John C. Breckinridge Biography

John C. Breckinridge was an American statesman and who served as the 14th and youngest-ever Vice President of the United States; he served from 1857 to 1861, in the administration of James Buchanan. Also a military man, he served as a Confederate general during the Civil War, between 1861 and 1865. Born into an old Kentucky family well-known in law and politics, Breckinridge became an attorney and practiced law before volunteering in the Mexican–American War. After this non-combat service, Breckinridge gravitated into politics and was elected as a Democrat to the Kentucky House of Representatives. Then, he was elected to the U.S. Congress, where he served from 1851 to 1855, before being nominated for vice presidency. Subsequently, he was elected the 14th vice president of the United States, youngest-ever at the age of 36, and later mounted an unsuccessful presidential bid in 1860. Serving in the U.S. Senate, he was expelled after joining the Confederate Army at the start of the Civil War and served as a brigade commander at the Battle of Shiloh. Later, he was promoted to the rank of major general and fought at the Battles of Stones River and Chickamauga. After serving at the Battles of New Market and Cold Harbor, he was appointed the Confederate Secretary during the final months of the war. After the war ended, he fled and remained in exile for few years,returning to Kentucky in 1869 where he died SIX years later.