By Alabama NewsCenter Staff
Thomas Turpin Crittenden was born on Oct. 16, 1825 in Huntsville. He was a nephew of Kentucky Sen. John Crittenden and first cousin of Confederate Gen. George Crittenden and Union Gen. Thomas L. Crittenden. Thomas T. Crittenden’s family moved to Texas when he was a child. He attended Transylvania College and then practiced law in Missouri until the Mexican-American War, when he joined the military in 1846. He returned to his legal career in 1847, but five days after the firing on Fort Sumter, Crittenden volunteered for the Union Army. He was commissioned a captain, quickly rose to the rank of colonel and his regiment took part in the Battle of Shiloh in 1861. In April 1862, Crittenden was promoted to brigadier general, but three months later he and his garrison were captured. After release, he resigned and saw no further military service.
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