Davy Crockett

Davy Crockett (1786-1836) was an early nineteenth century American folk hero. He served with the Tennessee Militia in the Creek War of 1813-14. In 1814 he left the militia but returned as a lieutenant colonel in 1818. He began his political career in 1821 when he was elected to the Committee on Propositions and Grievances. In 1824 he ran for Congress from Tennessee's 9th District on the Democratic ticket. He lost that election but won the seat in 1826 and was reelected in 1828. In Congress he was initially a Jacksonian Democrat, but he opposed the President over the Indian Removal Act and defected to the National Republican Party in the face of party discipline. His opposition to the popular Jackson cost him his seat in the 1830 midterm election, but he was returned to the House from the newly-created 12th District in 1832. In 1834 he lost his seat because he had toured the East Coast promoting his autobiography instead of returning to his district to campaign. After leaving Congress, he kept one of his campaign promises: "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."

He took part in the Texas Revolution, and entered the Alamo in San Antonio in February 1836. He took part in the fateful seige and battle at that fortress and was killed on March 6, 1836. The exact circumstances of his death--whether he was killed in action or attempting to surrender--remain controversial.

In the 20th century, Crockett's life was popularized and dramatized by a series of television adaptations, and he entered the American popular memory as one of the nation's most beloved folk heroes.

Davy Crockett in "Lee at the Alamo"
As Robert E. Lee prepared to stand hisown seige in the Alamo in February 1861, he thought of the stand made by Davy Crockett, William Travis, James Bowie and others almost exactly 25 years earlier. He reflected that the effective force at his command was hardly any larger than their tiny volunteer garrison and suspected that in the end he too would be defeated.