The Hartford herald. [volume], May 26, 1875, Image 1

About The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926

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THE KEXTCCKT CLIITS.
The fist number of the Rittnlde Wetklg eon
taint a beautiful poem nnder the above title,
contributed by Frankfort's fair and gifted
daughter, Mrs. J. C. Moetoit. We reproduce
the concluding stanxas, and pronounce them as
exquisite a bit of word-painting as we have
come acrcis In many days. Ed. Hesald.
With portals wide, and towers strong,
'Neath vaulted roofs of blue,
With aisles and pavements broad and long,
All spanned by arches true,
With whispering founts, translucent springs,
Wildernesses, grottoes, groves,
(Where music like a choir rings,
Or like a spirit roves.)
Here tun and moon, like Incense bowls
Of gold and silver swing
In clouds of mist and purple, rolls
O'er them from spring to spring;
As lifted altars in the air
Thus smoke tbey morn and eve,
With fragrant offerings fresh end fair
That flock nor brood bereave.
Not overwrlt with hieroglyphs,
Their pilars, arches, towers,
Like gods of old, speak these grand cliffs,
Thro' wood nymphs, birds and flowers;
These may arrest adoring eyes,
These beauties rich and rare.
With human art 'neath atanger skies
They stand without compare.
Tbey shade and shield their valleys deep,
Teat smile in fruity bloom,
Nor crater winds like storm-birds sweep
Their fairness into gloom;
Here no voleanie snows or rime,
No icy blasts or breete,
But laughing towns and cities climb
Like children to their knees.
Their guards are only peaceful streams
In silver armor dressed,
Their pass-words are but life's sweet hymns,
Waved o'er the river's breast;
In proud barbaric strength, and grand,
Tbey bear themselves along.
Above Time's all-destroying hand,
'Bore reach of art or song.
JOHN CABELL BRECKINRIDGE.
Watteron'ft Eulogy- oe the Dead
Hero A. Uriel Sketch ofllls Lire
and Public Scrrlccs The Fu
neral Pageant.
Courier-Journal, 18th
Oar Bead Hero.
Gen. John C. Breckinridge is dead.
After a long and painful illness, lie expir
ed yesterday surrounded by relatives and
(Heads who gathered about the cb amber
of death to soothe with tbe consolations
of love the dying hour of one of the Do
ttiest and most heroic of the sons of men.
A sketch of his life and public services
ire give eleewhere; but 00 mere sketch
can be adequate to convey a full idea of
the genius and character of the great
Kentuckian who has just passed away
from earth. The more private incidents
of his career which are. now crowding in
mournful procession upon the mind-of
those who were most intimately associat
ed with him during his stormy And even t
sful life illustrate more vividly than public
acts the elements of that singularly noble
and generous character which is now
committed to tbe judgment of history and
posterity. It is the motive always that
imparts the color to the deed, and if the
impulses which prompted every step of
the departed statesman andiBoldier were
disclosed by those w'lOin he admitted to
tiis confidence, the world would then, and
then only, appreciate the virtue and value
of that chivalric soul that yesterday took
its eternal flight from earth.
It is with a mournful tenderness that
we recall the familiar traces of those
strikingly handsome and expressive fea
lures which marked him as one of the
most commanding of men. We dwell .
-with affectionate feelings upon the strong
And noble face, the furrows of the cheek,
the clear cut lines of the mouth, the large
and eloquent eyes, as the portrait bends
down upon us from the gallery of mem
ory. And as we are reminded that the
picture has vanished from the real world,
that the imposing form has passed from '
os forever into the ruin of decay, we are
filled with a60rrow that almost disquali
fies us for tbe work of sketching a charac
ter eo exajted and of embalming a mem
ory eo majestic.
In disposition be was as gentle and ten-'
der as a child. Neither penury not afflic
tion, nor disappointment, nor abuse, nor
Eroscription, nor neglect, could disturb
is sedate and equable temper. Just as it
vas when he presided over the Senate as
the most popular Vice President of the
United States, it remained when he bad
returned from exile, reduced in fortune,
with all his early hopes stacked in defeat,
and with all his early aspirations lading
before the darkness of an august calatn-
John C .Breckinridge was not without
ambition, but it was not tbe ambition that
Bought the monument for the monument's
sake. It was tbe sublime aspiration oi a
generous mind which possessed faculties
transcending all professional limitations.
and which pined only for wider fields of
nsciuiness and nobler theaters or action.
Enthusiastically nominated for President
against his earnest protest by tbe Baltimore-Convention,
but appreciating the
peril to his country, which he foresaw
would result from a division in the Dem
ocratic party, he commissioned a friend
to visit Mr. Douglas and suggest that both
withdraw from the contest that a com
promise candidate might be selected who
would be able to restore harmony and in
Toke peace. He was always the master
and not the slave of that love of fame
which Milton tells us is "the sublime in
firmity of noble minds.'' "He tasted of
the cup of Circe, but he was fascinated
by its sweetness." lie subordinated everv
aspiration to duty, and obeyed its calf.
whether it directed him along the flowery
pallia ot successful enterprise or over for
bidding walks which led him only to pen
ury and persecution. We see him. one
of the most graceful and powerful orators
of tbe Senate, with the dazzling splendor
of an almost unparallelled career before
him, turning with disdain from the troph
ies oQered by a new and triumphant party,
ar,d preferring to cast bis lot with a cause
consecrated by ins conviction and fallow
ed by his love ofrisbt. but which, with
prophetic vision, he early saw could only
j . . t m "
rewaru mm witn me pains and 01 pen
alties proscription. He was devoted to the
old flag, but he refused, in the presence
cf tbe assembled Senate "to follow it over
the ruins of tbe Constitution." He scorned
alike the gold and tbe elephants ofPvR-
BBCS.
