Historic Kentucky figure Joseph Holt
quickly gaining national recognition

Joseph Holt, the nation’s first judge advocate general, gained a reputation for dispensing quick and draconian justice.

That reputation caught up with him when he presided over the trial of the conspirators accused in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.

The native of Breckinridge County failed to inform President Andrew Johnson that some trial commissioners had called for leniency in the death sentence handed down for conspirator Mary Surratt. Johnson signed her death warrant and Holt spent his remaining years defending his methods of dispensing swift and decisive judgment.

Holt, however, had a long career in the national spotlight and was a renowned lawyer and orator in Kentucky and Mississippi. He served as Secretary of War under President James Buchanan and, after returning to Kentucky when Lincoln was inaugurated, was named the initial U.S. judge advocate general in September 1862.

After joining the Union Army as a colonel, Holt was promoted to major general when he accepted his 1862 appointment. As such, he also became the first judge advocate general to hold general’s rank.

Holt’s stature was enhanced by a 2009 book authored by Susan Dyer, “Lincoln’s Advocate: the Life of Judge Joseph Holt,” and with the purchase of the Joseph Holt house in December. The Breckinridge County Fiscal Court obtained the structure through a $158,000 grant from the Kentucky Heritage Council/State Historic Preservation Office, made possible by the Kentucky Lincoln Bicentennial Commission.

The house, constructed during Holt’s period of national service, had its original portion built in the 1850s. It’s listed in the National Register of Historic Places and is noted for its significance in the areas of national history, politics and architecture. Open houses and community celebrations were conducted in August and September and have drawn more than 2,000 visitors.

Holt, who retired in 1875, will be a featured character in the upcoming film, “The Conspirator,” directed by Robert Redford. The picture is scheduled for release this fall.