Breckinridge, John Cabell (1821–1875), a United States statesman and Confederate army officer. He was Vice President under James Buchanan and later fought against the Union in the battles of Shiloh, Murfreesboro, and Chickamauga. Breckinridge was born near Lexington, Kentucky, and attended Centre College of Kentucky. He practiced law until 1847, when he entered the army during the Mexican War. He served in the Kentucky legislature, then in Congress, and in 1856 he was elected Vice President.
In 1860 Breckinridge polled 72 electoral votes for President. He returned to the Senate in 1861, but resigned to enter the Confederate Army. He was appointed a major general in 1862. After the war Breckinridge fled to Europe, but in 1868 he returned to the United States and resumed the practice of law in Kentucky.
