John Cabell Breckinridge - Grave of a Famous Person on Waymarking.com

John C. Breckinridge was a lawyer who served in the United States House and Senate from Kentucky. He was elected the fourteenth Vice President of the United States in 1856, serving under President James Buchanan. At the time of his inauguration as Vice-President, he was just 36 years old making him the youngest Vice-President in United States History. During the Civil War he was loyal to the Confederacy serving as a general in the Confederate Army and as the last Confederate Secretary of War. Following the Civil War Breckinridge feared that he would be put on trial for treason by the United States government and fled the country. He returned to Lexington, Kentucky, in March 1869 after being granted amnesty and resumed the practice of law. Vice-President John C. Breckinridge died in Lexington, Kentucky on May 17, 1875 and is buried in the Lexington Cemetery.

Description: John Cabell Breckinridge was born in Lexington, Kentucky on January 16, 1821. He attended the College of New Jersey (known today as Princeton University) and received his law degree from Transylvania University. and served as a major in the 3rd Kentucky Volunteers during the Mexican-American War in 1847-48. Breckinridge was a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives, in 1849, and was elected to the United States House of Representatives, serving from 1851-1855. 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. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1860 from Kentucky and served December 4, 1861, when he was expelled for his support of the South. During the Civil War, Breckinridge saw action at Shiloh, Stones River, Chickamauga and Chattanooga. In early 1864, Breckinridge was brought east 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 by cadets from the Virginia Military Academy. 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.. Since Lincoln was watching the fight from Fort Stevens , this was only time in American history when two former opponents in a presidential election faced one another across battle lines. (Breckinridge was an unsuccessful candidate for President in 1860, nominated by the Southern faction of the split Democratic Party and losing to Abraham Lincoln.) In early 1865, Breckinridge was appointed the Confederate Secretary of War, a post he would hold until the end of the war. Following the Confederate surrender Breckinridge feared that he would be put on trial for treason by the United States government and resolved to flee the country. He and a small band sailed from Florida 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, Kentucky, 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 on May 17, 1875 in Lexington and was interred in Lexington Cemetery. Date of birth: 01/16/1821 Date of death: 05/17/1875 Area of notoriety: Politics Marker Type: Headstone Setting: Outdoor Visiting Hours/Restrictions: Dawn to Dusk Fee required?: No Web site: [Web Link]

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