Siding with the slaveholding faction of his native state during the secession crisis of , Breckinridge resigned and accepted a post in the Confederacy as brigadier general, and was quickly promoted to major general in April of the following year. He commanded at Shiloh and in the summer defense of Vicksburg.
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 black Union soldiers the morning after the battle, an incident that shocked and angered him.
Following a brief stay in the Virginia militia during the Revolutionary War and a decade of distinguished law practice, Breckinridge served as attorney general of Kentucky He was elected to the Kentucky State House of Representatives , acting as Speaker in and , and was a member of the state constitutional convention in His reputation firmly established, Breckinridge gained a seat in the United States Senate, serving from to Breckinridge's senatorial career came to an end when he was appointed to President Thomas Jefferson's cabinet, assuming the duties of U.
Breckinridge died the next year, on December 14, , near Lexington, Kentucky. Grant Rutherford B. Only 35 at the time of his election, Breckinridge was the youngest vice president in American history.
In Breckinridge ran for president as part of the Southern faction of the Democratic Party. While he campaigned on a pro-slavery platform—in particular, he demanded federal intervention to protect slaveholders in the territories—he was also vocal in his support of maintaining the Union amid rumblings of Southern secession.
Breckinridge ultimately finished third in the popular vote behind Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Despite this loss, he was appointed to the U. Senate by the Kentucky legislature in March Breckinridge remained in office even after the beginning of the Civil War , and encouraged his home state to secede as the conflict escalated. Fearing arrest, he fled to the South in September after Kentucky sided with the Union. Viewed as a traitor in the North, Breckinridge travelled to Virginia and offered his services to the Confederacy.
He was engaged at the Battle of Stones River in January , and his unit suffered heavy casualties after Bragg ordered him to undertake a reckless charge on the Union lines. Breckinridge and Bragg experienced a falling-out in the wake of the battle and remained on poor terms for the rest of their tenure together. After participating in the defense of Vicksburg in June , Breckinridge served at the Confederate victory at the Battle of Chickamauga in September. During the battle his unit spearheaded attacks on the Union left flank and sustained roughly 30 percent casualties.
Bragg would later blame Breckinridge for the loss at Chattanooga and even accused him of being drunk during the battle. Breckinridge next reinforced the Army of Northern Virginia for the Battle of Cold Harbor, in which his men repulsed a heavy assault by Union troops. He was then placed in command of troops in southwestern Virginia.
Breckinridge was enraged by this misconduct but would have little success in his attempts to arrest the officers responsible. His manpower and supplies dwindling, he then fought a succession of small battles in western Virginia in late In January Breckinridge was appointed the fifth and final Confederate secretary of war. He performed well in managing the fading war effort prior to the Confederate surrender in April During this time Breckinridge argued for an organized end to the hostilities and counseled Confederate President Jefferson Davis against extending the war through guerilla actions.
Reunited with his family in Toronto, he then embarked on an extended tour of Europe. Breckinridge would remain in exile until , when a presidential pardon allowed him to safely return to the United States. Ignoring calls to return to politics, he settled in Lexington, Kentucky, and resumed his law practice.
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