Original Burial Site of US Army Officer killed at the Battle of the Little Big Horn. His Original Burial Site. 2nd Lt Crittenden was the son of Col Thomas L. Crittenden and came from a prominent Kentucky family. His grandfather was John J. Crittenden, a state and national politician, who introduced in the US Senate the Crittenden Compromise in an unsuccessful effort to avoid the Union and South dividing. During the Civil War, Lt Crittenden had members of his family in the officer corps with both the Union and Confederate armies. Lt Crittenden attended West Point from July 1, 1871 to June 26, 1874, but failed philosophy and was discharged. Through family connections, President U.S. Grant granted Crittenden a 2nd Lieutenant commission. On June 15, 1875, after Crittenden had passed an entry exam, he was appointed 2nd Lt. On October 25, 1875, Crittenden was injured in a hunting accident. He lost his left eye while attempting to dislodge a stuck cartridge in his shotgun with a knife. Crittenden had the missing eye replaced with a glass one. On March 17, 1876, Crittenden reported for duty at Ft Ripley, MN. He was assigned to Company G, 20th US Infantry Regiment. On May 12, 1876, at the direction of General Alfred Terry, Crittenden was placed on attached to duty with the 7th US Cavalry Regiment. He was assigned to Company L. Company L was commanded by 1st Lt James Calhoun, brother-in-law of LTC George Armstrong Custer and two time Medal of Honor recipient Captain Thomas Custer. At the Battle of the Little Bighorn Company L was attached to LTC Custer's battalion. Crittenden was killed sometime during the fighting. After the battle Crittenden's body was found on Calhoun Hill. He was found laying near the remains of Lt Calhoun. Burial parties were only able to identify Crittenden's "badly mutilated" remains from the broken glass of his glass eye. Crittenden was buried where he had been found on the battlefield. In 1877, Lt Col Michael Sheridan (brother of Gen Phil Sheridan) led an expedition to the Little Big Horn. Their objective was to clean up the battlefield and retrieve the remains of officers, except for Crittenden's. His family had requested that their son remain on the battlefield, where he had died with his men. Crittenden remained buried, where he had died, until 1931. Due to road construction near his burial site, his remains were relocated to the adjacent Custer National Cemetery.