It is only in such conflicts of duty with
ambition that true heroism is manifested
and tbe nobleness of a great nature dis
closed. It 19 easy to follow duty when
THE
'
VOL. 1.
aspiration points in the same direction,
but when the hour of sacrifice comes;
when danger and darkness gather about
the former, and the promises of glory are
linked with the latter, it is then that true
courage is evinced and true heroism as
serts its ascendency. It is tbe firm but
fatal step of the martyr who takes his po
sition at the stake and stands undaunted
when faggots are piled around him, and
the crackling flames separate the flesh
from the soul which soars away, too
great and noble for its tenement of clay.
A philosophic historian, in exploring
the records of men, has remarked that
there are few characters which have stood
the closest scrutiny and tbe severest tests,
which have been tried in the furnace and
have proved pure; which have been weigh
ed in the ballance and not found wanting;
which have been declared sterling by the
general consent of mankind, and which
are visibly stamped with the image and
superscription of the Most High 1 But
when some future Macaulat shall nar
rate the events of our bloody drama, and
produce the portraits of those who were
its most conspicuous actors, be will find
indelibly stamped upon the character of
Breckinridge both the image and the
superscription of God.
His mind was one of those rare gifts of
nature which is capable of contracting
Itself to the humblest duties or of expand
ing itself to the highest requirements of
human effort We see him, the leader of
a'great party, condescending to become
tbe commander ot a smalt brigade, and
declaring that he was ready to shoulder
his musket with his sons and become a
private in tbe ranks of an army which he
subsequently commanded. Alter having
been Secretary of War and directing tbe
movements of all the armies of a Confed
eracy that thundered for four years for
peace at the gates ortlie .North, and more
than once lighted its camp-fires in the
foreground of Washington, he offers bis
services to the sheriff of Fayette county to
put down the petty disorders of a pre
cinct.
But he was greatest on the greatest oc
casions. In the council at Charlotte
Courthouse, which determined upon the
surrender of the slouched and dispirited
remnant of a once powerful army, as well
as on the bed of death, he still possessed
the stoutest heait and the most inflexible
courage. Since the war he has shunned
politics and avoided all expressions which
micht ausment the burdens of a people in
defence of whom he had fought and for
whom he had shown his wi llincness to
die. He readily distinguished what was
accidental and transitory in politics from
what was immutable and essential, and,
while ready to adjust old institutions to a
new state of society, despised that vulgar
herd who are always willing to barter
the most sacred principles of human lib
erty for the mere pittance of temporary
success. He preserved throughout the
whiteness of his soul, and pursued a course
which showed him as great in defeat as in
victory, as noble in neglect as in the most
elevated station. His was the most daunt
less spirit in the chamber of death. When
physicians were bending with heavy
hearts over his emaciated and broken
form: when relations and friends were
choked with sobs and convulsed with the
agony of eo great a loss; when there were
hurrying to and fro and tremblings of dis
tress, he alone was calm and resolute. He
died as he had lived, the same intrepid
and imperial spirit, conquering first the
adverse agents of fortune, and at last dis
arming death of its terrors. Now be lies
in Lexington, eo cold and still, the ruins
of the noblest man to whom Kentucky
has ever yet given birth.
Hut what shall we say of a mind so
gifted and a genius so commanding? As
a reasoner and a logician he was the equal
of any adversary of his time. Asarhe-
loncian ana an orator ne was peruaps me
superior. But he never allowed tbe lat
ter to overshadow the former, in parts
of hia best arguments in the Senate, dur
ing which his feelings were excited bv
conflict, he finds vent for bursts of patri
otic and poetic rapture, but he was tbe
master and not the slave of his emotions.
Tbe vital imagery which adorned his
speeches never impaired their strength or
obscured the clear common sense on
which they were based. He was massive
without being heavy, and graceful with
out being weak. He who reads bis
speech on the removal of the Senate from
the old chamber to the new, and bis re
ply to Andy Johnson- just previous to his
withdrawal from the Senate, will find an
illustration of what we say. The one
"Would save mauetjmutilian stare ana gasp,
the other would have captivated and con
vinced a bench of august judges. He was
not only a statesman and an orator, be
was also a soldier. His was the mind to
grasp extensive military plans, and his
was the courage to execute them with a
calm and noble valor. "If I had an
army' said Gen. Lee, "I would at once
put it under his command." We have
j . 1, .. . ,
inueeu ineu 10 recall a character in His
tory which ws might compare with his
own. Hut we have failed. He combin
ed so many of the best qualities of the
great and good who lived and died before
bim, that we can not, without difficulty,
fit his genius to the mold of any one. He
had the valor and enercv of Hampden, the
ardent public spirit of SruNEV. the dis
cernment and eloquence of Burke, the hu
manity and moderation of Lee! And
when tbe youth of Kentucky, in some fu
ture peril of their country, shall wish to
gather strength and derive a lesson from
the lives ot tbe immortal martyrs or hu
man freedom, they can resort to the spot
consecrated by the ashes of Kentucky's
greatest son, and breathing an atmosphere
still instinct with the spirit of the depart
ed hero, their hearts will beat with a
warper love of liberty and their souls be
enkindled by a new and more glowing in
spiration. Biographical Kketcli.
