John C. Breckinridge

John C. Breckinridge

John Cabell Breckinridge (born January 21, 1821 in Lexington , Kentucky , † May 17, 1875 ibid) was an officer in the US Army , Vice President of the United States and Senator for the state of Kentucky. In the American Civil War he was a general in the Confederate Army .

Origin and career

Breckinridge was the son of Joseph and Mary Clay (Smith) Breckinridge and thus the scion of a powerful family. His grandfather was John Breckinridge , Attorney General under President Thomas Jefferson . He first attended the Pisgah Academy in Woodford County , Kentucky, and after graduating from Center College in Danville , Kentucky in 1839, he went to the College of New Jersey , now Princeton University . Breckinridge then studied law at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky. In 1840 he was finally admitted to the bar. He first ran his law firm in Burlington , Iowa . But in 1843 he returned to Kentucky and moved back to Lexington in 1845, where he worked as a lawyer and law professor at Transylvania University . In December 1843 he married Mary Cyrene Burch .

Military career and political career

During the Mexican-American War (1846-1848) Breckinridge served in 1847 as a major in the 3rd Kentucky Infantry Regiment. As a Democrat , he was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives for Fayette County in 1849 . From 1851 to 1855 he was a member of the US House of Representatives . After the election of James Buchanan as president in 1856 , he became his running mate on March 4, 1857 at the age of 36 years, 1 month and 11 days , making him the youngest Vice President in US history. In 1860 he was put up as a candidate for the presidential elections by the Southern Democrats, but was defeated by the candidate of the Republican Party , Abraham Lincoln . His vice presidency expired on March 4, 1861.

The Kentucky Parliament had meanwhile elected him to the US Senate . He exercised the mandate from March to September 1861. He supported the Crittenden Compromise in the hope of avoiding war. Breckinridge did not defend slavery but switched sides because of the federal government's obstruction to his state's operations. He returned to Kentucky in September 1861 to organize the provisional Confederate government for that state. On December 4, 1861, he was expelled from the US Senate for leaving Washington, DC to join the Confederate .

Secession period

In November 1861, Breckinridge was named a general in the Confederate Army and served in the Civil War under General Albert S. Johnston . He excelled in the battles of Bowling Green and Shiloh . In June 1862 he was appointed division commander during the Battle of Vicksburg and took part in the failed assault on Baton Rouge , Louisiana . Under General Joseph E. Johnston he fought in the Battle of Jackson and took part under General Braxton Bragg at the end of 1862 in the Battle of the Stones River (with high losses of his so-called Orphan Brigade ) and in September 1863 in the Battle of Chickamauga . In May 1864 he beat Major General Sigel at New Market and advanced with Lieutenant General Early to Washington, DC in July, sharing his defeat at Winchester , Virginia in September . In 1864 he was appointed commander of the Western Virginia Military District. President Jefferson Davis named him Secretary of War on February 6, 1865. At this point, however, it was too late to make any major changes. In April he left Richmond , Virginia with the Cabinet and escaped to Cuba.

post war period

Breckinridge's grave in Lexington

After the war, Breckinridge traveled all over Europe. In 1869 he returned to Lexington after the US government gave him permission to return, and was again a lawyer there. Due to the ban on holding public office because of his participation in the secession, he was no longer able to take part in public life in his state after the war. He became Vice President of the Elizabethtown, Lexington and Big Sandy Railroad Company in 1869 . His family, like many others, was divided in this conflict. Close relatives fought on both sides of the war. He was one of the many people whose lives and loyalties were divided by this civil war. He died on May 17, 1875 in Lexington as a result of an operation and was buried in the local cemetery.

His son Clifton was a MP for Arkansas in the House of Representatives. This also included his cousin William and his great-nephew John as representatives of Kentucky. The places Breckenridge in Colorado , Breckenridge in Minnesota , Breckenridge in Missouri and Breckenridge in Texas were named for John Breckinridge.

literature

• Jules Witcover: The American Vice Presidency: From Irrelevance to Power. Smithsonian Books, Washington, D. C. 2014, ISBN 978-1-5883-4471-7 , pp. 129-136 (= 14. John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky ).
• William C. Davis : Breckinridge: Statesman, Soldier, Icon . Baton Rouge, LA 1974.
• Jon L. Wakelyn: Biographical Dictionary of the Confederacy Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge ISBN 0-8071-0092-7
• The Civil War Almanac World Almanac Publications, New York, NY ISBN 0-911818-36-7

Web links

Commons : John C. Breckinridge  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• John C. Breckinridge in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• John C. Breckinridge in the Miller Center of Public Affairs of the University of Virginia (English)

• John C. Breckinridge in the database of Find a Grave (English)

predecessor	Office	successor
James Alexander Seddon	Minister of War the Confederate 6. February 1865 to May 1865	No successor