“His land is biggest an’ his land is best,
From grassy plains to the mountain crest
He’s ahead of us all meetin’ the test,
Followin’ his legend into the West
Davy, Davy Crockett, king of the wild frontier.”
Those words come to us courtesy of “The Ballad of Davy Crockett,” a folk song from 1955 when the Crockett craze was at its peak thanks to a television mini-series. Although an already well-known historical figure thanks to his heroic last stand at the Alamo, the popular TV show and the catchy theme tune introduced Davy Crockett to a whole new audience of American children, thus turning him into a pop culture icon and the most famous frontiersman who ever lived.
Early Years
David Crockett was born on August 17, 1786, in modern-day Greene County, Tennessee, just east of Knoxville, but what was back then known as the state of Franklin or Frankland, a breakaway territory that declared its independence from North Carolina and tried to become its own state. It didn’t work…and nowadays the region mostly overlaps with East Tennessee.
David was the fifth son of John Crockett and Rebecca Hawkins who had nine children in total – six boys, three girls. In his autobiography, Crockett described his ancestry as poor, but honest, which is “as much as many a man can say.” He also refers to himself exclusively as David Crockett, not “Davy,” which was a name that he didn’t like even though it became the moniker everyone knows him by.
Because the Crocketts were poor, the family moved around a bunch as John Crockett searched for new opportunities to make money. In 1794, the Crocketts moved to Cove Creek where John Crockett partnered with a man named Thomas Galbreath to open a new gristmill, only to have a flood come by and destroy the mill as well as the Crockett house. After that, the family relocated to Jefferson County, where the senior Crockett opened a small tavern on the road between Knoxville and Abingdon, Virginia.
Still, this was nowhere near enough to make ends meet, so the Crockett boys, as soon as they were old enough, had to find work. When Davy was 12 years old, a man named Jacob Siler stopped by the tavern. He was relocating from Knox County to Rockbridge, Virginia, and had a large herd of cattle that needed some help moving from the old place to the new one. John Crockett hired out his son for this task so off Davy went on a 400-mile journey with a man he had only met the night before.
At first, Siler was friendly but later revealed that he wanted Davy to stay with him and made no effort to return him to his family. Fortunately, a golden opportunity presented itself after about a month with Siler. Davy ran into three waggoners he’d met before at his father’s tavern. They were going that way again and offered him a ride as long as he made it to the inn where they were staying before they left the next morning.
That night, Crockett woke up three hours before dawn. The good news was that Siler and his family were away on a visit. The bad news was that it was snowing heavily outside and the inn was seven miles away. It was dark and it was cold, but Davy made the trek through eight inches of snow and made it to the inn with an hour to spare, just enough time for him to warm himself up by the fire and eat some breakfast. True to their word, the waggoners brought little Davy home.
The following autumn, Davy’s father sent him to school, although he stopped going after only four days. He got into a fight with a bully and, after that, he simply spent the days in the woods, returning home with all the other kids and hoping that his dad wouldn’t find out. Of course, he did. The schoolmaster wrote him a letter asking why Davy hadn’t been in school. After learning that his kid was playing hooky, John Crockett went outside, collected a hickory stick, and intended to give him the ass-whooping of a lifetime. Davy had other plans, though, and ran for the hills…literally. His father chased him for a mile before Davy went up a hill to get out of sight and then hid in a bush.
You might think that all this effort was just prolonging the inevitable because, eventually, Davy would still have to come back home and take his whipping. But not so…because when Davy Crockett wanted to avoid a beating, he went all out. He left Tennessee altogether and was gone for two-and-a-half years.
First, he hired himself out on a cattle drive that took him to Front Royal, Virginia. From there, he traveled with a waggoner to Gerrardstown where he found work as a hired hand for a man called John Gray. After saving up some money, Davy made his way to Baltimore, where he lost all said money. He finally resolved to go back home, but without any funds to do so, he would either have to find work on the way or rely on the kindness of strangers.
That kindness actually got him as far as Montgomery, Virginia, where Davy found work with a hatter named Elijah Griffith. Sensing a bit of stability in his life again, Crockett lost interest in going home and agreed to work for Griffith for four years. This was not to be, however. Eighteen months later, the hatter went bankrupt and fled the country to escape his creditors, leaving Davy without a source of income again.
