A decade after the Revolutionary war, David Crockett was born the fifth of nine children of John Crockett and Rebecca Hawkins-Crockett on August 17, 1786 near Big Lime River in Greene County, Tennessee. His parents were from North Carolina and Davy was of Scotch-Irish descent. John Crockett's family had been attacked by Indians in North Carolina and his parents were killed, one of his brothers was wounded in the arm and another brother James, who was deaf, carried off and adopted by the Indians to be rescued 18 years later. Davy wrote in his biography that his father fought the British in the Battle of Kings Mountian. John was in the Lincoln County Militia and a frontier Ranger in the Civil war.

As a youngster Davy lived and worked at a tavern opened by his father for settlers and wagon trains. There he met Jacob Siler who took him on his first jouney at 12 years of age to help with his herd on his way to Pennsylvania. After completing the jouney he caught the first wagon train back to Knoxville.

Davy had little education as he left home after a fight with the school bully after four days of school. He gained his knowledge as frontiersman and hunter and did not learn to read until he was 18 years old. He married Mary Finley in 1806, whose Irish mother called her Polly. He served with General Andrew Jackson in the war against the Creek Indains in 1813. Polly fell ill and died leaving him and their three children Polly, John, and Wesley. In 1815 and he married Elizabeth Patton, a widow with two sons, David and James. They had three children, Robert P. born in Franklin County in 1816, and Rebecca Elvira and Matilda who were born in Lawrence County in 1818 and 1821.

He served in the militia and then went into politics serving as a member of the Tennessee state legislature from 1821 to 1825. He was elected to the U.S. Congress in 1827, served a term and was defeated in 1831 and relected in 1833. He efforts to pass a bill granting land to squatters in Tennessee put him in political conflict with Andrew Jackson, and James Polk.

Crockett lost his last run for Congress against Adam Huntsman, who had lost a leg in the War of 1812 and was backed by Andrew Jackson from the Whitehouse. He lost with 4400 votes to Huntsmans 4462. He was angered at the loss even knowing that there was evidence that many voters had been bought for \$25 a head. One of his sons John Wesley succeeded his father in Congress after an interim of one term.

The frontiersman still in him, David told his wife Elizabeth that he had been thinking of moving to Texas for a new start. There is a bronze plaque on the lawn of the courthouse in Madison County that reads:

DAVID CROCKETT
On this site in 1831 Congressmean Crockett, defeated for reelection told the citizens of Jackson and Tennessee, "You can go to hell, but I am going to Texas!" He went to Texas where he died in the Battle of the Alamo.

There is dispute about when he made the statement but that he did make it is known.(Probably in 1835 the year he left.)

When Crockett arrived in Texas he felt he had found a place in forming the new government of Texas after its independence from Mexico. Among the Texans were Sam Houston, Jim and Rezin Bowie, James W. Fannin who had dropped out of West Point, and the Warton brothers. David wrote his family in Tennessee " I have little doubt of being elected a member to form a constitution for this province."

After hearing that William Berret Travis, and Jim Bowie were in San Antonio he decided to go there. Austin had given command of San Antonio to Colonel Edward Burleson who had given it to James C. Neill. When Crockett arrived with his 17 to 20 volunteers there was little command and disunity. Bowie commanding the volunteers, declared he would rather die than give in to Santa Anna and James Neill pleading sickness, left command to Travis and left San Antonio. General Houston had given separate orders to Neill which were relayed to Travis, and Bowie to blow up the Alamo and fall back to Washing-on-the-Brazos and join with Hustons forces there. They had word that Santa Anna had crossed the Rio Grande with several thousand men. The garrison at San Antonio had only 155 men. A reinforcement of 32 men came March 1, and they withstood the Mexicans to March 6, 1836 when the mission walls were breached. Of the 187 men in the Alamo only six survived and they were ordered killed by Santa Anna. At later battles the battle cry was "Remember the Alamo."

The Alamo

Return to the American History Selection Page.