John Cabell Breckinridge, Senator
and Vice President of the United States.
Major General and Secretary of War of
the Confederate States, was born in Lex
ington, Kentucky, January 16, 1821. He
was the only son of J. Cabell Breckinridge,
adistinguished lawyer and politician, who,
at tbe early age of twenty-nine, had twice
been Speaker of the Kentucky House of
.Representatives, and secretary or State
three years before bia death, which oc
curred in his thirty-sixth year. He was
the grandson of John Breckinridge, the
statesman, who died at forty-five, having
twice been Speaker of the Kentucky House
of Representatives, United States Senator,
and Attorney General of the United States
in the Cabinet of Thomas Jefferson; and
HARTFORD HERALD.
COME, THE HERALD OF A NOISY WORLD, THE NEWS OF ALL NATIONS LUMBERING AT MY BACK"
HARTFORD, OHIO COUNTY, KY
was known as the author and advocate of
the "Resolutions of 179S-99" in tbe Vir
ginia Legislature. General Breckin
ridge graduated at Center College,
Danville, Ky., in September, 1839. He
studied law at the Transylvania Institute,
and, after being admitted to the bar, re
moved to Burlington, Iowa, where he
practiced his profession. II e soon return
ed to Kentucky, however, married Miss
Mary Burch, of Georgetown, and made
Lexington his home for the remainder of
his life. Toward the close of the war with
Mexico, in 1847, he entered the military
service of the United States, and was elect
ed major of the Third regiment of Ken
tucky volunteers. Tbe regiment was mus
tered late, so that he had but little oppori
tunity for active service. When on duty
fn Mexico, however, he was employed as
counsel of General Pillow in the series of
singular prosecutions between that officer
and his associates and superiors. .
niS ENTRANCE INTO POLITICS.
Shortly after his return in 1849; he was
elected as a Democrat to the House of Rep
resentatives from Fayette county. This
was his introduction into political life, and
in this capacity he was first given oppor
tunity to exhibit his powers as a debater,
lie rapidly rose to National distinction.
In 185 1. he was elected to the Federal Con
gress from the Ashlanddistrict, (the "Clay,
district"), after an exciting contest, over
General Leslie Combs. The district was
Whig, and General Combs the devoted
friend of Henry Clay. In 1853 he was
re-elected, defeating ex-Gov. Robert P.
Letcher, whom the opposition put forward
as their strongest man. The struggle in
this canvass was violent and protracted,
yet his remarkable vigor and perseverance,
together with the popular admiration for
his abilities, overcame all obstacles.
HIS CAREER IN CONGRESS.
It was not long before the name of
Breckinridge was in the mouths, so to
speak, of all reading people. His notable
encounter with the "Democratic Review"
first brought bim into prominent notice.
On the 29th of Jtyie, 1852, the great soul
of Henry Clay took its flight from earth,
and on tbe succeeding day Breckinridge
introduced in the House the resolutions of
respect to the memory of the great Com
moner, accompanied by an eulogy of the
character and virtues of the dead states
man unsurpassed for the pathetic beauty of
its sentiments. He laid the fullness of his
young and high-beating heart on the grave
of Clay. Standing in the presence of tbe
august dead, with all the memories of its
past about him, "the mere legerdemain of
politics" appeared contemptible to him.
What a reproach was Clay's life on the
false policy which would trifle with a great
and upright people. "If I were to write
his epitaph," said Breckinridge, "I would
inscribe, as the highest eulogy, on the
stone which shall mark his jesting place,
'Here lies a man who was in the public
service for fifty years, and never attempt
ed to deceive his countrymen.' "
Though he did not seek to be constant
ly before the House, he took a very dis
tinguished position, and often in debate
was sharp and effective.
Mr. Giddings, of Ohio, on tbe 16th of
March, 1852, while discussing the Com
promise Measures and Fugitive Slave
Law, denied that the Federal Govamment
bad power to pass laws "by which to com
pel our officers and people to seize and
carrv back fugitive slaves." Mr. Breck
inriige briefly pushed him into an enun
ciation of his most extreme doctrines, and
then said, "Against the impotent ravings
of his baffled fanaticism I place the plain
words of the Constitution. To his coarse
and offensive language I have no reply."
With the debate on the Nebraska bill,
Gen. Breckinridge's name is intimately
woven. It was during this discussion that
his difficulty with Hon. Francis B Cut
ting of Xew York took place. On the
21st of March. Mr. Richardson, desiring
to reach the Nebraska bill, heretofore re
ported by him, moved the House to go
into tbe Committee of the Whole on the
Stale of the Union. After some slight
discussion, the motion was lost. Having
proceeded with the business on the Speak
er's table, several small bills were taken
up and referred, and the Nebraska bill
reached by title. Much feeling was man
ifested, and all seemed to regard this as a
crisis. Mr. Richardson and Mr. Cutting
rose together. The former moved to re
fer to the Committee on Territories; the
latter moved to refer to the Committee of
the Whole on the State of the Union.
The Speaker recognized the member from
Illinois, and the member from New York
raised a point of order! Ricbaidson said
his purpose was to amend the bill, and
that Cutting's course would kill it . Mr.
