, Mary E. (Mary Eugenia), 1820-1865
Democratic Party (U.S.) -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
United States. Army. Office of the Judge Advocate General -- History -- Sources
United States. Patent Office -- History -- Sources
United States. Post Office Department -- History -- Sources