Hughes was a Morgan County, Illinois, native, born to parents John and Eliza on March 15, 1840.
Upon his return to Texas, Hughes enlisted in an artillery battery led by John Jay Good, and later by James Postell Douglas.
Fighting alongside the Confederate Army of Tennessee, Hughes's battery saw action throughout the Western Theater of the American Civil War.
By the Atlanta campaign, Hughes had been promoted to captain, and transferred to the cavalry brigade led by Benjamin J. Hill.
Hughes sat in the Twelfth Texas Legislature from February 9, 1870, to his resignation on March 1, 1871, and was succeeded in office by Absolom Gant.