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.

In 1864 he became major and assistant inspector general of Thomas Rosser’s cavalry division, serving there until the end of the war.

When he left the position of Solicitor General in 1897, Conrad was retained by President William McKinley on behalf of the Federal government in Morris v. U.S.

In 1904 Conrad was again retained on behalf of the Federal government as a special prosecutor in the Postal Fraud Cases.

Appearing as counsel for Virginia, Conrad’s argument upon demurrer in the Supreme Court (206 U.S. 290) was in professional circles considered remarkable.

This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Solicitor General of the United States.