He was known as “The King of the Wild Frontier”, a soldier, a politician, a state representative, a United States congressman, a prolific storyteller, a wild game hunter, and an Indian fighter. Who else could it be, but the legend, Davy Crockett, the original Tennessee Volunteer. Who remembers on Sunday nights watching Fess Parker as Davy Crockett, and George Russell as his sidekick on Disney?
In Morristown, Tennessee stands what is called, The Crockett Tavern. It is a recreation, but stands on the site where the original tavern was located and built in 1794. They built a new wagon road that went from the West, back to the East, through the mountains, up into Virginia and there was quite a bit of traffic that passed through there. Davy’s parents, John and Rebecca Crockett, came and built a tavern along the new wagon road.
By this time, Davy was a young teenager and it was during these years that Davy realized that he had to keep moving all the time, he was an explorer, he wanted to hunt, and he didn't really want to be in one place very long. In 1806, Davy married a lady named Polly Finley and they moved about 30 miles further west of his parent’s tavern, into what is now Jefferson County, Tennessee.
A few years later, The War of 1812 broke out, and Davy joined with the Tennessee Volunteer Mounted Rifleman to serve under General Andrew Jackson. His unit went down to southern Alabama near the Gulf Coast, and fought in the Creek Indian Wars. Due to his superior knowledge and experience being in the wilderness, his superiors sent Davy ahead of the army to scout out areas and locate the enemy. Davy’s enlistment ended, in 1813 and he returned back to his home in Lincoln County. It wasn't long before the family moved again to Franklin County, in an area called Beans Creek. He built a new home there that he named “Kentuck”, because Davy had a strong affinity for Daniel Boone, and all that he had done in Kentucky.
Sadly, in 1815, Davy's wife Polly passed away and left him there in the wilderness with three children. It wasn't long before he met a new widow named Elizabeth Patton and married her. Elizabeth brought three children of her own to the marriage, bringing the total to six. Davy and Elizabeth had two more children together to bring the total to eight. Soon, the family moved west again, to Lawrence County, Tennessee, to an area called Shoal Creek. Here Davy made a living operating a powder mill, a grist mill, and a distillery. The family lived at Shoal Creek for several years, and he became very popular in the area, and was soon elected to the Tennessee General Assembly.
Tragically, in 1821, like his birth place, Davy’s homestead at Shoal Creek was flooded. This event caused the family to move yet again, to Carroll County, in Western Tennessee. While serving in Congress, Davy opposed President Andrew Jackson’s Indian Removal Act, which called for the forced moving of Native Americans from Tennessee, to Oklahoma. His opposition of the very popular President cost him his reelection, and he was ruined politically in Tennessee. Another story of note about Davy’s time in Washington, was that that he ironically prevented an assassin who attempted to kill President Jackson.
When Davy got back home, he was angry because he had lost his reelection bid. He told the people of his district that he had served them well, but “you may all go to hell, and I will go to Texas”. Davy joined a 30-man brigade of Tennessee Volunteers that went to Texas, where he swore allegiance to their new provisional government in exchange for land.
Davy and the Tennessee Volunteers arrived in San Antonio at the Alamo Mission, which would soon be in dire straits because it was going to be under siege by the Mexican army. Lieutenant Colonel William Barrett Travis sent a letter to Sam Houston, where he stated that the honorable Davy Crockett was seen moving around the mission, encouraging the men to do their duty. It wasn't long before that duty was called upon, and on March 6, 1836, General Santa Anna and the Mexican army put the Alamo mission under siege.
The Mexican army couldn't hold the mission, and it was not very long before the Texans were back in control of that area. Historians say that the ashes and the pile of bones that were burned in front of the Alamo, were still there. Believing that those ashes were the remains of the combatants at the Alamo, they were taken and put in a secret burial vault under the San Fernando Cathedral in San Antonio. Then by accident in 1936, those remains were unearthed, and placed in a decorative sarcophagus. The sarcophagus is on display at the Cathedral and
you can see it today.
Did you know that during the Cold War, there was a nuclear weapon system developed by the United States military, that they named the Davy Crockett Nuke?
- Scott Denney, Historian, Family Tree Nuts
Check out our website: www.familytreenuts.org
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