Hugh Lennox Bond (December 16, 1828 – October 24, 1893) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Circuit Courts for the Fourth Circuit.

Education and career

Born in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, Bond graduated from the University of the City of New York (now

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

) in 1848 and read law to enter the bar in 1851. He was in private practice in Baltimore from 1851 to 1860, and was a leader of the local

Know-Nothing party The American Party, known as the Native American Party before 1855 and colloquially referred to as the Know Nothings, or the Know Nothing Party, was an Old Stock nativist political movement in the United States in the 1850s. Members of the m ...

in the 1850s. He was a Judge of the Baltimore City Criminal Court from 1860 to 1867, thereafter returning to private practice in Baltimore until 1870. In 1867, Bond lost the Maryland gubernatorial election against Oden Bowie.

Letter advocating recruitment of slaves

During the Civil War, Bond’s letter of August 15, 1863, to Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton was published in newspapers. Bond had been an

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...

since before the Civil War; in his letter, he advocated the enlistment of slaves in the state of Maryland, even though they were not freed by the Emancipation Proclamation, which limited freedom to areas of rebellion. His advocacy soon became a reality.

Federal judicial service

Bond was nominated by President

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...

on April 6, 1870, to the United States Circuit Courts for the Fourth Circuit, to a new seat authorized by 16 Stat. 44. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

on July 13, 1870, and received his commission the same day. Bond was assigned by

operation of law The phrase "by operation of law" is a legal term that indicates that a right or liability has been created for a party, irrespective of the intent of that party, because it is dictated by existing legal principles. For example, if a person dies wi ...

to additional and concurrent service on the

United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (in case citations, 4th Cir.) is a United States federal court, federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the United States district court, district cou ...

on June 16, 1891, to a new seat authorized by 26 Stat. 826 ( Evarts Act). His service terminated on October 24, 1893, due to his death in Baltimore.

Notable cases

Bond and George S. Bryan presided over the trial of

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...

members in Columbia,

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

during December 1871. The defendants were sentenced to five to three months incarceration with fines. In 1876, Bond decided the South Carolina Presidential Electoral case.''The New York Times''. "Obituary Judge Hugh L. Bond." October 25, 1893.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bond, Hugh Lennox 1828 births 1893 deaths Judges of the United States circuit courts Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit United States federal judges appointed by Ulysses S. Grant United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law Lawyers from Baltimore