Thomas Leonidas Crittenden

Thomas Leonidas Crittenden , 1819-93, Union general in the Civil War, b. Russellville, Ky.; son of John J. Crittenden and brother of George B. Crittenden. He served in the Mexican War and was (1849-53) U.S. consul at Liverpool. A major general in the Kentucky militia when the Civil War began, Crittenden became a Union brigadier general (Sept., 1861) and was promoted to major general (July, 1862) for his service at Shiloh. He commanded under Rosecrans at Murfreesboro and in the Chattanooga campaign. After being exonerated for the rout of his corps at Chickamauga, he served for a time in the Army of the Potomac. Crittenden resigned his commission in Dec., 1864, but reentered the army in 1867 and served until 1881.

Crittenden, Thomas Leonidas (1819–93) Union army officer and lawyer, born in Russellville, Kentucky. As an aide to the staff of Gen. Zachary Taylor during the Mexican War (1846–48), Crittenden was selected to carry the news of the victory at Buena Vista (1847) to President James K. Polk. In the Civil War, he commanded and reorganized Kentucky's state militia. He was promoted to major general in 1862 and brevetted brigadier general after his performance at Stones River (1862–63). Directing the 21st Corps during the campaign leading to Chickamauga (1863), Crittenden retreated, thinking the battle lost; a court inquiry found his conduct “most credible,” but his military usefulness after that was permanently impaired.