After graduation, Partridge practiced law in Baltimore and served on a federal commission appointed to resolve Mexican War claims.
[2] In 1862, Partridge was appointed by President Abraham Lincoln to serve as the first foreign minister to Honduras, a post he held from April 25, 1862 until November 14, 1862.
[17] He was recalled after trying to coordinate the intervention of European diplomats in a war between Peru and Chile, which the Arthur administration said was unauthorized and a violation of the Monroe Doctrine.
[18] He was later named for a post as a foreign minister to Nicaragua, but his nomination was withdrawn from the United States Senate for consideration.
[19] In the last year of his life, Partridge sailed for Europe, traveled to France, Malta and the Holy Land, and resided for a brief period in Spain.