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Alternate meaning: Davy Crockett (nuclear device)

David Crockett (David de Crocketagne August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) 19th-century American folk hero usually referred to as Davy Crockett. He represented Tennessee in the U.S. Congress, served in the Texas rebellion, and died at the Alamo.

Early life

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Crockett was born in Greene County, Tennessee, descended mostly from Ulster-Scots. He was the fifth of nine children of John and Rebecca Hawkins Crockett. David was named after his paternal grandfather.

Crockett stood about 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) and weighed approximately 190 lb (86 kg).

On 12 August 1806, David married Polly Finley (1788-1815). Their first child was born 10 July 1807 (John), followed by William (b. 1809) and Margaret. David remarried in 1816 to Elizabeth Patton and had four children by her. On September 24, 1813, he enlisted in the Second Regiment of Tennessee Volunteer Mounted Riflemen for ninety days and served under Col. John Coffee in the Creek War. He was discharged from service on 27 March 1815. Crockett won the election of lieutenant colonel of the Fifty-seventh Regiment of Militia on March 27, 1818.

Political career

On 17 September 1821, Crockett was elected to the Committee of Propositions and Grievances. In 1826 and 1828 he was elected to Congress. As a Congressman, Crockett supported the rights of squatters, who were barred from buying land in the West without already owning property. He also opposed President Jackson's Indian Removal Act, and his opposition to Jackson caused his defeat when he ran for re-election in 1830 but won when he ran again in 1832. Furthermore, Crockett was a staunch advocate of limited government and in his speech entitled "Not Yours to Give" he was critical of his Congressional colleagues willingness to spend taxpayer dollars to help a navy widow, but wouldn't contribute their own salary for a week. He described the spending as "unconstitutional" and the once popular proposal died in the Congress largely as a result of the speech.

Crockett's last home in Rutherford, Tennessee, Gibson County.

In 1834, his book, titled A Narrative of the Life of David Crockett, was published. Crockett went to the East to promote the book, and was narrowly defeated for re-election. In 1835 he was again defeated for re-election, saying "I told the people of my district that I would serve them as faithfully as I had done; but if not ... you may all go to hell, and I will go to Texas" and he did just that, joining the Texas Revolution.

Texas Revolution

On 31 October 1835, Crockett left Tennessee for Texas, writing "I want to explore Texas well before I return". He arrived in Nacogdoches, Texas, in early January 1836. On 14 January, Crockett and 65 other men signed an oath before Judge John Forbes to the Provisional Government of Texas for six months. "I have taken the oath of government and have enrolled my name as a volunteer and will set out for the Rio Grande in a few days with the volunteers from the United States." Each man was promised about 4,605 acres (19 km²) of land as payment. On 6 February, Crockett and about five other men rode into San Antonio de Bexar and camp just outside of the town. They are later greeted by James Bowie and Antonio Menchacha and taken to the home of Don Erasmo Sequin and stayed there a few days.

He took part in the Battle of the Alamo (23 February-6 March 1836) and was assigned to defend the south palisade in front of the chapel. The Texas forces of 180-250 were overwhelmed by the attacking 1,300-1,600 Mexican soldiers. Tradition has it that Crockett went down fighting inside the Alamo compound.This belief is supported by the actual evidence found at the Alamo consisting of Croketts rifle that was both marked and broken in half at his defensive position. The actual evidence conflicts with the controversial evidence that has come to light since 1955 (José Enrique de la Peña diary) indicating that there may have been a half dozen or so survivors, with Crockett perhaps among them, taken prisoner by Mexican General Manuel Fernández Castrillón after the battle and summarily executed on orders by General and President of Mexico Antonio López de Santa Anna.

One of Crockett's sayings, which were published in almanacs between 1835 and 1856 (along with those of Daniel Boone and Kit Carson) was, "Be always sure you are right, then go ahead."

In 1838, Robert Patton Crockett went to Texas to administer his father's land claim. In 1854, Elizabeth Crockett finally came to Texas where she died in 1860. John Wesley Crockett became a U.S. congressman, serving two consecutive terms in office, finally retiring in 1843.

