John Cabell Breckinridge 

(January 16, 1821 – May 17, 1875) was an American lawyer, politician,
and soldier. He represented Kentucky in both houses of Congress and became the 14th and
youngest-ever vice president of the United States. Serving from 1857 to 1861, he took office at the
young age of 36. He was a member of the Democratic Party, and served in the U.S. Senate during
the outbreak of the American Civil War, but was expelled after joining the Confederate Army. He was
appointed Confederate Secretary of War in 1865.
Breckinridge was born near Lexington, Kentucky to a prominent local family. After serving as a non-
combatant during the Mexican–American War, he was elected as a Democrat to the Kentucky
House of Representatives in 1849, where he took a states' rights position against interference
with slavery. Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1851, he allied with Stephen A.
Douglas in support of the Kansas–Nebraska Act. After reapportionment in 1854 made his re-election
unlikely, he declined to run for another term. He was nominated for vice president at the 1856
Democratic National Convention to balance a ticket headed by James Buchanan. The Democrats
won the election, but Breckinridge had little influence with Buchanan and, as presiding officer of the
Senate, could not express his opinions in debates. He joined Buchanan in supporting the pro-
slavery Lecompton Constitution for Kansas, which led to a split in the Democratic Party. In 1859, he
was elected to succeed Senator John J. Crittenden at the end of Crittenden's term in 1861.
After Southern Democrats walked out of the 1860 Democratic National Convention, the party's
northern and southern factions held rival conventions in Baltimore that nominated Douglas and
Breckinridge, respectively, for president. A third party, the Constitutional Union Party,
nominated John Bell. These three men split the Southern vote, while anti-
slavery Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln won all but three electoral votes in the North,
allowing him to win the election. Breckinridge carried most of the Southern states. Taking his seat in
the Senate, Breckinridge urged compromise to preserve the Union. Unionists were in control of the
state legislature, and gained more support when Confederate forces moved into Kentucky.
Breckinridge fled behind Confederate lines. He was commissioned a brigadier general and then
expelled from the Senate. Following the Battle of Shiloh in 1862, he was promoted to major general,
and in October he was assigned to the Army of Mississippi under Braxton Bragg. After Bragg
charged that Breckinridge's drunkenness had contributed to defeats at Stones River and Missionary
Ridge, and after Breckinridge joined many other high-ranking officers in criticizing Bragg, he was
transferred to the Trans-Allegheny Department, where he won his most significant victory in the
1864 Battle of New Market. After participating in Jubal Early's campaigns in the Shenandoah Valley,
Breckinridge was charged with defending supplies in Tennessee and Virginia. In February
1865, Confederate President Jefferson Davis appointed him Secretary of War. Concluding that the
war was hopeless, he urged Davis to arrange a national surrender. After the fall of Richmond,
Breckinridge ensured the preservation of Confederate records. He then escaped the country and
lived abroad for more than three years. When President Andrew Johnson extended amnesty to all
former Confederates in 1868, Breckinridge returned to Kentucky, but resisted all encouragement to
resume his political career. War injuries sapped his health, and he died in 1875. Breckinridge is
regarded as an effective military commander. Though well-liked in Kentucky, he was reviled by many
in the North as a traitor.

Contents

 1Early life
 2Early legal career
 3Mexican–American War
 4Political career
o 4.1Early political career
 o 4.2Kentucky House of Representatives
o 4.3U.S. Representative
 4.3.1First term (1851–1853)
 4.3.2Second term (1853–1855)
 4.3.3Retirement from the House
o 4.4Vice-presidency
o 4.5Presidential campaign of 1860
o 4.6U.S. Senator
 5Civil War
o 5.1Service in the Western Theater
o 5.2Service in the Eastern Theater
o 5.3Confederate Secretary of War
 6Escape and exile
 7Return to the U.S. and death
 8Legacy
o 8.1Historical reputation
o 8.2Monuments and memorials
 9See also
 10References
 11Bibliography
 12Further reading
 13External links

