John Cabell Breckinridge (January 16, 1821 – May 17, 1875)5th Confederate States Secretary of War was an American lawyer, politician and Confederate General. He served as a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from Kentucky and was the 14th Vice President of the United States (1857–1861), to date the youngest vice president in U.S. history, inaugurated at age 36.