[1] Breckinridge was born near Fincastle in Botetourt County in the Colony of Virginia.

He studied under private tutors and during the Revolutionary War, he served in Colonel Preston's rifle regiment under General Nathanael Greene.

[3] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, with a boundary increase in 2002.

He was an associate of Thomas Jefferson in the establishment of the University of Virginia and served as brigadier general in the War of 1812.

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.