With what little money he scrounged, Crockett once again decided to return home. Slowly but surely, he finally made it in 1802, now 15 years old, having grown so much that his family did not recognize him at first.
Family, Career…and War
The young man who came back home was not the same as the boy who ran away years ago. Crockett felt a deep shame once he realized just how much grief he had caused his mother and his sisters and wanted to make things right. He did this by working off a $36 debt that the family owed to a man named Abraham Wilson. For six months, he showed up to work every day and, once the debt was settled, he did the same thing again for another six months, this time for $40 owed to a Quaker called John Kennedy.
But Davy liked working for Kennedy, so he stayed on for a few more years. Plus, he was sweet on the old Quaker’s niece, even though he later discovered she was already engaged to another man. Davy Crockett was now in the market for a wife, but felt that his lack of an education might hamper his marriage prospects. Davy was 17 years old but still didn’t know how to read or write. Fortunately for him, Kennedy had a son who ran a school and he made a deal with Crockett – four days of schooling per week in exchange for two days of work. This arrangement went on for six months, at the end of which Crockett knew how to read, write, and do some basic math and he figured that was all the schooling he would need in life.
Once again, Davy resumed his search for a wife, but he struck out the second time, too. A girl named Margaret Elder agreed to his proposal but changed her mind and married another guy. Oh, well…The third time’s the charm. A girl named Polly Finley had caught Davy’s eye and, fortunately for him, this time the feeling was mutual. He even obtained her parents’ permission so, on August 16, 1806, Davy and Polly got married. Less than a year later, they had their first child – John Wesley Crockett, who would later follow in his father’s political footsteps and serve as congressman for the same district. Their second son, William, was born in 1808, followed later by a daughter named Margaret.
But the growing family placed a great strain on Crockett’s finances, which weren’t that great to begin with. Fortunately for him, Davy was a skilled hunter and a crack shot with a long rifle. The animals he hunted provided food for his family, and furs and hides to sell. He was particularly adept at hunting big game such as bears, and several legends sprang up related to his prowess in taking down deadly animals, including one where Crockett allegedly killed a bear in pitch-black darkness armed with nothing but a butcher knife.
Besides hunting and farming, Crockett made some dough on the side by taking part in a lot of marksmen contests that were a popular form of entertainment on the frontier since nobody could watch Biographics videos on YouTube yet. The prizes weren’t exactly a new car or a trip to the Bahamas, but they added up and they also served to build Davy Crockett’s reputation as a frontiersman.
In 1813, Crockett adopted a new persona – that of a soldier in the Creek War. He enlisted as a direct result of the Fort Mims Massacre on August 30, 1813, where a large force of indigenous Creek warriors killed over 500 soldiers and civilians and set fire to the fort in southern Alabama. Crockett served with the Tennessee Militia, led by future president Andrew Jackson. His main duties involved scouting and hunting for food, but Crockett also took part in several bloody fights against the Creek faction known as the Red Sticks due to the red-painted war clubs they wielded in combat. Most infamous of all was the Battle of Tallushatchee which devolved into another savage massacre, this time for the opposing side, with 186 Creek men, women, and children killed and the entire town burned to the ground.
The Battle of Horseshoe Bend won the war for the United States, leading to the Treaty of Fort Jackson on August 9, 1814. Crockett wasn’t present for either of these events, though. He had been promoted to third sergeant and switched from one war to another. This time, it was the War of 1812 fought between the United States and the United Kingdom, aided by multiple pro-UK native tribes, and the Spanish, who allowed the Brits to muster and train in Florida, back then still part of the Kingdom of Spain. Crockett enlisted with the Separate Battalion of Tennessee Mounted Gunmen and headed for Pensacola. Not a lot of action this time around, though, at least, not for Crockett. His battalion was always behind the main force, once again led by Andrew Jackson, and by the time they arrived, the fighting was over.
