David "Davy" Crockett was born on August 17, 1786 in Tennessee. At the age of twelve, he took a job driving cattle to Virginia, but soon tired of such work and returned home to find no welcome. He left home again to work as a drover.
In 1806, he married Polly Finley. She bore him three children, but hard times assailed the struggling family. The family followed the frontier westward and settled on Bean Creek in Tennessee. Crockett proved to be a poor farmer, but found himself to be quite successful at hunting. He provided meat for his family’s table and used the animal skins to trade for other goods.
Davy Crockett in the Army
In 1813, Creek Indians massacred the town of Fort Mims, Alabama. Crockett volunteered, fighting under Andrew Jackson at the battles of Tallussahatchee and Talladega. Although he rose to the rank of sergeant, Crockett did not enjoy military life and left the service after Jackson occupied Pensacola.
Davy Crockett Goes to Congress
His wife died not long after he returned from the war and he soon married Elizabeth Patton, a widow with two children of her own, and moved to Shoal Creek in Lawrence County.
Crockett became a magistrate, then justice of the peace. He served as colonel of the local militia and in 1821 became a state representative. He suffered defeat in his first run for Congress in 1825, but was elected in 1827.
He became a celebrity in Washington as a representative of the “common man.” His efforts in Congress were met with resistance, and he fought with President Jackson and James K. Polk over the Indian removal bill, which Crockett was against. As a result, he was defeated in 1831, but was re-elected in 1833. After losing his bid for election in 1835, he became disillusioned with politics and left for Texas.
Davy Crockett and the Alamo
Leaving Memphis on November 2, 1835, Crockett explored the Red River country of Texas. When he arrived in Nacogdoches, he learned that San Antonio had been captured and enlisted in the army.
He arrived in San Antonio and was welcomed by the small garrison of 150 men under the command of James Bowie and William B. Travis at the Alamo. The army of Santa Anna arrived on February 23, 1836. Outnumbered 15 to 1, the garrison stood off the large Mexican force for 13 days.
On March 6, the Alamo fell and all but a few were killed. It is believed that Crockett was one of the prisoners taken before Santa Anna. The Mexican dictator ordered the remaining captives executed.
Sources:
Lamar, Howard R, ed. The New Encyclopedia of the American West. New Haven and London, Yale University Press.
