Robert Breckinridge McAfee (February 18, 1784 – March 12, 1849) was an American diplomat, historian and politician who was the seventh Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky serving from 1824 to 1828.

Early life

McAfee was born on February 18, 1784, in

Mercer County, Kentucky Mercer County is a county located in the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 23,772. Its county seat is Harrodsburg. The county was formed from Lincoln County, Virginia in 1785 and is named for Revoluti ...

. He was the son of Robert McAfee (1745–1795) and Anne ( née McCoun) McAfee (1746–1794), who were distant cousins. Among his siblings was Samuel McAfee, Mary Ann (née McAfee) Adams, Sarah (née McAfee) Curran, and Anne (née McAfee) Cardwell. His brother Samuel and sister Anne both married Cardwell siblings. McAfee spent much of his leisure time in childhood hunting squirrels. McAfee was orphaned in 1795 after his father, a pioneer of Kentucky, was killed in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

. His guardian his father's friend and his namesake,

John Breckinridge John Breckinridge or Breckenridge may refer to: * John Breckinridge (U.S. Attorney General) (1760–1806), U.S. Senator and U.S. Attorney General * John C. Breckinridge (1821–1875), U.S. Representative and Senator, 14th Vice President of the Unit ...

, who later became the Attorney General of the United States under President

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the natio ...

Career

McAfee attended

Transylvania University Transylvania University is a private university in Lexington, Kentucky. It was founded in 1780 and was the first university in Kentucky. It offers 46 major programs, as well as dual-degree engineering programs, and is accredited by the Southern ...

, graduating in 1797, and after studying law with Breckinridge, was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1801 and opened a practice in

Franklin County, Kentucky Franklin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 51,541. Its county seat is Frankfort, the state capital. The county was formed in 1795 from parts of Woodford, Mercer and Shelby ...

. In 1800, he was elected to represent Mercer County in the Kentucky House of Representatives and served there until he volunteered during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

Military service

During the War of 1812, McAfee served successively as sergeant, ensign and second lieutenant in the Army of the Northwest in its border campaign, then as

quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land armies, a quartermaster is generally a relatively senior soldier who supervises stores or barracks and distributes supplies and provisions. In ...

and lastly as captain of

Richard Mentor Johnson Richard Mentor Johnson (October 17, 1780 – November 19, 1850) was an American lawyer, military officer and politician who served as the ninth vice president of the United States, serving from 1837 to 1841 under President Martin Van Buren ...

's regiment in the expeditions against the Native Americans. He was made General in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

and commanded a troop raised by order of Gen.

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

, that took part in the

Battle of New Orleans The Battle of New Orleans was fought on January 8, 1815 between the British Army under Major General Sir Edward Pakenham and the United States Army under Brevet Major General Andrew Jackson, roughly 5 miles (8 km) southeast of the Frenc ...

as well as the

Battle of the Thames The Battle of the Thames , also known as the Battle of Moraviantown, was an American victory in the War of 1812 against Tecumseh's Confederacy and their British allies. It took place on October 5, 1813, in Upper Canada, near Chatham. The Britis ...

. In 1816, his book, ''History of the War of 1812'' was published.

Political career

Following his military service, he lived in Harrodsburg, Kentucky, and was reelected to the House in 1819. In 1821, he was elected a member of the Kentucky Senate and served in the Senate until resigning his seat in 1824 to run, successfully, for Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky. McAfee was elected as a

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

and served from August 24, 1824, to August 26, 1828, under Governor Joseph Desha. He cast a tie-breaking vote that prevented the abolition of the "New Court" during the Old Court-New Court controversy in 1825. After serving as Lt. Governor, he returned to the legislature in 1828 and remained active in Democratic politics, voting for the nomination of Andrew Jackson as president and

Martin Van Buren Martin Van Buren ( ; nl, Maarten van Buren; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the eighth president of the United States from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party, he ...

as vice president at the 1832 Democratic National Convention in Baltimore. On February 9, 1833, President

named him Chargé d'affaires to New Granada and

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...

, which he served after presenting his credentials at Bogotá on July 1, 1833, until he presented his recall on June 20, 1837. After McAfee returned to Kentucky, he was again reelected twice more to the Kentucky Senate in 1837 and 1841. In 1842, he was appointed to the Board of Visitors (board of trustees) of the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

and was elected its president in 1842.

Later career

McAfee retired from politics in 1845, he returned to his farm and later the same year, he published his autobiography, ''The Life and Times of Robert B. McAfee and His Family Connections''.

Personal life

On October 14, 1807, McAfee was married to Mary "Polly" Cardwell (1793–1850). Polly was the daughter of James Cardwell and Sarah Salley (née Crockett) Cardwell. Together, they were the parents of: * Nancy Cardwell McAfee (d. 1857), who married William Arthur Hooe (1818–1869) in 1841. * Louisiana J. McAfee (1809–1853), who married Robert M. Alexander (1798–1869). * James Cardwell McAfee (1817–1877), who married Sarah Ann Edelen (1826–1899). * Evelyn Breckenridge McAfee (1832–1914), who married William Bruce Edelen (1827–1897). McAfee died on March 12, 1849, at his home at Salt River, Kentucky. He was buried in New Providence Churchyard in Harrodsburg, Kentucky.

References

External links

*
Robert B. McAfee
at

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations o ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McAfee, Robert B. 1784 births 1849 deaths United States Army personnel of the War of 1812 Lieutenant Governors of Kentucky Members of the Kentucky House of Representatives Kentucky state senators People from Harrodsburg, Kentucky Ambassadors of the United States to Ecuador Ambassadors of the United States to Colombia 19th-century American legislators 19th-century American diplomats