John C. Breckinridge
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John Cabell Breckinridge (January 16, 1821 – May 17, 1875) was a lawyer, U.S. Representative, Senator from Kentucky, the fourteenth Vice President of the United States, a Confederate general in the American Civil War, and the last Confederate Secretary of War. To date, Breckinridge is the youngest vice president in U.S. history, inaugurated at age 36. Ironically, he is probably best remembered today as the Confederate commander at the Battle of New Market, where young VMI cadets participated in the battle on the Confederate side.
Early life and politics
Breckinridge, grandson of U.S. Senator and Attorney General John Breckinridge, was born at "Cabell's Dale," near Lexington, Kentucky. He graduated from Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, in 1839, later attended the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), and then studied law at Transylvania University in Lexington. He was admitted to the bar in 1840 and moved to Burlington, Iowa, but soon returned and began practice in Lexington. He was married to Mary Cyrene Burch in 1843. Breckinridge was a major of the 3rd Kentucky Volunteers during the Mexican-American War in 1847 and 1848.He was a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1849 as a Democrat, and was then elected to the Thirty-second and Thirty-third Congresses (March 4, 1851 – March 3, 1855). Breckinridge did not run for reelection, and instead was nominated as Minister to Spain by President Franklin Pierce, but declined. He was elected Vice President of the United States, in 1856, on the Democratic ticket with James Buchanan as President. He was the youngest Vice President in U.S. history, elected at the age 35, the minimum age required under the U.S. Constitution.
Breckinridge was an unsuccessful candidate for President in 1860, losing to Abraham Lincoln, and receiving more electoral votes than the other 2 major candidates, John Bell of the Constitutional Union Party, and Stephen A. Douglas, the Northern Democrats' nominee. He had won the South with his pro-slavery platform but was unable to win the border states or the North. He was elected to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1861, until expelled by resolution of December 4, 1861, for support of the South. Fearing arrest, he fled to the Confederacy.
Civil War
Breckinridge entered the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War as a brigadier general and soon became a major general, originally commanding the 1st Kentucky Brigade (nicknamed the Orphan Brigade because its men felt orphaned by a state government that did not support the Confederacy). He fought in many battles in the Western Theater, beginning with the Battle of Shiloh, in which he was wounded. He served as an independent commander in the lower Mississippi Valley, securing Confederate control of the area by taking Port Hudson. Breckinridge would later serve with distinction at the Battle of Stones River and the Battle of Chickamauga, although his troops were routed by a Union attack at the Battle of Chattanooga.
Breckinridge developed an intense personal dislike of General Braxton Bragg, the commander of the Army of Tennessee. He considered him incompetent, a point of view shared by many other Confederate officers. Furthermore, Breckinridge felt that Bragg was unfair in his treatment of Kentucky troops in Confederate service, such as the Orphan Brigade. Throughout the war, Breckinridge felt a strong personal need to see to the welfare of his fellow Kentuckians. For his part, Bragg despised Breckinridge and tried to undermine his career with accusations that he was a drunkard. At Stones River, Bragg ordered Breckinridge's division to launch a near-suicidal attack on the Union lines on January 3, 1863; Breckinridge was convinced that Bragg was purposefully trying to get him killed.[[Citing sources citation needed]] Breckinridge survived the attack, but his division suffered heavy casualties. Breckinridge was devastated by the disaster. He lost nearly one third of his Kentucky troops (Hanson's Brigade, also known as the Orphan Brigade because it could not return to Union-occupied Kentucky). As he rode among the survivors, he cried out repeatedly, "My poor Orphans! My poor Orphans."
In early 1864, Breckinridge was brought to the Eastern Theater and put in charge of Confederate forces in the Shenandoah Valley. He won a decisive victory against a superior Union force at the Battle of New Market, which saw the famous charge of the VMI cadets. Shortly thereafter, Breckinridge reinforced Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and played an important role in the Battle of Cold Harbor, where his troops repulsed a powerful Union attack.
In the summer, Breckinridge participated in Jubal Early's Raid on Washington, moving north through the Shenandoah Valley and crossing into Maryland. He fought at the Battle of Monocacy in early July and was with Early when the Confederate force probed the defenses of Washington, D.C.. Ironically, since Lincoln was watching the fight from the ramparts of Fort Stevens, this was only time in American history when two former opponents in a Presidential election faced one another across battle lines.
Following his service with Early's command, Breckinridge took command of Confederate forces in southwestern Virginia in September, where Confederate forces were in great disarray. He reorganized the department and led a raid into northeastern Tennessee. Following a victory outside of Saltville, Breckinridge discovered that some Confederate troops had killed wounded black Union soldiers the morning after the battle, an incident that shocked and angered him. He attempted to have the commander responsible, Felix Robertson, arrested and put on trial, but was unable to achieve this before the Confederacy disintegrated.
In early 1865, Breckinridge was made Secretary of War in the Cabinet of the Confederate States of America, a post he would hold until the end of the war. Breckinridge saw that further resistance on the part of the Confederacy was useless and worked to lay the groundwork for an honorable surrender, even while President Jefferson Davis fiercely desired to continue the fight.
During the chaos of the fall of Richmond in early April 1865, Breckinridge saw to it that the Confederate archives, both government and military, were not destroyed but rather captured intact by the Union forces. By so doing, he ensured that a full account of the Confederate war effort would be preserved for history. This far-sighted act was typical of Breckinridge.
Breckinridge went with Davis during the flight from Virginia as the Confederacy collapsed, while also assisting General Joseph E. Johnston in his surrender negotiations with William T. Sherman. Breckinridge continued to try to persuade Davis that further resistance would only lead to greater loss of life, but he also felt honor bound to protect the President from harm. Eventually, the two became separated in the confusion of the journey.
Postbellum career and legacy
Breckinridge feared that he would be put on trial for treason by the United States government and resolved to flee the country. In an epic journey, filled with bizarre adventures, he and a small band made their way down the east coast of Florida, eventually sailing across the sea in a tiny boat to reach safety in Cuba. He continued to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Canada, and the United Kingdom again. He returned to Lexington in March 1869 after being granted amnesty and resumed the practice of law. While turning down suggestions that he become active in politics again, he spoke out strongly against the Ku Klux Klan. He became vice president of the Elizabethtown, Lexington, and Big Sandy Railroad Company. He died in Lexington and was interred in Lexington Cemetery.Breckinridge had ample reason to fear charges of treason. In 1863, (premature) rumors of his death prompted the New York Times to print what is perhaps the most vituperative obituary ever written about a nationally elected American official.
The towns of Breckenridge, Colorado, and Breckenridge, Texas, were named in honor of the Vice President (despite the different spelling).
References
- This article incorporates facts obtained from the public domain Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- Eicher, John H., & Eicher, David J., Civil War High Commands, Stanford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.
External links
|- style="text-align: center;" |- style="text-align: center;" |- style="text-align: center;" |- style="text-align: center;" |- style="text-align: center;" |- style="text-align:left; border-left:hidden; border-right:hidden; border-bottom:hidden;" | colspan="3"| * The Democratic party split in 1860, producing two presidential candidates. Breckinridge was nominated by Southern Democrats; Stephen A. Douglas was nominated by Northern Democrats.
| Preceded by: James Seddon | Secretary of War of Confederate States 1865 | Succeeded by: none |
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