tucky, studiously neutral thus far, was about
to receive increasing attention from both
sides.
In January 1862, Crittenden was apprised
that a force of 7,000 Union soldiers under
Gen. George H. Thomas was advancing upon
his position. Rather than wait to be attacked,
he rounded up all his forces and marched,
hoping to strike first while the enemy
columns were separated. On January 19, 1862,
both sides met in a costly and confusing con-
flict at Mill Springs. The Confederate attack
drove Thomas’s men hard, but they grew dis-
heartened by the death of the popular Zolli-
coffer. Badly pressed in turn, Crittenden man-
aged to extricate the bulk of his army across
the rain-swollen Cumberland River, but he
had to abandon all his baggage and artillery in
the process. Retiring southward, he finally es-
tablished a base camp near Murfreesboro.
Though small, Mill Springs proved a signifi-
cant defeat for Southern fortunes. Not only
did it expose eastern Tennessee to invasion,
but, in concert with the capture of Forts
Henry and Donelson the following month, it
also contributed to an opening of defenses in
the Confederate heartland.
Almost immediately, Crittenden was as-
sailed in the Southern press for being intoxi-
cated at Mill Springs. However, Gen. Albert
Sidney Johnston appointed him to command
a reserve corps he was assembling in north-
ern Mississippi. Crittenden seemed capable of
rehabilitating his reputation until April 1,
1862, when Gen. William J. Hardee arrived at
Iuka, found his troops in disarray, and Critten-
den deep in his cups. For this offense he was
summarily arrested and court-martialed.
However, in light of the political importance
attached to his family name, the matter was
subsequently dropped. Crittenden never again
held a field command. He resigned his com-
mission in October 1862 and spent the re-
mainder of the war as a volunteer staff officer
under Gen. John S. Williams.
Crittenden returned to Kentucky after the
war and lived in Frankfort, the state capital.
In 1867, friends in the legislature arranged for
his appointment as state librarian, a post he
held until 1874. He died in obscurity at
Danville, Kentucky, on November 27, 1880,
one of the lesser lights of the Confederate war
effort.See also
Black HawkBibliography
Coleman, Ann M. The Life of John J. Crittenden, with
Selections from His Correspondence and Speeches.
Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1873; Dalton, David C.
“Zollicoffer, Crittenden, and the Mill Springs Cam-
paign.” Filson Club HistoricalQuarterly 60 (1986):
463–471; Harrison, Lowell H. The Civil War in Ken-
tucky.Lexington: University of Kentucky Press,
1975; Harrison, Lowell H. “Mill Springs: The ‘Bril-
liant Victory.’”Civil War Times Illustrated10, no. 9
(1972): 4–9, 44–47; Hess, Earl J. Banners to the
Breeze: The Kentucky Campaigns, Corinth, and
Stone’s River. Lincoln: University of Nebraska
Press, 2000; Kirwan, Albert D. John J. Crittenden:
The Struggle for the Union.Lexington: University
of Kentucky Press, 1962; McMurty, R. Gerald. “Zolli-
coffer and the Battle of Mill Springs.” Filson Club
History Quarterly29 (1955): 303–319; Myers, Ray-
mond E. The Zollie Tree.Louisville, KY: Filson Club
Press, 1964; Stevens, Peter F. “The Black Bean
Draw.” American History32, no. 4 (1997): 36–40,
63–64.CRITTENDEN, GEORGEBIBB