Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (1841–1935) was an American jurist who served on the Supreme Court of the United States from 1902 to 1932. Noted for his long service, his concise and pithy opinions, and his deference to the decisions of elected legislatures, he is one of the most widely cited United States Supreme Court justices in history.

Oliver Wendell Holmes in "Must and Shall"
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. was an American soldier during the Great Rebellion. In July 1864, the Confederate general Jubal Early conducted a raid against Fort Stevens, north of Washington, DC, and President Abraham Lincoln came out to watch the troops skirmishing. At six foot four, with his stovepipe hat adding eight inches to his height, Lincoln stood on the parapet, watching smoke puffs from Confederate snipers, seemingly unafraid, even when an officer three feet from him was dropped by a Confederate bullet. A 23-year old Oliver Wendell Holmes saw this foolhardy target sticking up, and not realizing it was the President of the United States, shouted, "Get down, you damn fool, before you get shot!" When Lincoln turned to leave the parapet, a sniper hit him. Holmes was ordered by General Horatio Wright to fetch a doctor, although both men knew Lincoln was dead. No other information about Holmes is given in this story, so we have no idea whether he had the same long life and judicial career as in OTL.

Oliver Wendell Holmes in Southern Victory
Oliver Wendell Holmes (1841-1935) was a War of Secession veteran who served as Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court in the early twentieth century. Before the Great War, the conservative Holmes Court handed down a number of holdings which favored the military necessity of the the Remembrance ideology.

Following the 1920 Presidential Elections, Holmes administered the oath of office to incoming President Upton Sinclair, the first Socialist to be elected to the US Presidency. He listened to Sinclair's pledges of change in silence, as did other Democrats present. However, his silence was potentially more significant; while Sinclair could propose legislation and Congress could enact that legislation, the Supreme Court could very well strike it down.

Holmes died during the Hoover Administration after a public career even longer than that of General George Custer. He was replaced by Cicero Pittman, who was also a conservative Democrat.