New Jersey (Princeton),
and Transylvania Univer-
sity, while being groomed
for a life of public ser-
vice. He opened a law of-
fice in Kentucky but in-
terrupted his practice to
secure appointment as a
major in the Third Regi-
ment of Kentucky Volun-
teers during the Mexican-
American War in 1846.
Breckinridge failed to see
any combat, but he
served as legal adviser to
Gen. Gideon J. Pillow
during his dispute with
Gen. Winfield Scott. Back
home, he gained election
to the state house of rep-
resentatives in 1849 as a
Democrat and capitalized
upon his growing popu-
larity by winning a seat in
the U.S. House of Representatives in 1851.
Breckinridge was handsome, articulate, dy-
namic, and well liked in political circles, so in
1856 he was tapped to run as vice-presidential
candidate alongside President James Bu-
chanan. Aged but 35 years, Breckinridge re-
mains the youngest individual to occupy that
office. In 1859, a year before his term expired,
the Kentucky state legislature also chose him
to serve in the U.S. Senate as of March 4,
1861.
The country at this time was being torn
apart by debate over the incendiary issues of
slavery and states’ rights, with secession from
the Union a real possibility. Breckinridge, a
former slave owner, supported slavery but re-
mained unenthusiastic toward secession. In
fact, he worked tirelessly to secure a compro-
mise solution between extremist elements on
both sides to prevent the onset of hostilities.
Ultimately, Breckinridge’s popularity among
fellow Southerners resulted in his receiving
the Democratic Party’s nomination for presi-
dent in 1860. He thus became closely identi-
fied with fire-breathing
Southern secessionists,
although he had tradi-
tionally distanced himself
from that position. The
four-way race was over-
whelmingly won by Abra-
ham Lincoln, who inher-
ited a nation of the verge
of violent sectional up-
heaval. Breckinridge, for
his part, opposed Lin-
coln’s war measures in
the Senate and defended
the theoretical right of
Southern states to se-
cede—but again cau-
tioned against it. All these
efforts came to naught,
unfortunately, and open
conflict commenced in
April 1861. By September,
Kentucky, which had
been studiously neutral,
declared for the Union, and state officials or-
dered Breckinridge’s arrest for treason. He
then fled Washington, D.C., for Virginia and
tendered his services to the Confederacy. “I
exchange, with proud satisfaction, a term of
six years in the Senate of the United States for
the musket of a soldier.” But privately, he al-
ways confided to friends that the South could
not win the war. The Senate formally sanc-
tioned his disgrace by formally expelling him
on December 2, 1861.
As a reward for his loyalty, Breckinridge
was commissioned a brigadier general in No-
vember 1861, and he established himself as
one of the South’s most effective command-
ers in the western theater. He also obtained
command of a force of hard-fighting, South-
ern-sympathizing Kentucky expatriates, the
so-called Orphan Brigade. Breckinridge sub-
sequently accompanied Gen. Albert Sidney
Johnston to the Battle of Shiloh (April 6–7,
1862) and commanded the reserves. Despite
his lack of professional military training,
Breckinridge performed with distinction andBRECKINRIDGE, JOHNCABELL
John Cabell Breckinridge
National Archives