 In 1857, he authored a formerly popular Christmas poem and song, "Old Whitey's Christmas Trot".In 1851, New York County District Attorney N. Bowditch Blunt appointed Hall as an assistant district attorney, and after Blunt's death in 1854, Hall offered to occupy the office until the end of the year and revert the district attorney's wages to Blunt's widow and her eight children.However, Democrat Lorenzo B. Shepard was appointed by Governor Horatio Seymour to fill the vacancy.