George Bibb Crittenden

George Bibb Crittenden , 1812-80, Confederate general, b. Russellville, Ky.; son of John J. Crittenden and brother of Thomas L. Crittenden. Upon the outbreak of the Civil War, he left the U.S. army to become a Confederate brigadier general. At Mill Springs (Jan., 1862) he was badly defeated and resigned, but he reenlisted and served without rank for the rest of the war.

Crittenden, George Bibb (1812–80) Confederate army officer, born in Russellville, Kentucky. Crittenden fought in the Black Hawk War (1832), but rsigned from garrison duty to study law. Bored with the law, he volunteered for service in the border war with Mexico in 1842, and was captured that same year. He was released due to the intervention of his father, a U.S. senator. Crittenden was captain of a company of mounted riflemen in the Mexican War (1846–48), and fought at Contreras and Churubusco (both 1847). Appointed major but court-martialed for drinking, he was reinstated, again due to the influence of his father, then governor of Kentucky. In the Civil War, Crittenden joined the Confederate army despite his father's wishes, and was made a major general and commander of Confederate forces in southeastern Kentucky. Defeated by George H. Thomas at Mill Springs, or Logan's Crossroads (1862), he was accused of being drunk at the time, and was arrested and tried by a military court of inquiry, but finally released. He resigned his commission, and rejoined as a volunteer.

While imprisoned in Mexico, he and his fellow inmates were compelled to draw lots to decide who would be shot in retaliation for a failed escape attempt. Crittenden drew two favorable beans and was able to save himself and a friend.