George Bibb Crittenden

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George Bibb Crittenden

George Bibb Crittenden (born March 20, 1812 in Russellville , Kentucky , † November 27, 1880 in Danville , Kentucky) was an officer in the US Army , an officer in the Republic of Texas , attorney and general of the Confederate Army in the Civil War .

Life

Crittenden was the son of the well-known US politician John J. Crittenden . His brother Thomas Leonidas Crittenden and his cousin Thomas Turpin Crittenden later both became generals in the US Army . He himself finished his studies at the Military Academy in West Point , New York in 1832 as the 26th of his class and then served as a lieutenant in the 4th US Infantry Regiment in the Black Hawk War . In 1833 he said goodbye, went to Transylvania University in Lexington , Kentucky, and studied law. After graduating, he worked as a lawyer .

In 1842 Crittenden moved to Texas , which was a sovereign state from 1836 to 1845. There he joined the Texas Army. During the Mier expedition in 1843 he was captured by the Mexican army and later expelled. In 1846, when the Mexican-American War broke out , he returned to the US Army and fought with the Mounted Rifles in the Battle of Contreras and the Battle of Churubusco . In 1847 he was awarded for this.

Shortly before the outbreak of the Civil War took Crittenden on 16 March 1861 as colonel into the nascent in the development Confederate army. On August 15, 1861, he was promoted to brigadier general and served in the Confederate Potomac Army in Virginia . On November 9, 1861, he was promoted to major general and was transferred to command in East Tennessee. On January 19, 1862, Crittenden was defeated by Union troops under George Henry Thomas in the battle near Mill Springs . This was the first major success of the Northern States , which had made a first breach in the Confederate Defense Front in southern Kentucky.

Crittenden was accused of being responsible for the defeat and possibly being drunk on duty. He was relieved of his command and, after lengthy quarrels and investigations, submitted his departure that same year. Until the end of the war he served in subordinate roles as a colonel. After the war, Crittenden worked as a librarian for the state of Kentucky from 1867 to 1871.

See also

literature

  • David J. Eicher, The Civil War in Books: An Analytical Bibliography , University of Illinois, 1997, ISBN 0-252-02273-4
  • Richard N. Current (Ed.): Encyclopedia of the Confederacy. Simon & Schuster, New York NY et al. 1993, ISBN 0-13-275991-8 .
  • John H. Eicher & David J. Eicher, Civil War High Commands , Stanford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3641-3
  • Ezra J. Warner: Generals in Gray. Lives of the Confederate Commanders. Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge LA 1959 (also: ibid. 2006, ISBN 0-8071-3150-4 ).

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Crittenden, George Bibb
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Confederate General in the American Civil War
DATE OF BIRTH March 20, 1812
PLACE OF BIRTH Russellville , Kentucky
DATE OF DEATH November 27, 1880
Place of death Danville , Kentucky