Hugh Lennox Bond

Who was Hugh Lennox Bond?

Hugh Lennox Bond was a United States federal judge.

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Bond graduated from the University of the City of New York in 1848 and read law to enter the bar in 1851. He was in private practice in Baltimore, Maryland from 1851 to 1860. He was a judge on the Criminal Court of Maryland, Annapolis, Maryland from 1860 to 1867, thereafter returning to private practice in Baltimore until 1870.

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

In 1867, Bond lost the Maryland gubernatorial election against Oden Bowie.

On April 6, 1870, Bond was nominated by President Ulysses Grant to a new seat on the United States circuit court for the Fourth Circuit created by 16 Stat. 44. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 13, 1870, and received his commission the same day. Bond served in that capacity until June 16, 1891, when he was reassigned by operation of law to the newly constituted United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Bond served in that capacity until his death, in 1893, in Baltimore.