Could John C. Breckinridge become the Confederate President?

I did have a thought on how to make Breckinridge Confederate President. If, in his youth, his family moved from Kentucky to South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida or Louisiana and he entered politics in his adult life as a representative from one of those states, became Vice-President then a Presidential candidate in 1860 it could be possible for him to become the first President of the Confederacy.
 
John C. Breckinridge is a very admirable historical figure who, in my opinion, has been sadly unappreciated by history.

Breckinridge was made the Confederate Secretary of War in early 1865, when the Confederacy was beginning to collapse. It was too late to do any good, but the War Department did begin operating with a considerably increased efficiency. Breckinridge replaced Lucias Northrop, a hopeless incompetent, with Isaac St. John as head of the commissary department and quickly made several other administrative reforms. General Lee reported that food and supplies arrived with greater regularity after Breckinridge took charge of the War Department.(1)

It's also to Breckinridge's credit that he made what effort he could to improve the situation for Union prisoners, and also issued orders for the arrest of General Felix Robertson(2) for failing to prevent his men from killing wounded black troops.

One wonders what would have happened if Breckinridge had been appointed Secretary of War in 1862, rather than Seddon.(3)

1) All true.
2) Did the arrest ever take place?
3) The problem was Seddon was a cipher. Davis wanted to be his own Secretary of War. Which is why he kept Seddon for so long. The perfect yes man.
 
I did have a thought on how to make Breckinridge Confederate President. If, in his youth, his family moved from Kentucky to South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida or Louisiana and he entered politics in his adult life as a representative from one of those states, became Vice-President then a Presidential candidate in 1860 it could be possible for him to become the first President of the Confederacy.

But that'd make him a totally different person.

***

Could perhaps the Kentucky Confederate government come into being sooner? And, even if it fails to take over the state and exist as anything more than a shadow government, be used as the impetus to get Breckenridge elected?
 
If the Confederacy lasted past Davis's term, Breckinridge might try to run. His nomination would definitely be challenged on citizenship grounds. I can't say which way the Confederate Supreme Court would rule, because, IOTL, nobody ever got around to appointing one (way to go, Confederates:rolleyes:).
 
So a drunk and all the people unwilling to use the draft and other necessities of modern war when they were dire necessities are better than Davis?

The "drunk" was the only man in Davis' cabinet smart enough to see that attacking Ft. Sumter was a colossal blunder.

Stephens accepted the need for conscription, he just wanted it done through the states, not the central government. Wigfall introduced the Conscription to the Confederate Congress. Toombs defended the Conscription Act before the Georgia Supreme Court. Yancey voted for it, and it appears Hunter did as well. Cobb's only complaint about the Conscription Act was that it exempted state officials from the draft.
Breckinridge and Reagan clearly supported the Conscription Act. Harris seems to have as well.

Jefferson Davis tried to pack his cabinet with yes men. He maintained gross incompetents in critical military positions because they were his friends. He sent diplomats to seek foreign recognition and gave them nothing to negotiate with.
 
Wow. A boozer running the State Department. What could go wrong? :rolleyes:

When Grant was accused of being a drunkard, Lincoln is supposed to have said " “Find out what brand he's drinking so I can send it to all of my generals."

Davis thought attacking Ft. Sumter would force the Union to let the Confederacy go. Toombs saw what would really happen.
 
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