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U.S. Army and Confederate Army officer (1812-1880)

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George B. Crittenden

Born	(1812-03-20)March 20, 1812 Russellville, Kentucky, U.S.
Died	November 27, 1880(1880-11-27) (aged 68) Danville, Kentucky, U.S.
Place of burial	Frankfort Cemetery, Frankfort, Kentucky
Allegiance	United States of America Republic of Texas Confederate States of America
Service / branch	United States Army Army of the Republic of Texas Confederate States Army
Years of service	1832–1833; 1846–1861 (USA) 1842–1843 (Republic of Texas) 1861–1865 (CSA)
Rank	Lieutenant Colonel (USA) 2nd Lieutenant (Republic of Texas) Major General (CSA)
Commands	2nd Division of the Army of Central Kentucky
Battles / wars	Black Hawk War Mexican–American War Battle of Contreras Battle of Churubusco American Civil War Battle of Mill Springs
Other work	State Librarian of Kentucky

George Bibb Crittenden (March 20, 1812 – November 27, 1880) was a career United States Army officer who served in the Black Hawk War, the Army of the Republic of Texas, and the Mexican–American War, and later resigned his commission to serve as a general in the Confederate States Army in the American Civil War.

Early life and antebellum career

Crittenden was born in Russellville, Kentucky, on March 20, 1812. He was brother to Thomas L. Crittenden, and his father was John J. Crittenden, who was an influential politican who was governor of Kentucky in the late 1840s and early 1850s, was the United States Attorney General in the administrations of Presidents William Henry Harrison and Zachary Taylor, and a United States Senator. The younger Crittenden spent his youth in Frankfort, Kentucky, and was sent to a boarding school in Lexington, Kentucky, in 1824. His mother had died in 1824. Crittenden was admitted to the United States Military Academy in 1828, and graduated four years later, the 26th-ranked out of 45 cadets. His appointment was secured by his father. Serving in the 4th Infantry Regiment, he saw service in the Black Hawk War and was stationed for a time in the Arkansas Territory. He reached a brevet rank of second lieutenant. On April 30, 1833, he resigned from the military and enrolled in Transylvania University, to study law. He received a LL. B. from the university later in the year, and began a legal practice. In 1836, he commanded a company in the Kentucky militia. By the end of the decade, Crittenden had developed a serious drinking problem.

Crittenden later moved to the 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 had been made without orders. The Texians were forced to surrender after being defeated in battle at Mier in December 1842. 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 in made. In what is known as the Black Bean Episode, Mexican Colonel Domingo Huerta had a jar filled with 176 beans - one for each prisoner. Of the beans, seventeen were black, and the others white. Those who drew a black bean were to be executed. Crittenden was one of the survivors, and a story later spread that he 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. Crittenden's father used his influence to produce pressure for his son's release, and Andrew Jackson provided critical assistance. Crittenden was returned to New Orleans, Louisiana, via Vera Cruz and Havana, arriving back in the United States on May 7, 1843.

Crittenden made his way back to Kentucky; biographer James M. Pritchard speculates that he resumed his legal career. When the Mexican–American War began, Crittenden rejoined the army. He was appointed a captain on May 27, 1846, and served under Major William W. Loring in the Regiment of Mounted Riflemen. Crittenden was arrested for drunkenness, and after traveling to Washington, D.C. to plead with the United States Secretary of War after tendering a resignation. Having been restored for duty, Crittenden fought in Winfield Scott's army in 1847, during its campaign against Mexico City. Due to his actions 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, 1848, but this was followed by another arrest for drunkenness. Following a court martial, Crittenden was cashiered from the military on August 19.

Crittenden's father used his influence on behalf of his son, interceding with the Secretary of War and with family friend Jefferson Davis. The younger Crittenden was restored to duty on March 15, 1849. Additional 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 St. Louis, Missouri's Jefferson Barracks, 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 awhile 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 to improve his behavior, and after an 1852 transfer to the frontier, he served honorably.

In 1856, David Meriwether, the Territorial Governor of New Mexico, gave Crittenden a bottle of alcohol, 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, Crittenden 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 J. Crittenden'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 Crittenden "did not have a strong sense of duty", had a tendency to make bad decisions about who to befriend, and could be easily convinced to make bad decisions. Eubank suggests that some of these personality issues could have stemmed from the death of his mother during his adolescence, and from pressure from his father to fulfill his role as the family's firstborn son.

American Civil War

Just before the start of the Civil War, Crittenden accepted a commission as colonel, in the Confederate States Army infantry on March 16, 1861, although he would not resign his U.S. Army commission until June 10. He was promoted to brigadier general on August 15, 1861, and served briefly as a brigade commander in the Confederate Army of the Potomac in Virginia. He was promoted to major general on November 9, 1861, and commanded the District of East Tennessee. On January 19, 1862, he and Confederate Brig. Gen. Felix Zollicoffer were defeated by Union Brigadier General George H. Thomas at the Battle of Mill Springs, one of the first important Confederate defeats in the war, breaking the Southern hold on eastern Kentucky.

He briefly commanded the 2nd Division of the Army of Central Kentucky in 1862 but was relieved on March 31. He was arrested the next day on charges of drunkenness by the order of Maj. Gen. William J. Hardee and restored on April 18. General Braxton Bragg ordered a court of inquiry in July and Crittenden resigned as a general officer, reverting to colonel in October 1862.

Postbellum career

He served as the state librarian of Kentucky from 1867 to 1871. He died in Danville, Kentucky, and is buried in the State Cemetery, Frankfort, Kentucky.

Notes

The historian Thomas Cutrer writes that Jackson had become involved in February.

References

^ Cutrer, Thomas W. (December 1, 1994). "Crittenden, George Bibb (1812–1880)". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
Warner 2006, p. 65.
^ Pritchard 2008, p. 69.
Eubank 2009, p. 2.
^ Eubank 2009, p. 9.
^ "George Bibb Crittenden and the Battle of Mill Springs". National Park Service. October 17, 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
^ Pritchard 2008, p. 70.
"Black Bean Episode". Texas State Historical Association. November 15, 2024. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
Eubank 2009, p. 11.
Eubank 2009, p. 12.
Eubank 2009, pp. 12–13.
Eubank 2009, p. 13.
Pritchard 2008, pp. 70–71.
Eubank 2008, pp. 13–14. sfn error: no target: CITEREFEubank2008 (help)
Warner, p. 66.

Sources

Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher. Civil War High Commands. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001. ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.
Eubank, Damon R. (2009). In the Shadow of the Patriarch: The John J. Crittenden Family in War and Peace. Macon, Georgia: Mercer University Press. ISBN 978-0-88146-151-0.
Pritchard, James M. (2008). "Maj. Gen. George Bibb Crittenden". In Allardice, Bruce S.; Hewitt, Lawrence Lee (eds.). Kentuckians in Gray: Confederate Generals and Field Officers of the Bluegrass State. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky. pp. 69–75. ISBN 978-0-8131-2475-9.
Sifakis, Stewart. Who Was Who in the Civil War. New York: Facts On File, 1988. ISBN 978-0-8160-1055-4.
Warner, Ezra J. (2006) . Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders (Louisiana Paperback ed.). Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Louisiana State University Press. ISBN 978-0-8071-3150-3.

External links

George B. Crittenden at Find a Grave

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