Cutting persisted in his motion, and sup
ported it by a speech, disclaiming any dis
respect to Mr. Richardson as Chairman
of tbe Committee on Territories, and sta
ting that it was understood that that com
mittee had already discussed and elabora
ted tbe subject. He was opposed to put
ting it again through the circuitous mode
ol referring it to them, and having it on
the Speaker's table as it was to-day. The
North was in a state of civil insurrection
since the introduction of the bill; and he
thought it was a time, not for parliament
ary tactics, which give rise to suspicion,
but for full, frank and manly discussion.
He was in vain appealed to; lie would not
withdraw; and, his motion being passed,
he clinched the vote by moving to recon
sider, and then laying the motion on the
table.
Mr. Millson, of Virginia, having
brought up the Nebraska matter in a dis
cussion on the Indian appropriation bill,
on tbe 23d, was followed by Mr. Hunt, of
Louisiana, "two enemies of the bill" hav
ing precipitated the debate on the House.
Gen. Breckinridge entered the lists in a
memorable speech, in which he strongly
stigmatized the course of Mr. Cutting.
'The gentleman may be for tbe bill, he
said, "but his voice is that of an enemy."
He warned the friends of the measure
from following the member from New
York, whose course would kill it; and pre
ferred to have a score of open enemies
than 3 professed friend who struck in the
manner he did.
On the 27th, Mr. Cutting replied at
great length to the imputations thrown
out by Mr. Breckinridge, when, the latter
retorting, a scene of great excitement took
place. The difficulty was carried out of
the House, and for some days public cu
riosity was aroused at tbe prospect of a
duel, the preparatory steps for such a set
tlement having been taken. A note from
Mr. Cutting called upon Gen. Breckin
ridge to "retract the assertion (Breckin
ridge had charged Cutting with saying
what was false), or make the explanation
due from one gentleman to another."
This was understood to be a challenge,
and Gen. Breckinridge named rifles at six
ty paces. Col. Monroe, the friend of Cut
ting, claimed that the latter was the chal
lenged partv, and insisted upon pistols at
ten paces. This involved a disp-te as to.
winch was the challenged party, Jnd led
to a declaration by Cutting that his first
note (several had passed) was not a chal
lenge. On the 31st, Gen. Preston inform
ed the House that Mr. Cutting had left
the matter in the hands of Colonel Mon
roe, of New York, and General Shields,
United States Senator from Illinois, and
Gen. Breckinridge had referred to Colonel
Hawkins, of Kentucky, and himself
(Gen. P.); and he was authorized to state
that a settlement had been effected mu
tually satisfactory and honorable to both
Earties. On the pa;to; fcoth gentlemen
e also offered n apology for any viola
tion of the rules of the House which had
taken place in the excitement of debate.
In -Mr. .Breckinridge's, speech of 'the
23d, he declared himself in favor of a
perfect nonintervention, and said that he
would not vote for the bill if it proposed
to legislate slavery into Nebraska and
Kansas. "The right to establish," said
he, "involves the correlative right to pro
hibit; and, denying botb, I would vote for
neither. I go further, and express tbe
opinion that a clause legislating slavery
into those Territories would not com
mand one Southern vote in this House."
Alluding to the restriction of 1820, and its
inconsistency with the Compromise of
1850, he said' the effect or the repeal of
the former was "neither to establish nor
to exclude, but to leave the future condi
tion of the Territories dependent wholly
upon the action of the inhabitants, sub
ject only to such limitations as the Feder
al Constitution impose.''
"Sir," he said in continuation, "I care noth
ing about refined distinctions or the subtleties
of verbal criticism. I repeat the broad and
plain proposition that if Congress may inter
vene on this subject it may intervene on any
other; and having thus surrendeied the princi
ple and broken away frod constitutional lim
itations, you are driven into the very lap of ar
bitrary power. By this doctrine yon may erect
a despotism under the American system. Tbe
whole theory is a libel on our institutions. It
carries us bark to tbe abhorent principles of
British colonial authority, against which we
made tbe issue of independence. I have never
acquiesced in this odious claim, and will not be
lieve that it can abide the test of public scru.
tiny."
In recognition of Ihe young Kentuck
ian's identification with the views of tbe
Administration, President Pierce tendered
to him the mission to Spain; but the hon
or was respectfully declined, family mat
ters compelling this course.
HIS NOMINATION FOR VICE PRESIDENT.
ne was a delegate to the Cincinnati
Convention in June, 1856. After the
nomination of Buchanan for the Presi
dency, several names were offered for the
second office among others that of John
C. Breckinridge, proposed by the Louisi
ana delegation, through Gen. J. L. Lewis.
Acknowledging the fluttering manifesta
tion of good will, Mr. Breckinridge begged
that bis name would be withdrawn. On
the first ballot, however, the Vermont del
egation, through Mr. Smally, believing
that no Democrat has a rizht'to refuse his
services when his country calls, cast its
five votes for Breckinridge. Many other
States followed, and of the total be receiv
ed fiftyone votes, second on the list, and
only eight under the first General Quit
man. On the second ballot, Maine, New
Hampshire and Vermont led off for
BreckinridgeiMassacbusetts followed with
eleven out of thirteen votes; Rhode Island
followed with her four; then the New
York "Softs" gave him eighteen. Dela
ware, Maryland and Virginia voting in
the same way, it became obvious that he
was tbe choice of the body; and though
several of the remaining States voied for
other candidates, they quickly, one by one,
changed their votes, the several delegates
making neat and appropriate speeches in
announcing the change. The names of
other candidates were withdrawn, and the
whole poll went for John C Breckinridge,
at which the Convention rose, and with
waving of handkerchiefs and the loudest
vocal demonstrations directed its atten
tion upon the tall and graceful delegate
from Kentucky, who had been so unex
pectedly nominated for so exalted a post.
