Augustus Williamson Bradford (January 9, 1806 – March 1, 1881), a Democrat, was the 32nd Governor of Maryland in the United States from 1862 to 1866. He served as governor during the Civil War and paid a heavy price for his devotion to the Union. Biography Augustus Williamson Bradford was born in Bel Air, Maryland on January 9, 1806, the son of Samuel Bradford and Jane Bond. He graduated from St. Mary's College in 1824. After graduation, he studied law under the tutelage of Otho Scott, and was admitted to the bar in 1826. He later moved to Baltimore and lived there for the rest of his life. He married Elizabeth Kell on November 10, 1835, and they had twelve children, of whom seven survived their father. In 1845, Governor Thomas Pratt appointed Bradford the Clerk of the Baltimore County Court, a post he occupied until 1851. In February 1861, Governor Thomas H. Hicks appointed Bradford one of Maryland's delegates to the Washington Peace Conference, where he made a speech supporting the Union. Following the conference, the Union Party named Bradford as its candidate for governor, opposing the Democratic candidate General Benjamin C. Howard. Bradford defeated Howard by approximately 30,000 votes and took office on January 8, 1862. During his term, he violently opposed the Federal government's interference in Maryland's elections, upheld the dignity of the State government and defied the harsh and arbitrary military occupation, and went to great lengths to keep the State in the Union. At the same time he upheld the Federal government's authority although he differed with its methods. In September 1862, he was one of the many northern governors to attend the Loyal War Governors' Conference in Altoona, Pennsylvania. During the Civil War, the Confederates invaded Maryland three times. During the last of these, Bradley T. Johnson’s raiders visited Bradford's home in July 1864, and during his absence, burned it to the ground together with all his furniture, library, and papers. This action was partially in retaliation for Union General David Hunter’s burning of the home of Governor John Letcher of Virginia, and partially because of Bradford's "uncompromising spirit and strong leanings." During his four years in office, Augustus Bradford released Samuel Green (freedman) from jail on the condition he leave the state. Green was an African-American slave and minister, who was jailed in 1857 for possessing a copy of the novel Uncle Tom's