Early life[edit]
John Cabell Breckinridge was born at Thorn Hill, his family's estate near Lexington, Kentucky, on
January 16, 1821.[1] The fourth of six children born to Joseph "Cabell" Breckinridge and Mary Clay
(Smith) Breckinridge, he was their only son.[2] His mother was the daughter of Samuel Stanhope
Smith, who founded Hampden–Sydney College in 1775, and granddaughter of John Witherspoon, a
signer of the Declaration of Independence.[1] Having previously served as Speaker of the Kentucky
House of Representatives, Breckinridge's father had been appointed Kentucky's Secretary of
State just prior to his son's birth.[3] In February, one month after Breckinridge's birth, the family moved
with Governor John Adair to the Governor's Mansion in Frankfort, so that his father could better
attend to his duties as Secretary of State.[4]
In August 1823, an illness referred to as "the prevailing fever" struck Frankfort, and Cabell
Breckinridge took his children to stay with his mother in Lexington.[4] On his return, both he and his
wife fell ill. Cabell Breckinridge died, but she survived.[5] His assets were not enough to pay his debts,
and his widow joined the children in Lexington, supported by her mother-in-law.[6] While in Lexington,
Breckinridge attended Pisgah Academy in Woodford County.[7] His grandmother taught him the
political philosophies of her late husband, John Breckinridge, who served in the U.S. Senate and
as Attorney General under President Thomas Jefferson.[8] As a state legislator, Breckinridge had
introduced the Kentucky Resolutions in 1798, which stressed states' rights and endorsed the
doctrine of nullification in response to the Alien and Sedition Acts.[9]
After an argument between Breckinridge's mother and grandmother in 1832, he, his mother, and his
sister Laetitia moved to Danville, Kentucky, to live with his sister Frances and her husband, who was
president of Centre College.[10] Breckinridge's uncle, William Breckinridge, was also on the faculty
there, prompting him to enroll in November 1834.[8] Among his schoolmates were Beriah
Magoffin, William Birney, Theodore O'Hara, Thomas L. Crittenden and Jeremiah Boyle.[11][12] After
earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in September 1838, he spent the following winter as a "resident
graduate" at the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University).[13][14] Returning to Kentucky in mid-
1839, he read law with Judge William Owsley.[14] In November 1840, he enrolled in the second year
of the law course at Transylvania University in Lexington, where his instructors included two
members of the Kentucky Court of Appeals – George Robertson and Thomas A. Marshall.[15] On
February 25, 1841, he received a Bachelor of Laws degree and was licensed to practice the next
day.[16]

Early legal career[edit]

Breckinridge remained in Lexington while deciding where to begin practice, borrowing law books
from the library of John J. Crittenden, Thomas Crittenden's father.[17] Deciding that Lexington was
overcrowded with lawyers, he moved to Frankfort, but was unable to find an office. After being
spurned by a love interest, he and former classmate Thomas W. Bullock departed for the Iowa
Territory on October 10, 1841 seeking better opportunities.[18] Journeying westward, they considered
settling on land Breckinridge had inherited in Jacksonville, Illinois, but they found the bar stocked
with able men like Stephen A. Douglas and Abraham Lincoln.[19] They continued on to Burlington,
Iowa, and by the winter of 1842–1843, Breckinridge reported to family members that his firm handled
more cases than almost any other in Burlington.[20] Influenced by Bullock and the citizens of Iowa, he
identified with the Democratic Party, and by February 1843, he had been named to the Democratic
committee of Des Moines County.[21] Most of the Kentucky Breckinridges were Whigs, and when he
learned of his nephew's party affiliation, William Breckinridge declared, "I felt as I would have done if
I had heard that my daughter had been dishonored."[22]
Breckinridge visited Kentucky in May 1843.[23] His efforts to mediate between his mother and the
Breckinridges extended his visit and after he contracted influenza, he decided to remain for the
summer rather than returning to Iowa's colder climate.[23] While at home, he met Bullock's
cousin, Mary Cyrene Burch, and by September, they were engaged.[23] In October, Breckinridge went
to Iowa to close out his business, then returned to Kentucky and formed a law partnership with
Samuel Bullock, Thomas's cousin.[24][25] He married on December 12, 1843, and settled
in Georgetown, Kentucky.[23] The couple had six children – Joseph Cabell (b. 1844), Clifton Rodes (b.
1846; later a Congressman from Arkansas), Frances (b. 1848), John Milton (b. 1849), John
Witherspoon (b. 1850) and Mary Desha (b. 1854).[23] Gaining confidence in his ability as a lawyer,
Breckinridge moved his family back to Lexington in 1845 and formed a partnership with future U.S.
Senator James B. Beck.[26]

