John C. Breckenridge

John C. Breckenridge

General John C. Breckenridge was born on January 21, 1821 near Lexington, Kentucky. When the Civil War started he defended the Confederacy in the senate. He was kicked out of the senate, moved South and joined the Confederate Army. In August, 1862 he was given the rank of Major General. He was in charge of the reserves at Shiloh. He was defeated at Baton Rouge in August of 1862. He  defeated Union General Sigel near Newmarket on May 13,1864 and joined General Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Cold Harbor on June 3, 1864.

He was Jefferson Davis's Secretary of War from January 1865 until General Joseph E. Johnston surrendered in April of that same year. He fled Richmond with President Davis and other Government officers. He ended up in the Florida Keys and went to Cuba going from Havana to Europe. He then returned to America in 1868, and died on May 17,1875 in Lexington, Kentucky.