Odd Facts

In May 1836 Richard Penn Smith wrote "Colonel Crockett's Exploits and Adventures in Texas" and Carey & Hart published this material claiming it was the "authentic diary" of Crockett's taken from the Alamo by a Mexican general who was later killed at the Battle of San Jacinto. It wasn't until (1884) that the book was discovered as a phoney after selling thousands of copies.
In (1872) a play about Crockett ran for twenty-four years and over 2,000 performances ending in (1884) only with the death of the lead actor.
Both Benjamin Franklin and Daniel Boone wore coon-skin caps during their lives. Franklin wore his on purpose on one of his trips to France to underscore America's breaking with tradition of proper attire among royalty.

Crockett's Funeral

Most sources indicate Crockett and all the Alamo defenders were cremated en masse.

Crockett was cremated when he died and his ashes were returned to Texas in a large procession, where his son promptly scattered them in what is now downtown San Antonio, Texas.

Crockett in the movies

His legend was again popularized by Walt Disney, who produced a three-episode television series about him (starring Fess Parker): Davy Crockett, Indian Fighter; Davy Crockett Goes to Congress; and Davy Crockett at the Alamo. The shows aired on the ABC network between December 15, 1954, and February 23, 1955. Buddy Ebsen co-starred as his sidekick George E. Russel.

The shows were an overnight success and coonskin caps like the one he wore in those films were all the rage for young boys and girls for a time. Disney said that if he had realized how popular the Davy Crockett series would become, he would not have killed off his hero after three episodes. Davy Crockett did, in fact, make a return with Disney in two further adventures: Davy Crockett and the Keelboat Race and Davy Crockett and the River Pirates. In these two episodes Crockett faced off against Mike Fink, another early American legend.

The publicity for Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier also spawned a brief Davy Crockett Craze amongst the children of Britain in 1956. This Crockett phenomenon is referenced in books of the time such as the Molesworth series by Geoffrey Willans and Ronald Searle.

Disney emphasized Crocket as being a frontier hero, the symbol of patriotism. Crockett was the one who would take Texas from the Mexicans and lead us to victory. It gave people the idea that the United States would win anything at any cost. This was also the time of the Cold War, so Crockett was what popular culture demanded; a hero that could help people to escape from the problems around them and embody a nation that would win all. He was a super American who portrayed the U.S. as all-powerful.

After the Crockett fad had waned, John Wayne starred as Crockett in the 1960 feature film The Alamo (the first film he also directed). More recently was the John Lee Hancock version of The Alamo in 2003. It is said that Billy Bob Thornton's Crockett is one of the more accurate portrayals. Thornton's Crockett was a man trying to downplay his legend, but in the end he couldn't escape it. Perhaps this is best described by a scene where Crockett is speaking to Bowie, in which he said, "If it was just me, simple old David from Tennessee, I might drop over that wall some night, take my chances. But that Davy Crockett feller...they're all watchin' him."

In the movies Crockett has also been played by:

Charles K. French (1909); Davy Crockett - In Hearts United (silent)
Dustin Farnum (1916); Davy Crockett (silent)
Cullen Landis (1926); Davy Crockett at the Fall of the Alamo (silent)
Jack Perrin (1937); The Painted Wagon
Lane Chandler (1937); Heroes of the Alamo
Robert Barrat (1939); Man of Conquest
George Montgomery (1950); Davy Crockett, Indian Scout
Trevor Bardette (1953); The Man from the Alamo
Arthur Hunnicutt (1955); The Last Command
James Griffith (1956); The First Texan
John Wayne (1960) The Alamo
Brian Keith (1987); The Alamo; Thirteen Days of Glory
Johnny Cash (1988); Davy Crockett, Rainbow in the Thunder
Tim Dunigan (1988 & 1989); Davy Crockett: Rainbow in the Thunder & Davy Crockett: Guardian Spirit
David Zucker (1991); The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear [a very small cameo role]
John Schneider (1994); Texas
Scott Wickware (2000); Dear America: A Line in the Sand
Justin Howard (2002); The Anarchist Cookbook
Billy Bob Thornton (2003); The Alamo

External links

Crockett's Congressional biography
The Handbook of Texas Online: David Crockett
David Crockett at Project Gutenberg; written by John S. C. Abbott
Not Yours To Give, by Col. David Crockett, US Representative from Tennessee
Davy Crockett, the Common Man - A short and concise history of Crockett and his entrance into popular culture

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