Law in War, War as Law: Brigadier General Joseph Holt and the Judge Advocate General's Department in the Civil War and Early Reconstruction, 1861-1865 and Lincoln's Forgotten Ally: Judge Advocate General Joseph Holt of Kentucky

• Author: Fred L. Borch III
• Position: Regimental Historian and Archivist for the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's Corps
• Pages: 113-121

2011] BOOK REVIEWS 113

LAW IN WAR, WAR AS LAW: BRIGADIER GENERAL

JOSEPH HOLT AND THE JUDGE ADVOCATE GENERAL’S

DEPARTMENT IN THE CIVIL WAR AND EARLY

RECONSTRUCTION, 1861–18651

LINCOLN’S FORGOTTEN ALLY: JUDGE ADVOCATE

GENERAL JOSEPH HOLT OF KENTUCKY2

REVIEWED BY FRED L.BORCH III*

While very different in approach and scope, these two books about

Major General Joseph Holt, who served as the Judge Advocate General

(JAG) from 1862 to 1875, are important additions to American military

legal history.

Joshua E. Kastenberg, an Air Force judge advocate now serving as a

military judge, has written a unique study of Holt and his role in the

development of military law during the Civil War era. Law in War, War

as Law examines how then-Brigadier General (BG) Joseph Holt,3 and the

* Mr. Borch is the Regimental Historian and Archivist for the U.S. Army Judge Advocate

General’s Corps. He graduated from Davidson College (A.B., 1976), from the University

of North Carolina (J.D., 1979), and from the University of Brussels, Belgium (LL.M,

magna cum laude, International and Comparative Law, 1980). Mr. Borch also has

advanced degrees in military law (LL.M, The Judge Advocate General's School, 1988),

National Security Studies (M.A., highest distinction, Naval War College, 2001), and

history (M.A., University of Virginia, 2007).

Mr. Borch was recently awarded a Fulbright for the Netherlands for 2012–2013 and

will be a Visiting Professor at the University of Leiden.

Fred Borch is the author of a number of books and articles on legal and non-legal

topics, including Judge Advocates in Combat: Army Lawyers in Military Operations

from Vietnam to Haiti(2001), and Judge Advocates in Vietnam: Army Lawyers in

Southeast Asia(2004). His latest book, For Military Merit: Recipients of the Purple

Heartwas published by Naval Institute Press in 2010.

1JOSHUA E.KASTENBERG,LAW IN WAR,WAR AS LAW:BRIGADIER GENERAL JOSEPH HOLT

AND THE JUDGE ADVOCATE GENERAL’S DEPARTMENT IN THE CIVIL WAR AND EARLY

RECONSTRUCTION,1861–1865(2011).

2ELIZABETH D.LEONARD,LINCOLN’S FORGOTTEN ALLY:JUDGE ADVOCATE GENERAL

JOSEPH HOLT OF KENTUCKY (2011).

3 When Congress created the position of Judge Advocate General (JAG) on July 17,

1862, it provided that the JAG would have the “rank, pay and emoluments of a colonel of

cavalry.” Consequently, Joseph Holt began his career as the JAG as a colonel but, when

Congress authorized the JAG to be a brigadier general (BG) on June 20, 1864, he became

BG Holt. After the death of Lincoln, Secretary of War Edwin Stanton promoted Holt to

the rank of brevet major general as a reward for Holt’s superb wartime. This explains