George Henry Hoyt
| George Henry Hoyt | |
|---|---|
George H. Hoyt, ca. 1864
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| 6th Kansas Attorney General | |
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In office January 14, 1867 – January 11, 1869 |
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| Preceded by | Jerome D. Brumbaugh |
| Succeeded by | Addison Danford |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
November 25, 1837 Athol, Massachusetts |
| Died | February 2, 1877 (aged 39) Athol, Massachusetts |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Anzonette Cheney |
| Profession | Attorney, Union soldier |
George Henry Hoyt (November 25, 1837 – February 2, 1877) was an abolitionist and attorney for John Brown. During the Civil War, he served as a Union cavalry officer and captain of the Kansas Red Leg scouts, rising to the rank of Brevet Brigadier General by war’s end. Following the war, Hoyt served as the sixth Attorney General of Kansas.
George Henry Hoyt was born in Athol, Massachusetts, on November 25, 1837, the only surviving son of Athol physician and abolitionist George Hoyt and his wife Avelina Witt Hoyt. In 1851, the Hoyts removed to Boston where George studied law. Lysander Spooner, abolitionist anarchist and good friend of Dr. Hoyt, deeply influenced young George's uncompromising approach to abolition, as did radical orator Wendell Phillips.
Following John Brown’s Harpers Ferry raid, Hoyt was recruited by Boston abolitionists to volunteer as a counsel to Brown, then on trial in Charlestown, Virginia. He arrived at the trial on October 28, 1859, with orders to spy on the proceedings, pass messages to and from Brown, and, most controversially, to arrange a prison break that would free the prisoner and as many of his associates as possible. Because of the large number of militia in Charlestown and because Brown refused to cooperate, Hoyt called off the plot.
When John Brown denounced his court-appointed lawyers on the second day of his trial, both resigned, leaving 21-year-old Hoyt, who had no experience in criminal or Virginia law, as his sole counsel. Two experienced attorneys, Samuel Chilton of Washington D.C., and Hiram Griswold of Cleveland, arrived the next day to take the defense out of Hoyt’s inexperienced hands. Following Brown's conviction, Hoyt traveled to Ohio to collect affidavits the defense team hoped would prove Brown insane and thereby avoid his execution. While in Ohio, Hoyt befriended John Brown, Junior, Old Brown’s eldest son, and a large number of “fighting abolitionists” with whom he would later enlist in the Union Army.
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