Joshua Fry Bullitt (February 22, 1821 – February 16, 1898) was a justice of the
Kentucky Court of Appeals
The Kentucky Court of Appeals is the lower of Kentucky
Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illino ...
.
Early life
Bullitt was born to William Christian Bullitt and Mildred Ann Fry in
Jefferson County, Kentucky
Jefferson County is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 782,969. It is the most populous county in the commonwealth (with more than twice the population of sec ...
on February 22, 1821. He was named after
Joshua Fry
Colonel Joshua Fry (1699–1754) was an English-born American adventurer who became a professor, then real estate investor and local official in the colony of Virginia. Although he served several terms in the House of Burgesses, he may be best kn ...
, a notable figure in American colonial history and one of Mildred's ancestors. He was the oldest of ten children, though only six lived past age 25. Among his siblings were
Archibald Dixon) and Thomas Walker Bullitt, father of William Marshall Bullitt.
Bullitt attended
Centre College
Centre College, formally Centre College of Kentucky, is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky, United States. Chartered by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1819, the col ...
, then studied law at the
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...
.
Early career
Bullitt was admitted to the bar in 1844.
He served as a state representative from
Louisville
Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...
beginning in 1851. In 1861 he was elected to the Court of Appeals (Kentucky's highest court at the time). He served as chief justice in 1864 and 1865.
Arrest
Bullitt was arrested in July 1864 at the direction of General
William Tecumseh Sherman
William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a General officer, general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), earning recognit ...
for sympathizing with the Confederacy. He was sent to Tennessee with others suspected of similar crimes, possibly to be sent to the lines. He was returned to Louisville and the Court of Appeals on December 6, 1864.
Release
General Stephen G. Burbridge stated that Bullitt's release was part of an exchange of prisoners between Confederate General
Nathan Bedford Forrest
Nathan Bedford Forrest (July 13, 1821October 29, 1877) was an List of slave traders of the United States, American slave trader, active in the lower Mississippi River valley, who served as a General officers in the Confederate States Army, Con ...
and Federal General Washburne, and that Bullitt "was liable to re-arrest, ought to have been re-arrested and hung, and would have been arrested had he not escaped."
Bullitt fled to Canada and was removed from office in June 1865.
Personal life
Bullitt was married to Elizabeth B. Smith in 1846. Among their children was Joshua Fry Bullitt, Jr. (born 1856), who would also become a notable lawyer and political figure.
Joshua Fry Bullitt died at his home near Louisville on February 16, 1898.
Joshua
Joshua ( ), also known as Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' Literal translation, lit. 'Yahweh is salvation'), Jehoshua, or Josue, functioned as Moses' assistant in the books of Book of Exodus, Exodus and ...