George Bibb Crittenden (March 20, 1812 – November 27, 1880) was a soldier in both the United States Army and the Confederate States Army during the mid-19th century. The son of influential Kentucky politician John J. Crittenden, George Crittenden enrolled in the United States Military Academy in 1828, graduating four years later. He served in the Black Hawk War in 1832 before resigning from the military in 1833. Crittenden spent the rest of the decade practicing law and became an alcoholic. Leaving Kentucky, he traveled to the then-independent Republic of Texas and joined the Army of the Republic of Texas. He took part in the Mier expedition, an unauthorized Texian military incursion into Mexico that was forced to surrender. John Crittenden used his influence to push for his son's release, and George returned to Kentucky. In 1846, he rejoined the military for service in the Mexican–American War, but was arrested for drunkenness before he could see combat. Having been restored to the service, he received a brevet promotion for his actions at the Battle of Contreras and the Battle of Churubusco in 1847. Crittenden was arrested twice for drunkenness in 1848, but his father's influence allowed him to continue his military career.
Crittenden continued in the United States military until the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He resigned from the military in June, and by November was a major general in the Confederate States Army. Initially assigned to command east Tennessee and as much of Kentucky as he could hold, his command was later reduced to the brigades of Brigadier Generals Felix Zollicoffer and William Carroll. In December, Zollicoffer made a tactically questionable decision to move his troops north of the Cumberland River; by the time Crittenden arrived on the scene from his Knoxville, Tennessee, headquarters, it was too late to correct this deployment. On January 19, 1862, Crittenden ordered an attack while his Union opponents were divided by a flooded creek. The resulting Battle of Mill Springs was a Confederate defeat, and Zollicoffer was killed.
Retreating back into Tennessee, Crittenden faced allegations of drunkenness during the battle and of disloyalty. Assigned to command a corps under General Albert Sidney Johnston, Crittenden was arrested on April 1 for being drunk on duty. After a series of legal proceedings, Crittenden resigned in October. Re-entering the Confederate service as a colonel in April 1863, he served in staff roles in the backwater Department of Western Virginia, and for a time in 1864 held departmental command of the Department of Western Virginia and East Tennessee. After the war ended in 1865, Crittenden returned to Kentucky. He was indicted for treason upon his return, but pardoned in 1867. From 1867 to 1874, he was the state librarian of Kentucky. Crittenden died in 1880. His brother Thomas L. Crittenden was a Union major general during the war.
Early life, education, and move to Texas Crittenden was born in Russellville, Kentucky, on March 20, 1812. He was brother to Thomas L. Crittenden, and he was the firstborn son of John J. Crittenden and Sarah Lee, who was an influential politician: governor of Kentucky in the late 1840s and early 1850s, United States Attorney General in the administrations of Presidents William Henry Harrison and Taylor, and a United States Senator. Two of George's uncles served in the Kentucky Legislature, and another uncle, Robert Crittenden, gained prominence in the Arkansas Territory as an attorney. His younger sister Ann became a writer and translator. George spent his youth in Frankfort, Kentucky. His mother had died in 1824 and he was sent to a boarding school in Lexington, Kentucky, the same year. The American National Biography describes him as "an apt pupil". His appointment secured by his father, Crittenden was admitted to the United States Military Academy in 1828. He graduated four years later, the 26th-ranked out of 45 cadets. Crittenden was assigned to the 4th Infantry Regiment with a brevet rank of second lieutenant. The regiment was initially slated for garrison duty, but saw active service when the Black Hawk War broke out later that year. The Black Hawk War ended later in 1832, and the 4th Infantry returned to building military infrastructure in the Southern United States, including being stationed for a time in the Arkansas Territory, and in Georgia and Alabama. On April 30, 1833, he resigned from the military and enrolled in Transylvania University, to study law, having studied law under his father before enrolling in the university. After receiving a Bachelor of Laws, he started a law practice later in 1833. He commanded a Kentucky militia company in 1836. By the end of the decade, Crittenden had developed a serious drinking problem.
