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.
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