Bridges was relieved of his command and discharged shortly afterward. Later life In 1865, Bridges was elected judge of the state's fourth circuit court. He served in this capacity until the following year. After leaving the bench, he practiced law and established a real estate brokerage in Athens. In 1869, he campaigned to become McMinn County's delegate to the 1870 constitutional convention that would create the present state constitution, but the county chose Colonel Archibald Blizard. Bridges died in Athens on March 16, 1873, following an illness that had lasted for several months. He is interred at Cedar Grove Cemetery in Athens. References 1825 births 1873 deaths People from Athens, Tennessee Tennessee Democrats Unionist Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee Tennessee state court judges American slave owners People from Bradley County, Tennessee 19th-century American politicians University of Tennessee alumni 19th-century American judges Southern Unionists in the American Civil War Union Army officers People of Tennessee in the American Civil War