The Breckinridge family exerted a powerful influence in the divided slave-state of Kentucky, with Breckinridge County dating back well before its current constitution of 1799. They were viewed as southern aristocracy, counting many

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

generals among their cousins. But family members also fought in the Union army, and supported Lincoln throughout the conflict.

Family Members

Robert Jefferson Breckinridge Robert Jefferson Breckinridge (March 8, 1800 – December 27, 1871) was a politician and Presbyterian minister. He was a member of the Breckinridge family of Kentucky, the son of Senator John Breckinridge. A restless youth, Breckinridge wa ...
(1800–1871)

Kentucky politician, Presbyterian minister and editor, who believed that the preservation of the Union transcended the slavery debate. In the 1860 election, he supported Abraham Lincoln against his own nephew, John C. Breckinridge,Klotter in ''The Kentucky Encyclopedia'', p. 120 and continued to back his policies, making a famous speech that contributed to the President’s re-nomination for the 1864 election.Waugh in ''Southern Presbyterian Review'' Two of his sons fought on the Union side and two others for the Confederates.

John Cabell Breckinridge John Cabell Breckinridge (January 16, 1821 – May 17, 1875) was an American lawyer, politician, and soldier. He represented Kentucky in both houses of Congress and became the 14th and youngest-ever vice president of the United States. Serving ...
(1821–1875)

Appointed brigadier general in the Confederate Army in November 1861, Breckinridge helped organise a provisional Confederate government for Kentucky. Wounded at Shiloh, he was promoted major general.

Braxton Bragg Braxton Bragg (March 22, 1817 – September 27, 1876) was an American army officer during the Second Seminole War and Mexican–American War and Confederate general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, serving in the Weste ...

assumed that his prestige would attract many Kentuckian recruits, and quarrelled sharply with him when this failed to happen, as he also did after a creditable performance at

Stones River The Stones River (properly spelled Stone's River) is a major stream of the eastern portion of Tennessee's Nashville Basin region. It is named after explorer and longhunter Uriah Stone, who navigated the river in 1767. Geography and hydrography T ...

. Ordered to the Eastern sector, he achieved his greatest victory at the

Battle of New Market The Battle of New Market was fought on May 15, 1864, in Virginia during the Valley Campaigns of 1864 in the American Civil War. A makeshift Confederate army of 4,100 men defeated the larger Army of the Shenandoah under Major General Franz Si ...

Heck, Frank H. (1976). Proud Kentuckian: John C. Breckinridge, 1821–1875. Lexington, Kentucky: The University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0-8131-0217-0. p.123. in the Shenandoah valley (May 1864), crucially protecting

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, towards the end of which he was appointed the overall commander of the Confederate States Army. He led the Army of Nort ...

’s flank, and acquiring a reputation as the next Stonewall Jackson. This was confirmed when he halted Grant's advance at the

Battle of Cold Harbor The Battle of Cold Harbor was fought during the American Civil War near Mechanicsville, Virginia, from May 31 to June 12, 1864, with the most significant fighting occurring on June 3. It was one of the final battles of Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S ...

, where he was badly wounded. In February 1865, he was made Confederate Secretary of War, and promptly created a new post of General-in-Chief, which went to Lee. In the final days of the war, he destroyed much of the evacuated Confederate capital, Richmond, and then facilitated the escape of the cabinet. He evaded capture, travelled abroad with his family, and returned to America after the 1868 amnesty.

Robert Jefferson Breckinridge Jr. Robert Jefferson Breckinridge Jr. (September 14, 1833 – March 13, 1915) was a prominent Kentucky politician and a member of the Breckenridge political family. He was the son of Robert Jefferson Breckinridge and brother of William Campbell Prest ...
(1833–1915)

Kentucky politician, judge, Confederate congressman and colonel in the Confederate States Army. Represented Kentucky in the First Confederate Congress from 1862 to 1864. He was the son of Robert Jefferson Breckinridge.

William Campbell Preston Breckinridge William Campbell Preston Breckinridge (August 28, 1837 – November 18, 1904) was a lawyer and Democratic politician from Kentucky; a U.S. Representative from 1885 to 1895. He was a scion of the Breckinridge political family: grandson of Senato ...
(1837–1904)

Son of Robert Jefferson Breckinridge. Commissioned as a captain in the Confederate States Army in 1861, despite his father’s strong Unionist beliefs. Served in the cavalry under

John Hunt Morgan John Hunt Morgan (June 1, 1825 – September 4, 1864) was an American soldier who served as a Confederate general in the American Civil War of 1861–1865. In April 1862, Morgan raised the 2nd Kentucky Cavalry Regiment (CSA) and fought in t ...