It was long before the demonstrations
subsided so as to allow a word to be heard.
At last the commanding figure of Breck
inridge stood fronting the mighty triumph.
It certainly was a time to try a young man.
He spoke briefly and becomingly. The
resultjust announced was unexpected, and
his profound gratitude was without words.
He gave the convention the simple thanks
of" a true heart; and.expressing his appre
ciation of their first choice, and linking his
bumble name with that of the statesman
of Pennsylvania, cordially endorsed the
platform, and sat down amid the booming
of cannon and the vociferous applause of
the multitude outside breakingin upon and
almost overpowering the loud cheers with
in the hall.
Three days after this exciting and grat
ifying scene, his neighbors gathered to
congratulate him in Lexington, and he
then, in an address to them, reiterated the
views of his Nebraska-Kansas speech and
the platform upon which be was placed
before the people. Said be:
The whole powerof the Democratic organiza
tion is pledged to the following propositions:
That Congress shall not interpose upon this sub
ject in tbo States, in the territories, or in the
District of Columbia; tbat the people of each
territory shall determine the question for them
selves, and be admitted into the Union on a
footing of perfect equality with the original
Stated, without discrimination on account of the
allowance or prohibition of slavery.
He was elected Vice President, having
received 173 votes, being 50 over William
L. Dayton, the Republican Candidate for
the same office. Thus at the age of thirty-five,
be bad served his country abroad,
had been a legislator in his State and in
the National Legislature, had been ten
dered the representation of the' republic
in Europe, and elevated to the second of
fice in the gift of the people. Truly
might the lines of the poet be applied to
him:
He is almost sunk
Beneath the weight of trusts and offices
Not merely oSer'd, but imposed upon Mm.
As President of the United States Sen
ate, he took the chair of that eminent
body early in the first session of the
Tnirty-fifth Congress, December, 1857,
and, with some intermission, caused by
the illness of bis family, presided during
that stormy session.
In the great struggle in Illinois between
Senator Douglas and tbe Republicans and
scceders from the Democracy, the .Vice
MAY 26, 1875.
President sympathized with the former
Though he did not indorse the course of
Senator Douglas in the session of Con
gress then recently closed, on the Lecomp
ton question, he sympathized with him.
and desiied his success, "being the leader
01 the Democracy of Illinois in their pres
ent fight against the Republicans."
On the removal of tbe Senate from the
old and time-honored chamber, which
had been the scene of so many great
events of American history, to the new
one, the Vice President made a feeling
address. He gave an historical outline
of tbe exigencies 10 which Congress was
put in its early days holding its sessions,
as the chances of war required, at Phila
delphia, Baltimore, Lancaster, Annapo
lis and Yorktown, and, during the period
between the conclusion of peace andlthe.
establishment of the present Government,
at Princeton, Annapolis, Trenton and
New York. He followed with a history
bflhe choice of the present locality, the
foundation of the cily, the building of the
Capitol, and the onward career of our leg
islature, with suggestive memorials of the
great men who had made the place they
were leaving immortal. It was a chaste
and suitable farewell to the old chamber.
THE ADVENT OF CIVIL WAR.
He was nominated for the Presidency
in 1860 by the Southern Democrats, after
tbey had seceded from the convention
which nominated Stephen A. Douglas as
a Union Democrat He had two other
competitors John Bell and Abraham
Lincoln. He reeeived seventy-two elec
toral votes, Lincoln received one hundred
and eighty. Bell thirty-nine, and Douglas
twelve. All tbe Southern States except
Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and Mis
souri, voted for Breckinridge. Before the
expiration of his term of service as Vice
President, the Kentucky Legislature elec
ted him United States Senator to succeed
Mr. Crittenden, for six years, from March
4th,18Gl. Civil war was then impending.
While he presided in the Senate he had
seen not alone the withdrawal of the Sen
ators from the cotton States, but noted
the harsh action of the Northern Sena
tors towards their Southern colleagues.
But, impressed with the magnitude ot the
bitter struggle it would cause if all were
submitted to the arbitrament of the
sword, he strove most earnestly to secure
by peaceable means the rights denied that
section. He labored in the Senate and
among his own people to avert the disas
ter of the war. As long us there was hope
of peace with honor, he bent his energies
to secure it. As long as it was a politi
cal question, he treated it as a political
question. But when it became evident
that the North could be satisfied only by
the subjection of the South, he quitted
the Senate, and took up the sword. He
was expelled from the body over which
he presided December 2, 1861, by tbe fol
lowing resolutions:
Whekcas, John C. Breckinridge, a member
of this body, is now in arms against the Gov
ernment he had sworn to support; therefore,
Jlenhtd, That the traitor, Breckinridge, be
expelled.
nts SERVICE IN Tns CONFEDERACY.