Once again, Crockett made himself useful more as a scout and a hunter rather than a soldier, but he did describe one harrowing incident. It involved his small group of scouts which consisted of friendly Native Americans such as Chickasaw and Choctaw. They ran into two enemy Creek warriors and, before Crockett arrived on the scene, his men had already killed and decapitated the duo and were taking turns striking their heads with their clubs. Caught up in the rush and bolstered by his men, Crockett took part in the grisly ritual and was hailed as a “warrior” by the others. Further on down the road, Crockett then discovered that, before running into their scouting party, the two Creeks had just killed and scalped a Spanish family of six.
These experiences tend to stay with a man, so Crockett ended his military service in March 1815 with a renewed appreciation for his family and home.
[Title] Crockett Plays Politics
Unfortunately, Crockett didn’t get to enjoy them for long because that summer, his wife Polly died, leaving him to care for their three children. 1815 was an eventful year for him. He remarried to a widow named Elizabeth Patton and almost died of malaria before deciding to seek greener pastures elsewhere.
By 1817, the family had settled in Lawrence County, Tennessee, where Crockett got involved in politics…with middling results. He served as justice of the peace, then town commissioner for Lawrenceburg, while also rising to the rank of colonel in the local militia. In 1821, Crockett won a seat in the Tennessee legislature representing Lawrence and Hickman counties, also winning his reelection in 1823. Obviously, the natural move afterward was to go national, but his bids for Congress were a mixed bag. He lost his first election in 1825, but won two subsequent seats in 1827 and 1829, only to lose the reelection for his third term in 1831. This was partly thanks to his growing disagreements with President Andrew Jackson over issues such as land reform and the treatment of Native Americans which lost him support in Tennessee. Although the two started out as allies during their militia years, they would become bitter rivals by the end of it. Here is what Crockett had to say about President Jackson:
“I voted for Andrew Jackson because I believed he possessed certain principles, and not because his name was Andrew Jackson, or the Hero, or Old Hickory. And when he left those principles which induced me to support him, I considered myself justified in opposing him. This thing of man-worship I am a stranger to; I don’t like it; it taints every action of life; it is like a skunk getting into a house – long after he has cleared out, you smell him in every room and closet, from the cellar to the garret.”
While the political career of David Crockett had its ups and downs, the legend of frontiersman Davy Crockett continued to grow and grow. By now, his reputation as a great hunter was known throughout all of Tennessee, and if you had any doubts about it, all you had to do was ask him. Crockett himself was more than happy to delight his listeners with tales of his adventures.
In 1831, writer James Kirke Paulding wrote The Lion of the West which featured a popular character described as “half horse, half alligator” with the fabulous pornstar name of Nimrod Wildfire, who was heavily based on Davy Crockett. Then, two years later, a book titled Sketches and Eccentricities of Colonel David Crockett of West Tennessee came out, which contained many of the most outrageous, exaggerated, and downright fake stories involving Crockett and his frontier shenanigans.
Eager to capitalize as much as possible on his newfound fame, the frontiersman decided to publish his autobiography, A Narrative of the Life of David Crockett of the State of Tennessee, and get a more accurate version of his life story out to the public.
This led to a revival of his political career, and in 1833, Crockett made his way back into Congress, this time part of the newly formed Whig Party. For a while, there was even talk of putting Davy Crockett up as a presidential candidate for the 1836 election, but this plan went up in smoke when Crockett lost his 1835 congressional campaign to his Democrat opponent, Adam Hunstman, by only 252 votes.
Completely fed up with politics and with his home state, Crockett decided to leave Tennessee Cartman-style and allegedly told everyone: “You may all go to hell and I will go to Texas.”
Remember The Alamo
In the run-up to the presidential elections, Crockett had stated on several occasions that he would move to Texas if Jackson and his cronies kept control of the government. Well, it happened, so now it was time to make good on the promise.
Crockett arrived in Texas in early January 1836. We’re not sure what his initial goals were. Did he intend to resurrect his political career? Did he want to support the Texas independence movement? Or maybe was just looking to do a bit of buffalo hunting? Whichever one it may have been, Crockett soon found himself embroiled in a violent revolution that got him killed less than three months later.