Mexican–American War[edit]
Breckinridge as a member of the United States Army

A supporter of the Mexican–American War, Breckinridge sought appointment to the staff of Major

General William Orlando Butler, a prominent Kentucky Democrat, but Butler could only offer him an
unpaid aide position and advised him to decline it.[27] In July 1847, Breckinridge delivered an address
at a mass military funeral in Frankfort to honor Kentuckians killed in the Battle of Buena Vista. The
oration brought Whig Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky, whose son was among the dead, to tears,
and inspired Theodore O'Hara to write Bivouac of the Dead.[28]
Breckinridge again applied for a military commission after William Owsley, the Governor of
Kentucky, called for two additional regiments on August 31, 1847.[29] Owsley's advisors encouraged
the Whig governor to commission at least one Democrat, and Whig Senator John J.
Crittenden supported Breckinridge's application.[30] On September 6, 1847, Owsley
appointed Manlius V. Thomson as colonel, Thomas Crittenden as lieutenant colonel and
Breckinridge as major of the Third Kentucky Infantry Regiment.[29][30] The regiment left Kentucky on
November 1 and reached Vera Cruz by November 21.[31] After a serious epidemic of La
Vomito, or yellow fever, broke out at Vera Cruz,[32] the regiment hurried to Mexico City. Reports
indicate that Breckinridge walked all but two days of the journey, allowing weary soldiers to use his
horse.[31] When the Third Kentucky reached Mexico City on December 18, the fighting was almost
over; they participated in no combat and remained in the city as an army of occupation until May 30,
1848.[31][33]
In demand more for his legal expertise than his military training, he was named as assistant counsel
for Gideon Johnson Pillow during a court of inquiry initiated against him by Winfield Scott.[34]
[35]
 Seeking to derail Scott's presidential ambitions, Pillow and his supporters composed and
published letters that lauded Pillow, not Scott, for the American victories
at Contreras and Churubusco. To hide his involvement, Pillow convinced a subordinate to take credit
for the letter he wrote. Breckinridge biographer William C. Davis writes that it was "most unlikely" that
Breckinridge knew the details of Pillow's intrigue.[36] His role in the proceedings was limited to
questioning a few witnesses; records show that Pillow represented himself during the court's
proceedings.[35][36]
Returning to Louisville on July 16, the Third Kentucky mustered out on July 21.[37] During their time in
Mexico, over 100 members of the 1,000-man regiment had died of illness.[28] Although he saw no
combat, Breckinridge's military service proved an asset to his political prospects in Kentucky.[28]

Political career[edit]
Main article: Political career of John C. Breckinridge

Early political career[edit]

Breckinridge campaigned for Democratic presidential nominee James K. Polk in the 1844 election.
[37]
 He decided against running for county clerk of Scott County after his law partner complained that
he spent too much time in politics.[38] In 1845, some local Democrats encouraged him to seek
the Eighth District's congressional seat, but he declined, supporting instead Alexander Keith
Marshall, the party's unsuccessful nominee.[27][38] As a private citizen, he opposed the Wilmot
Proviso that would have banned slavery in the territory acquired in the war with Mexico.[39] In
the 1848 presidential election, he backed the unsuccessful Democratic ticket of Lewis Cass and
William Butler.[27] He did not vote in the election. Defending his decision during a speech in Lexington
on September 5, 1860, Breckinridge explained:
But it so happened that there were six or eight gentlemen also accompanying me, all of them
belonging to the Whig Party, and they proposed to me that if I would not return to my own town and
vote, they would not. If they would, there would be six or seven votes cast for Taylor and but one
cast for Cass. I accepted the proposition, and we went hunting; and had every man done as well as
myself, we should have carried the State by 40,000 majority.[40]

Kentucky House of Representatives[edit]

