Leonard, Elizabeth D. Lincoln's Avengers: Justice, Revenge, and Reunion after the Civil War.LEONARD, Elizabeth D. Lincoln's avengers; justice, revenge, and reunion after the Civil War. Norton. 373p. notes. index. c2004. 0-393-32677-2. $14.95. SA* Chairman of the History Department at Colby College Colby College, at Waterville, Maine; coeducational; est. 1813, opened 1818. The school, principally a liberal arts college, adopted its present name in 1899. Its library includes the papers of Edwin Arlington Robinson. , Elizabeth Leonard presents a riveting account of the capture, trial, and eventual execution of those involved in the Lincoln assassination Assassination See also Murder. assassins Fanatical Moslem sect that smoked hashish and murdered Crusaders (11th—12th centuries). [Islamic Hist.: Brewer Note-Book, 52] Brutus conspirator and assassin of Julius Caesar. [Br. . What makes this account special, however, is that it is told with a focus on Joseph Holt General Joseph Holt (January 6, 1807 – August 1, 1894) was a leading member of the Buchanan administration and was Judge Advocate General in the United States Army, most notably during the Lincoln assassination trials. , the Judge Advocate General judge advocate general (J.A.G.) n. a military officer who advises the government on courts-martial and administers the conduct of courts-martial. The officers who are judge advocates and counsel assigned to the accused come from the office of the judge advocate in Stanton's War Department. A Union man from Kentucky, Holt had served briefly as the last Secretary of War under Buchanan. He was convinced that those opposed to the Union were led by "a few evil fanatics" and from this viewpoint he pursued not only the Copperheads Copperheads, in the American Civil War, a reproachful term for those Northerners sympathetic to the South, mostly Democrats outspoken in their opposition to the Lincoln administration. They were especially strong in Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, where Clement L. during the war, but, with ever increasing determination, those whom he held responsible for the death of Lincoln as well as those responsible for the atrocities of the prisoner-of-war camps. As JAG judge advocate general (J.A.G.) n. a military officer who advises the government on courts-martial and administers the conduct of courts-martial. The officers who are judge advocates and counsel assigned to the accused come from the office of the judge advocate he presided over the trials of Mary Surratt and those who frequented her boarding house as well as that of Henry Wirtz, Commandant of Andersonville. Holt was deeply involved in the political struggles over the shape the Reconstruction should take. He was also determined to bring Jefferson Davis to trial for conspiracy in the death of Lincoln, but in this he failed. Leonard's smooth prose backed by her careful research makes this a valuable book for all serious students of American history. Patricia Moore, Chestnut Hill MA S--Recommended for senior high school students. A--Recommended for advance students and adults. This code will help librarians and teacher working in high schools where there are honors and advanced placement students. This also will help extend KLIATT's usefulness in public libraries. *--The asterisk highlights exceptional books. |
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