JOHN CABELL BRECKINRIDGE
Lee had been defeated at Appomattox, the South was economically and militarily beaten. Lee and the Southern Cabinet wanted to negotiate terms of surrender, but Confederate President Jefferson Davis was at the time somewhat delusional about the situation and wanted to reach the scattered remnants of two small Confederate armies and continue the war via conventional and Guerrilla warfare. Lee wrote to Davis arguing against continuing the war. Breckenridge was assigned the task of persuading Davis to end the war effort honorably and authorize the remaining Confederate generals to negotiate peace terms.
John Cabell Breckinridge was an American lawyer, politician, and soldier. He represented Kentucky in both houses of Congress and became the 14th and youngest-ever Vice President of the United States. Serving from 1857 to 1861, he took office at the age of 36. He was a member of the Democratic Party, and served in the U.S. Senate during the outbreak of the American Civil War, but was expelled after joining the Confederate Army. He was appointed Confederate Secretary of War in 1865.