He at once came to Kentucky. Pro
ceeding by private conveyance from
Georgetown to Nashville, and thence to
Bowling Green, he issued an address on
Oct. 8, 1861, in which he reviewed the
events which had culminated in the con
dition of things then existing He an
nounced his purpose of appealing to the
sword, resigned his commission as United
States Senator to the peopleof Kentucky
refusing to recognize a Legislature over
awed by bayonets and called on Ken
tuckians to make common cause with the
South. He was appointed a Brigadier
General in the Confederate Stales army,
and at once placed by General Albert Sid
ney Johnston in command of a brigade at
Bowling Green. When the army fell
back, Gen. Breckinridge's command form
ed a part of the forces which made the
wonderful retreat to Corinth, Mississippi.
At Sbiloh, in the critical charge when
General Job ns ton Jos t his life, General
Breckinridge was in command of tbe re
serve corps, and General Johnston and
General Breckinridge led the charge to
gether. He was called upon to cover the
retreat of the army, a duty which was
skillfully and efficiently executed, and
the same service was repeated when the
Confederates evacuated Corinth. Breck
inridge had now been promoted Major
General, and commanded a division. In
June, 1862, he was ordered to Vicksburg,
and with his troops, in connection with
Gen. Van Dorn and Gen. Smith, success
fully resisted that memorable bombard
ment, which was continued incessantly
through the month of July. Gereral
Breckinridge was next ordered to take
Baton Rouge, which was then occupied
by the Federals. Although greatly out
numbered, he drove the enemy from his
camp, which he destroyed, and forced
them to take shelter under cover of their
gunboats. The Confederate ram Arkan
sas was to co-operate in this attack, but
the disaster which destroyed it rendered
further operations by the land forces im
practicable, and the Confederates retired
unmolested. On August 17, 1862, Gen.
Breckinridge took possession of Port Hud
son, and discovering its military strength,
urged its dafense as very important to the
policy of holding the Mississippi river.
Acting upon positive orders, General
Breckinridge, with his gallant Kentucky
brigade (which followed his leadership
throughout the war) and some Tennessee
troops niarched to the succor of Gen.
Bragg, who was then in Kentucky; but,
before reaching Cumberland Gap, a com
munication from Gen. Bragg announced
his abandonment of Kentucky. At the
battle of Murfreesboro, January 2, follow
ing, Gen. Breckinridge, acting under or
ders, attacked an almost impregnable po
sition of the enemy, losing 1,700 men out
of less than 7,000. Nevertheless, upon
his command again devolved the arduous
duty ot covering the retreat of Bragg'a
broken army. He continued with the
Army of the Tennessee until May 25, 1863.
when he was ordered to join Gen. Jos. E.
Johnston in Mississippi It was his com
mand which repelled the assault of the
enemy on Jackson, Miss., July 17, 1863.
shortly afterward, he again returned to
Bragg s command, participated in the bat
tic of the Chickamauga. and led a corps
at the engagement of Missionary Ridge,
which was fought December 25, 1803.
After consultation with President .Davis,
he was ordered to Southwest Virginia,
and assumed command March 3, 18(34.
While engaged on duty in his department,
he was suddenly called upon by General
Lee to march with all his available force
to Staunton and the Shenandoah Valley,
NO. 21.
to check the movements of Gen. Franz
Sigel. On May 15 he attacked the forces
orthat General at New Market and routed
him altera brilliant engagement. The
Federals were driven in full retreat to
Winchester, but rendered pursuit Impos
sible by burning the bridges in their rear.
Gen. Lee sent Breckinrige a congratula
tory dispatch and an oader to join him
forthwith at Hanover Junction. The or
der was promptly obeyed, and Gen, Breck
inridge's forces protected the rear of Lee's
army and his line of communication
when Sheridan made his great raid. He
remained with Gen. Lee's army, and bore
a conspicuous prat in the battle of Cold
Harbor, fought June 2, 1864. where the
Fedeial array was repulsed with ereai
loss. Subsequently, in cor.innction with
Gen-Ju4aHlycTnltettJen JJavIdT
Hunter in his attempt to capture Lynch
burg, and pursued tbat officer into the
mountains. Gen. Breckinridge V troops
were then incorporated with Gen. Early's,
and he was placed in commandof acorpa
They next prepared lor operations hi
Maryland, Virginia and the District of
Columbia, and on June 22 they took upa
line of march. On July 3 1864, Breck
inridge's command captured Martinsburg.
On July 5, the whole army crossed the
Potomac at Shepherdstown. On July 9
Gen Breckinridge defeated Gen. Lew.
Wallace at Monocacy, which left the way
open to Washington. On the 11th the
Confederates reached Silver Spring, only
six miles from that city, and within sight
ot the dome of tbe capitol. Skirmishing
occurred the next day; but thatnightGen.
Early, for prudential reasons, ordered a
retreat, re-crossing the Potomac at Ed
wards' ferry, the night oftbe 13tb. Gen.
Breckinridge remained in the valley, par
ticipating in the serious engagements
there fought. A few days after tbe battle
of Wirchester, he received orders from
Richmond to return to Southwest Vir
ginia, which he did in time to repel the
Federal forces operating in that quarter
under Gen. Stephen G. Burbridge. He
continued in command of this department
.!! T- I J atp 1 , . -
unui reoruary t, 1000, wnen ne was ap
pointed Secretary of War, to succeed Hon.
James A SedJon, and was thus engaged
at the close of the war.
BE GOES ABROAD.
