James Breckinridge was a Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

 lawyer and politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

. He served in the Virginia House of Delegates

Virginia House of Delegates

The Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the Virginia General Assembly. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbered years. The House is presided over by the Speaker of the House, who is elected from among the...

, as well as the U.S. House of Representatives. He also fought in the American Revolutionary War

American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...

 and served as a brigadier-general during the War of 1812

War of 1812

The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

.

Family and early life

Breckinridge was born near Fincastle

Fincastle, Virginia

Fincastle is a town in Botetourt County, Virginia, United States. The population was 353 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Botetourt County.Fincastle is part of the Roanoke Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...

, Botetourt County, Virginia

Botetourt County, Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 30,496 people, 11,700 households, and 9,114 families residing in the county. The population density was 56 people per square mile . There were 12,571 housing units at an average density of 23 per square mile...

. His brother was John Breckinridge

John Breckinridge (1760-1806)

John Breckinridge was a United States Senator and Attorney General. He was the progenitor of the Breckinridge political family.-Early Life in Virginia:...

 and he was the great-great-great-uncle of John Bayne Breckinridge. He studied under private tutors and during the Revolutionary War, he served in Colonel Preston's rifle regiment under General Nathanael Greene

Nathanael Greene

Nathanael Greene was a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. When the war began, Greene was a militia private, the lowest rank possible; he emerged from the war with a reputation as George Washington's most gifted and dependable officer. Many places in the United...

. He attended Washington College (now Washington and Lee University

Washington and Lee University

Washington and Lee University is a private liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States.The classical school from which Washington and Lee descended was established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, about north of its present location. In 1776 it was renamed Liberty Hall in a burst of...

) and was graduated from the College of William and Mary

College of William and Mary

The College of William & Mary in Virginia is a public research university located in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States...

 in 1785. He studied law and was admitted to the bar and practiced in Fincastle.

Political career

Breckinridge served as a delegate to the Virginia House of Delegates for the terms 1789-1802, 1806–1808, 1819–1821 and 1823-1824. He took a special interest in the construction of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal

Chesapeake and Ohio Canal

The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, abbreviated as the C&O Canal, and occasionally referred to as the "Grand Old Ditch," operated from 1831 until 1924 parallel to the Potomac River in Maryland from Cumberland, Maryland to Washington, D.C. The total length of the canal is about . The elevation change of...

. He was then elected as a Federalist

Federalist Party (United States)

The Federalist Party was the first American political party, from the early 1790s to 1816, the era of the First Party System, with remnants lasting into the 1820s. The Federalists controlled the federal government until 1801...

 to the Eleventh Congress and to the three succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1809-March 3, 1817). He was an associate of Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...

 in the establishment of the University of Virginia

University of Virginia

The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...

and served as brigadier general in the War of 1812.

Death and afterward

Breckinridge died at his country home, "Grove Hill," Botetourt County, Virginia, May 13, 1833 and was buried in the family burial plot on his estate near Fincastle.