A bust of former US Vice President John C. Breckinridge in his Confederate Army Major General's uniform stands along Kentucky Avenue in Vicksburg National Military Park.
Two plaques under his bust reads as follows:
"[1st plaque]
JOHN C. BRECKINRIDGE
Major General C S Army
Commanding Division
Johnston’s Army
[2nd plaque]
Brig Gen C S Army Nov 2 1861
Major General Apr 14 1862
Born Lexington Ken Jan 16 1821
Died Lexington Ken May 17 1875"
John C. Breckinridge had quite the life and his biography is WAY TOO LONG to post here. Blasterz will only post his actions here in and around Vicksburg -- with a little context, of curse.
From Wikipedia: (
visit link)
"John Cabell Breckinridge (January 16, 1821 – May 17, 1875) was a lawyer and politician from the U.S. state of Kentucky. He represented the state in both houses of Congress and in 1857, became the 14th and youngest-ever Vice President of the United States (1857–1861). Serving in the U.S. Senate at the outbreak of the Civil War, he was expelled after joining the Confederate Army. He remains the only Senator of the United States convicted of treason against the United States of America by the Senate. He was appointed Confederate Secretary of War late in the war. A member of the Breckinridge family, he was the grandson of U.S. Attorney General John Breckinridge, son of Kentucky Secretary of State Cabell Breckinridge, and father of Arkansas Congressman Clifton R. Breckinridge.
. . .
Civil War
On the recommendation of Simon B. Buckner, Breckinridge was commissioned as a brigadier general in the Confederate Army on November 2, 1861. On November 16, he was given command of the 1st Kentucky Brigade. Nicknamed the Orphan Brigade because its men felt orphaned by Kentucky's Unionist state government, the brigade was in Buckner's 2nd Division under the command of Albert Sidney Johnston. . . .
Johnston's forces were forced to withdraw from Bowling Green in February 1862.[121] During the retreat, Breckinridge was put in charge of Johnston's Reserve Corps.[27] Johnston decided to attack Ulysses S. Grant's forces at Shiloh, Tennessee on April 6, 1862.[121] Breckinridge's reserves soon joined the fight as Johnston tried to force Grant's troops into the river.[121] Despite Johnston being killed in the fighting, the Confederates made steady progress against Grant's troops until P. G. T. Beauregard – who assumed command after Johnston's death – ordered his generals to break off the fighting at about 6 o'clock in the afternoon. The next day, the Union forces regrouped and repelled the Confederates. Of the 7,000 troops under Breckinridge's command at the battle, 386 were killed and 1,628 were wounded, Breckinridge among them.
Breckinridge's performance earned him a promotion to major general on April 14, 1862. After his promotion, he joined Earl Van Dorn near Vicksburg, Mississippi. The Confederate forces awaited a Union attack throughout most of July. Finally, Van Dorn ordered Breckinridge to attempt to recapture Baton Rouge, Louisiana, from federal forces. . . .
In May 1863, Breckinridge was reassigned to Joseph E. Johnston, participating in the Battle of Jackson in an attempt to break the Siege of Vicksburg. Vicksburg fell to Grant's forces on July 4, and Breckinridge was returned to Bragg's command on August 28, 1863."
For more on the colorful life of John C. Breckinridge, see here: (
visit link) and here: (
visit link)