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John C. Breckinridge...better as President of CSA?
This is a continuation of a thread started in the Mason Dixon section that I thought would be better suited here.
The question I posed was: Do you think that General(and former US Vice President) John C. Breckinridge would have been more effective in the office of President of the Confederate states than Jefferson Davis?
Thoughts?
Regards,
John W.
__________________ Ancestors in CSA Army: 51st VA, 54th VA, 45th VA, 50th VA, 24th VA
Yes and no, John W. (I like the way that sounds ..... dubja.) He was as politically credentialled as Davis, which is good. And he didn't consider himself a military genious (heck! he proved it!), which is also good. But.....
I think a comparison of the character flaws might come into play. Which might have better dealt with the personalities in political and military positions of influence?
One might suppose that being a USMA graduate, having fought in at least one war, and having been Secretary of War might weigh a bit more in the balance than having been a Vice President (hardly a demonstration of leadership) and a candidate in a presidential election.
So. If you'll agree that Jeff looked better on paper than John C., what do you think? We can quickly assume that John C. would not have kept Bragg in command for as long as he was. We might also assume that he might have been more a hands-off manager than Jeff. But would he have been a better administrator?
Good question.
Ole
__________________ I never knew a man who wished to be himself a slave. Consider if you know any good thing that no man desires for himself. A. Lincoln
I find Breckinridge to be one of the most fascinating personalities of the War. I'm looking for an adequate bio to post that we can dissect.
Actually, I find Breckinridge to be a fairly decent general, though he had his failures, like most. I believe his victory at New Market bought the Confederacy another year.
Regards,
John W.
__________________ Ancestors in CSA Army: 51st VA, 54th VA, 45th VA, 50th VA, 24th VA
But, Larry, he still considered himself a military genius.
Yes, John W., he did as well or better than most political generals -- North and South. He might well have done better in Richmond than he did in battle.
Ole
__________________ I never knew a man who wished to be himself a slave. Consider if you know any good thing that no man desires for himself. A. Lincoln
Born:21-Jan-1821 Birthplace:Lexington, KY Died:17-May-1875 Location of death:Lexington, KY Occupation: Politician, Military Party Affiliation: Democratic Nationality: United States Executive summary: James Buchanan's Vice President Military service: Third Kentucky Volunteers (Mexican War); Confederate Army (US Civil War)
The American soldier and politician John C. Breckinridge was born near Lexington, Kentucky, on the 21st of January 1821. He was a member of a family prominent in the public life of Kentucky and the nation. His grandfather, John Breckinridge (1760-1806), who revised Thomas Jefferson's draft of the "Kentucky Resolutions" of 1798, was a United States Senator from Kentucky in 1801-5 and Attorney General in President Jefferson's cabinet in 1805-6. John Cabell Breckinridge graduated in 1838 at Centre College, Danville, Kentucky, continued his studies at Princeton, and then studied law at Transylvania University, Lexington, Kentucky. He practised law in Frankfort, Kentucky, in 1840-1 and in Burlington, Iowa, from 1841 to 1843, and then returned to Kentucky and followed his profession at Lexington. In 1847 he went to Mexico as major in a volunteer regiment, but arrived too late for service in the field. In 1849 he was elected a Democratic member of the Kentucky legislature, and in 1851-5 he served in the national House of Representatives. President Franklin Pierce offered him the position of minister to Spain, but he declined it. In 1856 he was chosen Vice President of the United States on the James Buchanan ticket, and although a strong pro-slavery and states' rights man, he presided over the Senate with conspicuous fairness and impartiality during the trying years before the Civil War. In 1860 he was nominated for the Presidency by the pro-slavery seceders from the Democratic national convention, and received a total of 72 electoral votes, including those of every Southern state except Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and Missouri. As Vice President and presiding officer of the Senate, it was his duty to make the official announcement of the election of his opponent, Abraham Lincoln. He succeeded John J. Crittenden as United States Senator from Kentucky in March 1861, but having subsequently entered the Confederate service he was expelled from the Senate in December 1861. As brigadier-general he commanded the Confederate reserve at Shiloh, and in August 1862 he became major-general. On the 5th of this month he was repulsed in his attack on Baton Rouge, but he won distinction at Stone River (December 31, 1862 to January 2, 1863), where his division lost nearly a third of its number. He took part in the battle of Chickamauga, defeated General Franz Sigel at Newmarket, Virginia, on the 15th of May 1864, and then joined Robert E. Lee and took part in the battles of Cold Harbor on the 1st and on the 3rd of June. In the autumn he operated in the Shenandoah Valley, and with Early was defeated by Philip Henry Sheridan at Winchester on the 19th of September. Being transferred to the department of South-west Virginia, he fought a number of minor engagements in eastern Tennessee, and in January 1865 became Secretary of War for the Confederate States. At the close of the war he escaped to Cuba, and from there went to Europe. In 1868 he returned to the United States and resumed the practice of law at Lexington, Kentucky, where he died on the 17th of May 1875.
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John W.
__________________ Ancestors in CSA Army: 51st VA, 54th VA, 45th VA, 50th VA, 24th VA
Ancestors in CSA Cav: 21st VA, 25th VA
Last edited by JohnW in E.TN; 05-19-2007 at 08:17 PM.
President of the CSA strikes me as a difficult, frustrating, sometimes impossible job. Davis takes a lot of flak, much of it deserved, but think of the challenge!
In the short bio you provided John, it describes Breckinridge as impartial in his duties as Speaker of the House, despite his own beliefs, and the intense controversies of the day. Maybe the quality: a combination of firmness, tact, and judgement would have served the CSA better than Davis's need to be always right(even though he was, in fact, often right).
"Impartial in his duties" was not a Davis quality. Keep going! I'm leaning toward Breckinridge. Being Speaker is not a booby prize.
Ole
__________________ I never knew a man who wished to be himself a slave. Consider if you know any good thing that no man desires for himself. A. Lincoln
I love the section where it states that Breckinridge believed that Braxton Bragg was deliberately trying to get him killed at Stones River. Was Bragg trying to recreate a King David & Uriah the Hittite moment? Considering Bragg, it's very possible.
Regards,
John W.
__________________ Ancestors in CSA Army: 51st VA, 54th VA, 45th VA, 50th VA, 24th VA
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John C. Breckinridge...better as President of CSA? 
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