At the time, Texas was still part of Mexico, which had only won its independence from the Spanish Empire 14 years earlier. However, the centralist policies of Mexican President Santa Anna caused Texas to rebel and seek its own independence. Shortly after arriving in Texas, Crockett and several companions enlisted for a six-month stint as volunteers and swore an oath to the “Provisional Government of Texas or any future republican Government that may be hereafter declared.” In exchange, they were promised large swaths of land when Texas became its own republic. Crockett was probably also expecting a nice political office in the new government.
On February 7, 1836, Crockett arrived in San Antonio and reported to the commander-in-charge, Lieutenant Colonel James C. Neill. The next few weeks were pleasant, with many parties, feasts, and speeches in honor of the budding republic. The arrival of a high-profile figure such as Davy Crockett also bolstered morale throughout the soldier ranks and everyone was feeling hopeful…and probably drunk.
The good times didn’t last long, though. Santa Anna considered regaining control of San Antonio to be a priority, so he sent two armies – one to San Antonio proper, and one southeast of the city, to Goliad, to ward off any reinforcements. On February 23, 1836, the Mexican troops arrived outside San Antonio, forcing the Texian revolutionaries to take refuge in a fortified Spanish mission known as the Alamo.
Now, even if you’ve never known a single thing about Davy Crockett before this video, chances are still good you’ve heard of the Alamo. The battle and the last stand that took place there have become a symbol of defiance and a cornerstone of American patriotism as the soldiers trapped inside the mission pledged “Victory or death” in a letter that was widely distributed following the battle.
This time, we’ll go through the cliff-notes version. On February 23, 1836, the Mexican army surrounded the Alamo and laid siege. The 150 or so men inside were outnumbered ten-to-one. Lieutenant Colonel Neill had left earlier to recruit more soldiers, and the men in charge were Colonel William Travis who wrote the “Victory or death” letter, and Colonel Jim Bowie, a fellow famed frontiersman and the guy that the Bowie knife is named after. Travis had sent out letters asking for reinforcements, but only a small group of 32 soldiers from the town of Gonzales answered the call for help. Others were gearing up to join the fight, but they didn’t make it in time.
On March 6, after 13 days of siege, President Santa Anna gave the order to storm the mission in the early hours of the morning. The Mexican forces initially took the occupants of the Alamo by surprise and then overwhelmed them with superior numbers. The battle lasted only about 90 minutes and, at the end of it, all of the defenders had been killed. There were about 15 or so survivors, all of them civilians such as wives, daughters, and slaves.
Davy Crockett, however, was dead, killed at age 49 while putting up a heroic last stand against the enemy forces. At least, that has been the popular version of the story told ever since his demise but not everyone agrees. There is controversy on that subject thanks mainly to one man – a Mexican officer named Jose Enrique de la Peña. He was there at the Alamo and wrote a different version of events in his diary. He said:
“Some seven men had survived the general massacre and… were presented to Santa Anna. Among them was one of great stature, well formed and of regular features, in whose countenance there was imprinted the sentiment of adversity, but in which was noted certain resignation and nobility that commended him. He was the naturalist David Crocket [sic], very well known in North America for his strange adventures… Santa Anna answered […] with a gesture of indignation and immediately directing the sappers […] to shoot them. The chiefs and officers were irritated by this behavior and did not second the voice, hoping that the first moment of fury had passed, these men would be saved; but various officers who were around the President […] were made notable by an infamous act; exceeding the soldiers in cruelty, they placed themselves before them, in order to flatter their chief, and sword in hand, they threw themselves upon these unfortunate defenseless ones, in the same way that a tiger throws itself upon its prey. They tormented them before they were made to die, and those unfortunate ones died moaning, but without humiliating themselves to their executioners…although I was present, I set apart this sight horrified in order not to see such a barbarous scene.”
Since that time, some historians have attacked de la Peña’s diary as a forgery and rejected the idea that Crockett was captured and executed instead of fighting until the end. To be fair, in either case, Crockett died as a hero, and since we can’t possibly know for sure which outcome was true, we’ll simply end with Davy Crockett’s favorite motto:
“I leave this rule for others when I’m dead,
Be always sure you’re right – Then go ahead!”
