Page "Albert Sidney Johnston" Paragraph 12

Eastern Tennessee was held for the Confederacy by two unimpressive brigadier generals appointed by Jefferson Davis, Felix Zollicoffer, a brave but untrained and inexperienced officer, and soon to be Maj. Gen. George B. Crittenden, a former U. S. Army officer with apparent alcohol problems.

While Crittenden was away in Richmond, Zollicoffer moved his forces to the north bank of the upper Cumberland River near Mill Springs ( now Nancy, Kentucky ), putting the river to his back and his forces into a trap.

Zollicoffer decided it was impossible to obey orders to return to the other side of the river because of scarcity of transport and proximity of Union troops.

When Union Brig.

Gen. George H. Thomas moved against the Confederates, Crittenden decided to attack one of the two parts of Thomas's command at Logan's Cross Roads near Mill Springs before the Union forces could unite.

On January 19, 1862, the ill-prepared Confederates, after a night march in the rain, attacked the Union force with some initial success.

As the battle progressed, Zollicoffer was killed, Crittenden was unable to lead the Confederate force since he was probably intoxicated and the Confederates were turned back and routed by a Union bayonet charge, suffering 533 casualties from their force of 4, 000.

The Confederate troops who escaped were assigned to other units as Crittenden faced an investigation of his conduct.