Gen. John Breckenridge CASTLEMAN For sources please contact coddgenealogy at gmail d0t com
Lewis CASTLEMAN
(1744-1828)
Jemima PEARSALL
(Abt 1750-)
David CASTLEMAN
(1785-1852)
Virginia HARRISON
(-)

Gen. John Breckenridge CASTLEMAN
(1841-1918)

 

Family Links

Spouses/Children:
Alice BARBEE

Gen. John Breckenridge CASTLEMAN 3236,3317

  • Born: 30 Jun 1841, , Fayette Co., Kentucky, USA 3236
  • Marriage: Alice BARBEE about 1868 3236
  • Died: 23 May 1918, Louisville, Jefferson Co., Kentucky, USA at age 76 3236

  General Notes:

He was a General in the Civil War. He was a very prominent business and social leader in Louisville, KY. In 1917 he published his autobiography, Active Service.

"None has done so much to promote the American Saddlebred as has General John Breckenridge Castleman. Almost single-handedly, he brought the breed to international attention and acclaim.
General Castleman’s greatest contribution was as the first president of the American Saddle Horse Breeder’s Association (later, the American Saddlebred Horse Association). Because of the growing prevalence of the breed, a governing body was required that would create, organize and enforce various regulations for Saddlebreds and their breeders. Castleman and I.B. Nall, the Association’s first secretary, the publisher of The Farmer’s Home Journal–the predecessor to THE NATIONAL HORSEMAN–and a close friend of Castleman, were largely responsible for establishing the organization in 1891 and led it into the twentieth century with a strong direction and unified purpose. In his lifetime, Castleman also served as an officer in the Confederate army, as a war governor of Puerto Rico and as Adjutant General of Kentucky.
Greatness was in Castleman’s blood. He followed the examples of many important figures in his family. Castleman’s great-uncle, John Breckenridge, served as Attorney General in Thomas Jefferson’s administration. His cousin, John C. Breckenridge, was Vice-President of the United States under James Buchanan. John C. Breckenridge was also a Kentucky senator and a candidate for the presidency against Abraham Lincoln. His second cousin had the honor of presenting the nomination speech for Lincoln. These people set the stage for John Castleman’s lifetime of great accomplishments.
He grew up in Kentucky where the Saddlebred was being developed. He knew many of the original ancestors to Gaines’ Denmark’s family of Saddlebreds and maintained his familiarity with them when he became more involved in the breeding and development of the Saddlebred. His own show appearances were made on close relatives to Gaines’ Denmark. He saw other famous founding families of the breed being developed simultaneously and aided in their promotion and general welfare.
His loyalty to the breed was enormously expanded during the Civil War. Castleman found the Saddlebred’s strongest assets were as a cavalry horse. He led a distinguished career beginning as a private soldier and later as the commanding officer of a group of young Kentucky horsemen mounted on Saddlebreds. Here, he saw firsthand what the horse was capable of; he saw it outlasting other horses, and he saw it maintain its noble stature under tremendous stress.
Toward the end of the war, he took part in what was known as the "Northwest Conspiracy." This was a plan of the South to free Confederate prisoners from Union prisons. A loose-lipped Confederate soldier ruined the major rescue attempt of the "conspiracy" at Camp Douglas, giving the Union army enough time to assemble a large contingent of soldiers to wait for the Confederates.
Castleman was later arrested after trying to destroy Union steamboats that were shipping supplies out of St. Louis. One of his relatives obtained a handwritten letter from President Lincoln meant to suspend any criminal conviction; however, the letter was never presented to the proper authorities (Castleman did not discover its existence until 1877), so Castleman was sentenced to exile in 1865. After spending some time in Canada and Europe, he was granted clemency by Andrew Johnson in 1866 and was permitted to return to the United States.
After the Civil War, he began making regular show ring appearances and occasionally judged shows. He had an imposing figure, standing six-foot three and weighing 200 pounds; either riding or judging, he was an impressive sight. With the aid of the Louisville Horse Show Association, Castleman was also responsible for beginning a large show in Louisville in 1900 which was discontinued after the Association disbanded in 1908. However, the tradition of the big show in Louisville continues to this day with the Kentucky State Fair World’s Championships.
He demonstrated the superiority of the breed to foreign dignitaries, showing them various representatives of the breed. He wanted a federal record of the American Saddlebred’s excellence, so he attempted to organize a government-endorsed and recorded endurance race between the greatest representatives of the Saddlebred and those of the Arabian. He was never able to race the breeds against one another because the star Arabian became too ill, but Castleman never doubted that the Saddlebred was the superior of the two.
He founded and built the park and playground system of Louisville, earning him a memorial statue in Cherokee Park. He would often ride Carolina, the mare he sits astride in the bronze statue, on afternoon and evening tours of the park. His published autobiography he titled, Active Service, showing his belief that his life was meant to be spent in service.
Castleman made the Saddlebred into a horse of great distinction by promoting proper registration and registration regulations, through his incessant drive to let the world know the greatness of the Saddlebred and by standing as an example of what everyone who loves the breed should be.
3318


Gen. married Alice BARBEE about 1868.3236




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