MG John
Cabell
Breckinridge

January 16, 1821 - May 17, 1875

Lexington, Kentucky

United States Vice-President, Civil War Confederate Major General He was then appointed as President Jefferson Davis's War Secretary till the end of the war in 1865. Breckinridge was one of the outstanding politicians of his day. He served in the Kentucky legislature and the US House of Representatives and Senate. He served as US vice-president from 1857-1861, and was a presidential candidate in the 1860 election. When the War Between the States came, he accepted a Confederate commission and successfully commanded units in Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia, and Virginia. Among these units was the famous "Orphan Brigade" of Kentucky. Breckinridge was in command of the Confederate forces during the battle of New Market, Virginia, which featured the famous charge of the VMI Corps of Cadets. Breckinridge served as Confederate Secretary of War in 1865, and he was instrumental in negotiating peace between Gens. William Sherman and Joseph Johnston.