After the fall of Richmond and the col
lapse of the Confederacy, Gen. Breckin
ridge made his way to Florida, in com
pany with Colonel Wilson, the Inspector
General of his staff. Here they met Co
lonel Taylor Wood, brother-in-law of
Jefferson Davis, who proposed they go to
Cuba. The suggestion was adopted. A
skiff seventeen feet long, was obtained,
and two Confederate soldiers consented to
undertake the voyage in their company.
They coasted along the Florida shore to
Key West, living on turtle eggs the while,
and then made directly for Cuba. They
landed at Cardenas, sixty miles from Ha
vana. After remaining here a short time.
General Breckinridge proceeded to Eng
land, and from thence to France, where
he took up h'w sojourn. In I860 be made
a tour of Europe, and after a year's resi
dence in Canada, returned to Lexington,
his home, in 1868. Avoiding all politi
cal complications, he devoted himself ex
clusively to his profession and to his bus
iness engagements as Vice President of
the Elizabethtown, Lexington and Big
Sandy railroad. He was in comparative
ly comfortable circumstances, pecuniarily,
at the time of his death. He was pa
sessed of a considerable tract of land in
the Northwest, which he had purchased
Erevious to the war. thinking that it might
ecome valuable during the lifetime ol
his children. His most noted profession
al engagement since the war was that in
which he was retained as attorney for the
Cincinnati Southern Railroad Company.
It was in behalf of this corporation that
he appeared before the Railroad Commit
tee of the Kentucky Legislature, in 1870.
All of General Breckinridge's children
survive him three sons and two daugh
ters named respectively John Cabell,
Clifton, Owen County, Fannie, and Mary.
He named his third son ' Owen County"
out of gratitude to that county forthe very
large majority it gave him over Governor
Letcher in his Congressional race of 1853.
He was a Thirty-third degree Mason
the highest degree in that order and
the fraternity everywhere with pride al
lude to his membership as one oi tbe most
eminent exemplars of its dignity and phi
lanthropy. General Breckenridge was
an ardent member of the Kentucky Turf
Association, and up to tbe 11th inst., the
date of the annual election of officers, was
its honest President. He was very fond
of horses, and it was told as a frequent
remark of his when a member of Con
gress, that his highest ambition was to
own 300 acres of bluegrass land, and to
devote his time to the rearing of fine
stock. Though he was never known to
lay wagers upon a race, or, indeed, to
gamble in any manner, he ever took a
warm interest in the sports of the course.
Such are, without detail and in their
own order, the bare events which have
composed the public career of John C.
Breckinridge. A conspicuous young of
ficer at six and twenty, a Congressman at
thirty, Vice President at thirty-six, a
brilliant General and War Secretary when
turned of forty, be dies at the early age of
forty-four. leaving behind him a name as
celebrated and a personality as marked as
any in the annals of his country. He
was an invalid for nearly two years a
combination of disorders affecting the liv
er and the lungs, inflicting excruciating
bodily torture, which be bore with a for
titude bordering on stoicism. Tbe inci
dents of his final demise are told by our
Lexington correspondent. He died, as
he had lived, ljke a man, brave, calm,
conscious and self-possessed. Upon the
record of such a career, it is needless to
dwell upon his amazing popularity, or to
doubt that it was based upon merit of the
highest type.
The funeral.
Lexington, May 19. The funeral of
General Breckinridge was attended to-day
by an immense crowd. The street lead
ing to the church and the one meeting it
at right angles were jammed with people
of all ages, sexes and conditions of life.
Vehicles that had brought in numbers of
persons from the country crowded closelv
on the sidewalk. The tops and windows'
or tbe houses were jammed. The proces
sion was a long and mournful column, un
ostentatious, but imposing and grand.
The Masons marched next to the music
After the Masons came citizens in carria
ges and on foot. After the citizens came
the hearse and Dall.bearers. followed mmin
by citizens. Then came the ex-Confeder-J
ADVERTISING HATE8.
One square, one insert 00. U 8
One square, each additional iusertioa-'
'1 00
SO
One square, one year..
10 00
SO 00
40 00
60 00
100 00
One-fourth column per year...
une-uira column, per year-
une nan column, per year
une column, one year.
Forshorter time, at proportionate rates.
One inch of space constitutes a sqnara.
Tbe matter of y early advertisements changed
QUarterlv free of eharpe. For fnrthmTnTin-
lars, addresss
Jo.P. Bsrbktta Co., Publishers,
ate 'and old Mexican soldiers who had
served nnder General Breckinridge in the
Mexican and sectional wars.
The church was, of course, filled. It
was touching to see the crowd that filed,
by the coffin to get a last look at the coun
tenance which was rigid in death, but
wiucii still retained traces ol its noblene
and excellence. Whiteandcolored passed
by it, looked upon it. and fern would have
asked for a hair for memory. The face
nan assumed a waxen hue. It was vellow
and clammy. The eye that had so often
melted in pity at sufferine, or blazed with
eloquent indignation at wrong, was closed,
and the lips that had so often dropped
manna were fixed and compressed. The
sable silvered beard was- there still, and
UbegrjjMijCfci.uia-lUirwuipTiu
f" Grouped "around tbe coffin, besides the
I T,r 1 tt : .i o .,AU
McCreery and Stevenson, Got. Leslie, Col.
Howard Smith. James M. Tate, and oth
ers of tbe Sti'te Government, while near
or was the Hon. Gee H. Pendleton, of
Oil cs who had come to pay his tribute to
ols dean friend.
