Holmes Conrad (January 31, 1840 – September 4, 1915) was an American politician, lawyer and military officer.
Early life
Conrad was born in
Winchester, Virginia
Winchester is the most north western independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Frederick County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Winchester wit ...
. He was the son of Robert Young Conrad, a prominent lawyer of Winchester, and state attorney general from 1857 to 1862; his mother was Elizabeth Whiting, daughter of Burr Powell. After attending the
Virginia Military Institute
la, Consilio et Animis (on seal)
, mottoeng = "In peace a glorious asset, In war a tower of strength""By courage and wisdom" (on seal)
, established =
, type = Public senior military college
, accreditation = SACS
, endowment = $696.8 mill ...
, Conrad proceeded in 1858 to the
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...
.
At the outbreak of the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
he enlisted as a private in Company A,
1st Virginia Cavalry
The 1st Virginia Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment raised in Virginia for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It fought mostly with the Army of Northern Virginia.
Organization
The 1st Virginia Cavalry com ...
and saw active service throughout the war. He was commissioned a
lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...
and was appointed adjutant in August 1862. In 1864 he became
major
Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
and assistant
inspector general
An inspector general is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is "inspectors general".
Australia
The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (Australia) (IGIS) is an independent statutory off ...
of
Thomas Rosser
Thomas Lafayette "Tex" Rosser (October 15, 1836 – March 29, 1910) was a Confederate major general during the American Civil War, and later a railroad construction engineer and in 1898 a brigadier general of volunteers in the United States Army ...
’s cavalry division, serving there until the end of the war.
Career
In 1865 Conrad commenced the study of law in his father’s office in Winchester, and on his admission to the Virginia bar in January 1866, joined his father’s practice. In 1878, he was elected to the Virginia legislature, serving until 1882. Over the next few years, he became one of the leaders of the Virginia bar and acquired an influential position in the councils of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
. In 1890, Conrad was a charter member of The
Virginia Bar Association
The Virginia Bar Association (VBA) is a voluntary organization of lawyers, judges and law school faculty and students in Virginia, with offices in Richmond, Virginia. Key elements are advocacy, professionalism, service and collegiality. It provi ...
. In 1893 President
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...
appointed him
Assistant Attorney General
Many of the divisions and offices of the United States Department of Justice are headed by an assistant attorney general.
The president of the United States appoints individuals to the position of assistant attorney general with the advice and ...
of the U.S., and in 1895 he became Solicitor General.
When he left the position of Solicitor General in 1897, Conrad was retained by President
William McKinley
William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...
on behalf of the Federal government in ''Morris v. U.S.'' In October 1901 he joined the law faculty of
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
as lecturer on the history of English law. In 1904 Conrad was again retained on behalf of the Federal government as a special prosecutor in the Postal Fraud Cases. During the last 20 years of his life he was constantly engaged in appeals before the
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
, including ''
United States v. Wong Kim Ark
''United States v. Wong Kim Ark'', 169 U.S. 649 (1898), was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court which held that "a child born in the United States, of parents of Chinese descent, who, at the time of his birth, are subjects of the Empe ...
''.
He achieved his greatest success in the last case he was engaged on, ''Commonwealth of Virginia v. State of West Virginia'', involving the amount of the contributive share that the latter state should pay toward the public debt of the former. Appearing as counsel for Virginia, Conrad’s argument upon demurrer in the Supreme Court (206 U.S. 290) was in professional circles considered remarkable. Judgment was ultimately given against West Virginia for $12,393,929. For this complicated litigation he was specially retained by the bond-holding creditors.
Conrad was of striking appearance, tall of stature with an erect military bearing. Though wielding great political influence in his state, he did not care for public office. By nature somewhat of an aristocrat and reserved in manner, he was never what some might call a "good mixer". Although that may be, serving as his comrade, Maj. Foxhall Daingerfield's, best man as Daingerfield's Nov., 1864 wedding, when Daingerfield said the part of the Episcopal service, to Nettie Gray, his bride, "I do thee with all my worldly good endow," Conrad blurted out, "There goes DiVernon!", the Major's warhorse. (The Major went back to war, but DiVernon didn't.) As a lawyer he excelled in discussing constitutional questions, and was at his best in appellate work before the Supreme Court. He had an extreme distaste for routine office work. Holmes Conrad was married twice and had seven children. After his death in 1915, he was buried in Mt. Hebron Cemetery in Winchester, Virginia.
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Conrad, Holmes
1840 births
1915 deaths
Confederate States Army officers
United States Assistant Attorneys General
United States Solicitors General
Virginia lawyers
People of Virginia in the American Civil War
Politicians from Winchester, Virginia
Virginia Military Institute alumni
19th-century American lawyers