Davy Crockett, one of Americas best known folk heroes, the frontiersman from Tennessee who gave his life fighting for Texass independence.

        In 1813 trouble started to brew in the form of the Indian brothers Tecumseh and Prophet. They fired the Creek tribe up and sent them off to raid and massacre. One day in August the Creeks surprised the guards at Fort Mims and slaughtered over five hundred men, women, and children. Incensed by this Davy went and joined the Tennessee mounted militia. He served for 90 days and was released on Christmas Eve with a pay of sixty nine dollars and ninety five cents. Having tasted the glory of battle Davy was eager for more so in 1814 he signed up for a six month tour of duty, ignoring his wife’s plea to stay at home. In February 1815 Davy got news that Polly was sick, so he raced home to find her burning with fever. She died a few weeks later, leaving him heartbroken with three young children. The army called him back to duty but he refused to abandon his children, so he paid a young man to take his place. He remarried that summer to a widow by the name of Elizabeth Patton. She had two children, a 200 acre farm, and eight hundred dollars in her pocket. After his marriage and move to Shoal Creek, Davy started to earn a lot of respect: he constructed a gristmill and produced cornmeal and whiskey, and then he opened a gunpowder factory that produced some of the finest gunpowder around. In 1818 he took the office of Justice of the Peace, and later was elected commandant of the 57th Regiment of militia. Davy was very proud of his new title, Colonel Crockett.

        In June of 1821, Davy launched his political career by running for state legislature. He appealed to the poor folk, the farmers, the hunters, men like himself who had worked to get where they are. Davy was elected by a margin of 2 to 1. While he was in Murfreesboro performing his duties a flood came and washed away his mill and gunpowder plant. Since he was no longer making money, he was forced to sell his cabin and most of his land to pay off his debts. So he and John Wesley went out and staked a claim near the Obion River in the northwest corner of Tennessee. When his term ended he decided to run again. Davy, who was never much of a speechmaker, watched his opponent go up and make the same speech every single time. One day Davy asked if he could speak first, he went up there and gave his opponents speech word for word, leaving him literally “speechless”. Davy won that election with ease, but now he had his eyes on something bigger: congress.

        In 1825 Davy, the backwoodsman, ran for congress. He lost by two hundred sixty-seven votes, but was not discouraged. He ran again in 1827 and won by more than two thousand votes. Davy was a loud and proud man who was not afraid to speak his mind. He once famously said “I say, Mr. Speaker: I can outspeak any man on this floor and give him two hours start. I can outlook a panther, outstare a flash o’lightnin’, tote a steamboat on my back and play at rough and tumble with a lion. I can walk like an ox, run like a fox, spout like a volcano, and swallow a man whole if you butter his head and pin his ears back.” Obviously not a man to be trifled with, the people loved him. In 1829 Davy was re-elected to congress, but in 1831 he was beaten out by his opponent. In 1833, however, he regained support and took his seat in congress once more. In the 1835 election he made a promise to his voters that if elected he would give it his best but if not the voters “might all go to hell, and I would go to Texas.” Following his defeat he did exactly that.

        Davy grabbed “Old Betsy”, kissed his wife with a promise of sending for her soon, and headed off for Texas. Along the journey he was treated like a hero at each stop and garnered a small group of followers known as “Crockett Men”. On February 6th, 1836 Davy and his men reached San Antonio after a stop at Nacogdoches to swear loyalty to Texas. The garrison at the Alamo threw a fandango [Mexican party] in his honor. During the party a message arrived that Santa Anna was advancing towards San Antonio. The siege of the Alamo began on February 23rd and lasted for thirteen days. Every day the ramparts were bombarded with cannon fire, and each night the cannons were moved closer. On March 5th-6th the cannons were silent, and then in the early morning of March 6th the assault began. The Mexican army charged two times, and two times they were repelled. But on the third charge, spurred on by their commanders, the Mexican army wouldn’t give up. They breached the Alamo and slaughtered all of the defenders; the battle lasted 90 minutes. During the fight Davy was a frenzied fighter and a beacon for hope. When the walls were breached and the defenders retreated Davy stayed to defend the low wall, the weakest point. Davy and his men fought with a fury that few have ever matched. They used their guns like clubs, beating back the Mexicans. They were pushed all the way back into the barracks where, as legend has it, Davy was the final fighter, finally overcome by a bayonet charge. Some claim the bodies of no less than twenty Mexican soldiers surrounded him, and so ended Davy Crockett, King of The Wild Frontier.

        Davy Crockett is an important icon in American history for his pioneering efforts in American politics and for demonstrating how an “everyman” can do amazing things. While Davy may have failed in the respect of getting none of his bills passed, he demonstrated that even a country bumpkin can run for congress and win. You don’t have to be a wealthy man; you just have to be you.