Tbe following gentlemen acted as caU-
bearers:
St. John R. Deshz, tV.C. P. Breckinridge,
Maj. John R. Viley, Gen. WilHam. Preston,
Maj. Frajk K. Hunt, 3fj. Mac C. Johnson,
Geo. Geo. B. Hodge, Hon. James B. Beck,
J. StooTdard Jo&nston, Col. Jilsoa P. Johnsoir,
air. ueorge uuren, lien. Jas. ir. Kobinsos,
Maj. Clint. UcClarty, Judge Hoke,
Major Semple, A. Kecne Richards,
When the coffin was conducted tctlre
cemetery, it is estimated that 20,000 per
sons followed1 it. Reaching the cemetery,
it was placed in a basin surrounded by s
gentle eminence, which was crowded; even
the trees were filled with spectators. Then
the Knights Templar took charge of the
coffin and placed it in'a vault belonging
to the Johnson family, with, their Bsoai
ceremonies.
The crape worn bv the order and by the
pall-bearers was laid upon the coffin, and
then were placed beside it tbe Sowers by
the devoted hands ot woman. Tbe corpse
fests now nnder tbe shadow ol the Clay
monument, with the stony eyes of the
statue gazing down upon the puIsTrs
form. Thus passes away one of toe tall
spirits of the earth.
I learn that he said little just previous
to his death, only moving his hands to
1 prese back those who stood1 by his bed, as
if hisgreat soul required room for its flight,
and his last look was one of polite recog
nition to a friend and relative who had
just entered to see his eyes assume a glas
sy aspect, and then retreat under the film
of death. Bis mind was still clear. la
this way the great Kentuckian passed over
the dark river, bidding adieu to tbe kind.
, friendly 6gnre9 that still remained on this
side, who, with sobbing hearts and tearful
ryes, watched him disappear in tbe dim.
distance of the dark unknown.
But it is frrquently the case that when
genius expires it is filled with familiar
scenes and dwells upon the triumphs and
glories of fading memory. Jacison.
wished to cross the river and rest an der
the shade of the trees on the other side's
and when Lee raw the dark battalions
of death approaching, be felt the need; of
those faithful legions who had assailed
the heights of Gettysburg, and who Bad?
stood as an iron line in defense of Rich
mond. His mind wandered back to-bls-tnrttv
follower?, and, turning to a.friend,
he said, "Send for A. P. HilL" But
Breckinridge did not call up the- devoted
regiments that had followed bin-Lit
was pitiful, indeed) that such. a spirit
should leave bis country under? the ban
of ruthless and avenging fanaticism, with
a resolution of Congress branding his
corpse with treason. It is-a cruel' and
deadly judgment which convicts-a. man
without arraignment and trial;.ittis the fa
tal stroke of the adder that givee-na warn
ing and shows no mercy. Breckinridge
will live in history wbeu the- memory of
his persecutors have rotted, and the seeth
ing lava of party passion wbich.has awept
over his grave will, when cooled by lime,
be wrought in images to bis honor.
A stranger on reaching the tomn-is- at
once filled with the most painful; and
somber emotions. The oppressive-quiet
that is almost felt in the streets, and: the
draperies of gloom that hang from, every
window, show tbat the popular heart has
been wrung by no ordinary snaring.
Every face seems to shed sadness, and
yon bad only to run your eyes along the
solemn procession tbat conducted the
corpse to- tke grave to see stout forms
shaken with a storm of sobs and eyes
melting with the tenderness of teass. Tbe
solemn "Come ye disconsolate" was sung
by voices trembling with emotion, the
funeral sermon was preached, th eoffio,
placed in the hearse, and the black -plumes
ot death nodding in the sunlight.. He
has been laid in his grave, but the atmos
phere seems still instinct with the spirit
of the dead statesman, and we feel the
presence and power of departed majesty
as sensibly as the sentinels ia Hamlet
recognized the royal soul of the buried
king in the "disembodied spirit tbat dis
turbed their vigils and waylaid their
beat." The scene is in strange contrast
with budding nature, about to assume
the freshness and beauty of spring. The
imposing form that a few days ago con
tained the noblest soul tbat ever breathed
the air of Kentucky has been committed
to worms that will gnaw it into dust and
rudely riot in its rotten sleep.
It is a sad commentary upon life and
its vanities, and it is a lesson to the am
bitious mind storing itself with the choicest
resource- ol learning and seeking to grasp
the fleeting emblems of temporal great
ness But for the Christian faith that stands
by the open grave to burst its cerements
and declare that there is a resurrection
and a life, the untimely marring of such
a structure in the vigor of its power would
chill all human aspiration and condemn
mankind to the degeneracy ol beasts But
that almighty instinct of immortality tells
us that tbe feverish struggle for the devel
opment and enrichment of the mind is
not in vain; that the soul unclogged by
its tenement of clay can soar with even
and unshaken wing to the familiar pres
ence of a wisdom which far surpasses all
human acquisition and puts to shame all
human conceit. His believed tbat Breck
inridge died in this conviction, and now,
while there is weeping over his corpse,
his soul has reached tbe friendly presence
of Jackson and Lee, whose noble ghosts
rise to greet him. We may even believe
that be looks in pity upon this sorrowful -pageant
of oe that has to-day filed
through the streets of Lexington to pay
devotion to the empty casket he has deserted.