In August 1849, Kentuckians elected delegates to a state constitutional convention in addition to
state representatives and senators.[41] Breckinridge's abolitionist uncles, William and Robert, joined
with Cassius Marcellus Clay to nominate slates of like-minded candidates for the constitutional
convention and the legislature.[35] In response, a bipartisan group of pro-slavery citizens organized its
own slate of candidates, including Breckinridge for one of Fayette County's two seats in the House of
Representatives.[42] Breckinridge, who by this time exploited five enslaved persons, had publicly
declared his opposition to "impairing in any form" the legal protection of slavery.[42][43] Despite his
endorsement of slavery protections, he was a member of the Freemasons and the First Presbyterian
Church in Lexington, both of which officially opposed slavery.[44] He had also previously
represented free blacks in court, expressed support for voluntary emancipation, and supported the
Kentucky Colonization Society, which was dedicated to the relocation of free blacks to Liberia.[43][44]
Breckinridge, circa 1850

Breckinridge received 1,481 votes in the election, over 400 more than his nearest competitor,
making it the first time that Fayette County had elected a Democrat to the state House of
Representatives.[45][46] Between the election and the legislative session, Breckinridge formed a new
law partnership with Owsley's former Secretary of State, George B. Kinkead; his previous partner
having died in a cholera epidemic earlier in the year.[47] He also co-founded the Kentucky Statesman,
a semi-weekly Democratic newspaper, and visited his cousin, Mary Todd, where he met her
husband, Abraham Lincoln, for the first time; despite their political differences, they became friends.
[47][48]

When the House convened, Breckinridge received a plurality of votes for Speaker, but fell at least
eight votes short of a majority.[45] Unable to break the deadlock, he withdrew from the race, and the
position went to Whig Thomas Reilly.[49] Breckinridge biographer Frank H. Heck wrote that
Breckinridge was the leader of the House Democratic caucus during the session, during which time
most of the measures considered were "local or personal ... and in any case, petty".[50] Breckinridge
was assigned to the House's standing committees on Federal Relations and the Judiciary.[45] He
supported bills allocating funding for internal improvements, a traditionally Whig stance.[49] As
Congress debated Henry Clay's proposed Compromise of 1850, the four Whigs on the Committee
on Federal Relations drew up resolutions urging the Kentucky congressional delegation to support
the compromise as a "fair, equitable, and just basis" for settlement of the slavery issue in the newly
acquired U.S. territories. Breckinridge felt that the resolution was too vague and authored a minority
report that explicitly denied federal authority to interfere with slavery in states and territories. Both
sets of resolutions, and a set adopted by the Senate, were all laid on the table.[51]
On March 4, 1850, three days before the end of the session, Breckinridge took a leave of absence to
care for his son, John Milton, who had become ill; he died on March 18.[52] Keeping a busy schedule
to cope with his grief, he urged adoption of the proposed constitution at a series of meetings around
the state.[53] His only concern with the document was its lack of an amendment process.[52] The
constitution was overwhelmingly ratified in May. Democrats wanted to nominate him for re-election,
but he declined, citing problems "of a private and imperative character". Davis wrote "his problem –
besides continuing sadness over his son's death – was money."[54]