Crittenden later moved to the then-independent Republic of Texas, without informing his father. Joining the Army of the Republic of Texas, Crittenden participated as a second lieutenant in the 1842 Mier expedition, an incursion by Texian troops into Mexico that was made without orders. The Texians were forced to surrender after being defeated in battle at Mier in December. By January 1843, Crittenden had become too ill to travel and entered a Mexican hospital. In March, the Texian prisoners were informed that one out of every ten of them would be executed, after an escape attempt had been made. The prisoners drew from a jar of beans; those who drew black beans were executed. A story later spread that Crittenden had originally drawn a white bean, had given it to another Texian who had a family back home, and had then drawn a white bean again on the second try. Biographer James M. Prichard considers this to be doubtful, as the tale is not found in survivor accounts of the incident and as the prisoners were blindfolded while drawing the beans, along with the fact that Crittenden had previously been transferred to a hospital. Crittenden's father used his influence to press for his son's release, and former United States President Andrew Jackson provided critical assistance, by writing a letter to Santa Anna, the Mexican president. On March 15, Santa Anna announced his intention to free Crittenden. Released in April, Crittenden was returned to New Orleans, Louisiana, via Vera Cruz and Havana, arriving back in the United States on May 7.
United States military service
Crittenden made his way back to Kentucky; Prichard speculates that he resumed his legal career. When the Mexican–American War began in 1846, Crittenden rejoined the United States Army. He was appointed a captain on May 27, and served under Major William W. Loring in the Regiment of Mounted Riflemen. Crittenden was arrested for drunkenness, and tendered his resignation, after which he traveled to Washington, D.C. to plead with the United States Secretary of War. Having been restored to duty, Crittenden fought in Winfield Scott's army in 1847, during its campaign to capture Mexico City. For "gallant and meritorious conduct" at the Battle of Contreras and the Battle of Churubusco, Crittenden was awarded a brevet promotion to major on August 20. In early 1848, he was arrested for drunkenness again, but his father was influential enough that Crittenden was able to continue his military career. A full promotion followed on March 15, but this was succeeded by another arrest for drunkenness. After a court martial, Crittenden was cashiered from the military on August 19.
Crittenden's father again used his influence on behalf of his son, interceding with the Secretary of War, family friend Jefferson Davis (who believed Crittenden to be innocent), and Thomas Hart Benton (who had served in the Senate with the elder Crittenden). The younger Crittenden was restored to duty on March 15, 1849. Other personality problems had surfaced during the Mexican War; Crittenden nearly participated in a duel, although the confrontation was defused by others. After a stay at Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis, Missouri, Crittenden traveled across the country to the Oregon Territory in 1849 with the Regiment of Mounted Riflemen. The regiment was stationed at the Columbia Barracks for a while before returning to Jefferson Barracks in 1851. Rumors of excessive drinking surfaced again, and his father suggested that he should resign from the military. The younger Crittenden promised to improve his behavior and, after an 1852 transfer to the Texas frontier, in the words of Prichard, he "served ably".
In 1856, David Meriwether, the territorial governor of New Mexico, gave Crittenden a bottle of brandy, but was told by Crittenden that he no longer drank. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel on December 30, 1856. Due to his influential connections, Crittenden received a leave of absence in 1859, which he used to travel in Europe. Crittenden was the post commander at Fort Union from late 1860 to early 1861. While serving on the frontier, he fought against Native Americans, including an action against Comanches on January 2, 1861, that brought him national newspaper attention. Damon R. Eubank, the writer of a work about the Crittenden family, writes that John's frequest interventions in his son's career prevented the younger Crittenden from learning from the issues that created the problems. According to Eubank, George "did not have a strong sense of duty" and could be easily convinced to make bad decisions, including in his choice of friendships. Eubank suggests that some of these personality issues could have stemmed from the death of his mother during his adolescence and pressure to fulfill his role as the family's firstborn son.
American Civil War Early wartime service In the 1860 United States presidential election, a split in the Democratic Party assisted the victory of Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Party. Southern political leaders known as Fire-Eaters expressed fears that the incoming Republican administration would restrict slavery and support for secession grew in the South. John J. Crittenden, who had developed a reputation during his decades of public service for assisting in compromises, submitted a group of constitutional amendments in December 1860 known as the Crittenden Compromise, but the compromise was not approved. The state of South Carolina seceded in December, and six other southern states followed in early 1861. The seceding states formed the Confederate States of America in February. On the morning of April 12, Confederate military forces opened fire on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor; the American Civil War had begun. Four more states soon joined the Confederacy; Kentucky remained on the fence. George incorrectly expected his father to support the Confederacy. John J. Crittenden asked George to "be true to the government that has trusted in you. And stand fast by your national Flag", but George resigned from the United States Army on June 10. His brother Thomas remained with the Union during the war, rising to the rank of major general; another brother, Eugene, was also a Union officer. George's cousin Thomas Turpin Crittenden was also a Union brigadier general. Prichard notes that some sources claim that George was part of a conspiracy to establish Confederate control over the southwestern United States and that he tried to get the men of his regiment to join the Confederacy.