, ending the war as Colonel of the 9th Kentucky Cavalry. He also served as a bodyguard to Jefferson Davis during his flight from Richmond.

Sophonisba Preston Breckinridge (b. 1839)

Daughter of Robert Jefferson Breckinridge, and married to Theophilus Steele, who joined the Confederate cavalry and rode with

in his diversionary raid of Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia. Robert Breckinridge's intervention may have kept Steele from being executed by

Edwin Stanton Edwin McMasters Stanton (December 19, 1814December 24, 1869) was an American lawyer and politician who served as U.S. Secretary of War under the Lincoln Administration during most of the American Civil War. Stanton's management helped organize t ...

. (Not to be confused with her cousin, also

Sophonisba Breckinridge Sophonisba Preston Breckinridge (April 1, 1866 – July 30, 1948) was an American activist, Progressive Era social reformer, social scientist and innovator in higher education. She was the first woman to earn a Ph.D. in political science and ...

Joseph Cabell Breckinridge Sr. Joseph Cabell Breckinridge Sr. (January 14, 1842 – August 18, 1920) was a Union Army officer from Kentucky during the American Civil War. In later life, he became a brigadier general in the U.S. Regular Army and Inspector General of the Army as ...
(1842–1920)

One of the sons of Robert Jefferson Breckinridge who shared his father’s politics, and fought on the Union side, unlike two others. Appointed aide-de-camp to

George H. Thomas George Henry Thomas (July 31, 1816March 28, 1870) was an American general in the Union Army during the American Civil War and one of the principal commanders in the Western Theater. Thomas served in the Mexican–American War and later chose ...

, he served with him at Mill Springs and Shiloh, soon receiving a regular commission as a lieutenant of artillery. Captured in the Battle of Atlanta, he was exchanged and received a brevet promotion to major before the war’s end.

Charles Henry Breckinridge Charles Henry Breckinridge (September 9, 1844, Baltimore, Maryland – August 27, 1867, Fort Morgan, Alabama) was a U.S. Army officer from Kentucky during the American Civil War. Early life Breckinridge was born in 1844, a member of the prominent ...
(1844-1867)

Another son of Robert Jefferson Breckinridge who shared his father’s politics. He transferred from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

after war broke out in 1861 and was later commissioned in the Union

Regular Army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregulars, irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenary, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the ...

, rising to the rank of Captain and serving in the 15th US Infantry.

Clifton Rodes Breckinridge (1846–1932)

Son of John C. Breckinridge, with whom he joined the Confederate Army in 1861. Later he was appointed a midshipman in the Confederate Navy.

Associate Family Members

• General

John Breckinridge Grayson John Breckinridge Grayson (October 18, 1806 – October 21, 1861) was a career United States Army officer and a graduate of West Point. He is well known for being a Confederate brigadier general during the American Civil War, his service during th ...

(1806–1861) Regular officer, who resigned to join the Confederates. Died commanding the Georgia and Florida coastal defences. Son of Letitia Preston Breckinridge. • Peter Augustus Porter (1827–1864) New York Assemblyman, Colonel of the 129th New York State Volunteers, killed at Cold Harbour. Husband and cousin of Mary Cabell Breckinridge.

References

{{reflist People of Kentucky in the American Civil War

Family Members

Robert Jefferson Breckinridge Robert Jefferson Breckinridge (March 8, 1800 – December 27, 1871) was a politician and Presbyterian minister. He was a member of the Breckinridge family of Kentucky, the son of Senator John Breckinridge. A restless youth, Breckinridge wa ... (1800–1871)

John Cabell Breckinridge John Cabell Breckinridge (January 16, 1821 – May 17, 1875) was an American lawyer, politician, and soldier. He represented Kentucky in both houses of Congress and became the 14th and youngest-ever vice president of the United States. Serving ... (1821–1875)

Robert Jefferson Breckinridge Jr. Robert Jefferson Breckinridge Jr. (September 14, 1833 – March 13, 1915) was a prominent Kentucky politician and a member of the Breckenridge political family. He was the son of Robert Jefferson Breckinridge and brother of William Campbell Prest ... (1833–1915)