U.S. Representative[edit]
First term (1851–1853) [edit]
Breckinridge was a delegate to the January 8, 1851, state Democratic convention which
nominated Lazarus W. Powell for governor.[55] A week later, he announced that he would seek
election to Congress from Kentucky's Eighth District.[45] Nicknamed the "Ashland district" because it
contained Ashland, the estate of Whig Party founder Henry Clay, and much of the area Clay once
represented, the district was a Whig stronghold.[26] In the previous congressional election, Democrats
had not even nominated a candidate.[55] Breckinridge's opponent, Leslie Combs, was a former state
legislator whose popularity was bolstered by his association with Clay and his participation in
the War of 1812; he was expected to win the election easily.[45] In April, the candidates held a debate
in Frankfort, and in May, they jointly canvassed the district, making daily speeches.[56] Breckinridge
reiterated his strict constructionist view of the U.S. Constitution and denounced the protective tariffs
advocated by the Whigs, stating that "free thought needs free trade".[57] His strong voice and
charismatic personality contrasted with the campaign style of the much older Combs.[58] On election
day, he carried only three of the district's seven counties, but accumulated a two-to-one victory
margin in Owen County, winning the county by 677 votes and the election by 537.[59] Democrats
carried five of Kentucky's ten congressional districts, and Powell was elected as the first Democratic
governor since 1834.[60]
Supporters promoted Breckinridge for Speaker of the House, but he refused to allow his own
nomination and voted with the majority to elect fellow Kentuckian Linn Boyd.[61][62] Despite this, the two
were factional enemies, and Boyd assigned Breckinridge to the lightly regarded Committee on
Foreign Affairs.[58][63] Breckinridge's first speech, and several subsequent ones, were made to defend
William Butler, again a presidential aspirant in 1852, from charges leveled by proponents of
the Young America movement that he was too old and had not made his stance on slavery clear.
[64]
 The attacks came from the pages of George Nicholas Sanders's Democratic Review, and on the
House floor from several men, nearly all of whom supported Stephen Douglas for the nomination.
These men included California's Edward C. Marshall, who was Breckinridge's cousin.[64] Their attacks
ultimately hurt Douglas's chances for the nomination and Breckinridge's defense of Butler enhanced
his own reputation.[65] After this controversy, he was more active in the chamber's debates but
introduced few significant pieces of legislation. He defended the constitutionality of the Fugitive
Slave Act of 1850 against attacks by Ohio Representative Joshua Giddings and opposed Andrew
Johnson's proposed Homestead Act out of concern that it would create more territories that excluded
slavery.[65] Despite his campaign rhetoric that federal funds should only be used for internal
improvements "of a national character", he sought to increase Kentucky's federal allocation for
construction and maintenance of rivers and harbors, and supported bills that benefited his district's
hemp farmers.[62]
Returning home from the legislative session, Breckinridge made daily visits with Henry Clay, who lay
dying in Lexington, and was chosen to deliver his eulogy in Congress when the next session
commenced.[66] The eulogy enhanced his popularity and solidified his position as Clay's political heir
apparent.[62] He also campaigned for the election of Democrat Franklin Pierce as president.
[67]
 Although Pierce lost Kentucky by 3,200 votes, Breckinridge wielded more influence with him than
he had with outgoing Whig President Millard Fillmore.[68] A week after his inauguration, Pierce offered
Breckinridge an appointment as governor of Washington Territory. He had initially sought the
appointment, securing letters of recommendation from Powell and Butler, but by the time it was
offered, he had decided to stay in Kentucky and seek re-election to the House.[69]
Second term (1853–1855)[edit]
Former Governor Robert P. Letcher was unable to unseat Breckinridge in 1853.

The Whigs, seeking to recapture Breckinridge's seat, nominated Kentucky State Attorney

General James Harlan, but some Whig factions opposed him, and he withdrew in March.[70] Robert P.
Letcher, a former congressman and governor who had won 14 elections in Kentucky without a loss,
was the party's second choice.[71] Both candidates campaigned vigorously throughout the Eighth
District, making multiple speeches a day between May and August.[72] Letcher was an experienced
campaigner, but his popular, anecdote-filled oratory was unpolished, and he was prone to outbursts
of anger when frustrated.[73] By contrast, Breckinridge delivered calm, well-reasoned speeches.
[74]
 Cassius Clay, a political enemy of Letcher's for years, endorsed Breckinridge, despite their
differences on slavery.[60] Citing this endorsement and the abolitionism of Breckinridge's uncles,
Letcher tried to paint Breckinridge as an enemy of slavery. Breckinridge pointed to his consistent
support for slavery and claimed Letcher was actually hostile to the interests of slaveholders.
[74]
 Although the district had gone for Whig candidate Winfield Scott by over 600 votes in the previous
year's presidential election, Breckinridge defeated Letcher by 526 votes.[74][75] Once again, he received
a large margin in Owen County, which reported 123 more votes than eligible voters living in the
county.[75] Grateful for the support of the reliably Democratic county, he gave his son John
Witherspoon Breckinridge the nickname "Owen".[74]