It will come as no surprise to you to know that Davy Crockett is dead.
Considering he was born in 1786, it would be incredibly surprising if he were still
alive.
But the question of exactly how he died is still a matter of intense debate.
Which should be no surprise.
After all, the details of his life are a matter of some debate as well, because while Crockett
is known as America's most famous frontiersman, he was also very good at self promotion.
Here's what we do know.
As has been portrayed in pop culture, Crockett really did grow up on what was then the American
frontier.
He even learned to shoot and hunt at a young age but despite the famous Disney theme song,
he was eight, so he probably did not kill him a b'ar when he was only three.
Crockett served in the militia during the War of 1812, rising to the rank of fourth
sergeant.
He then tried his hand at farming, and at business, but when those weren't successful,
he decided to fail upwards by becoming a politician.
He was elected to Tennessee's House of Representatives, ran for the United States Congress and lost
in 1825, but the next year was elected.
He famously stood up in Congress for the rights of Native Americans, but was unsuccessful
in his efforts, and in 1835 he left Congress for good.
Part of Crockett's appeal was his seemingly natural ability to tell a story and a joke,
often at the expense of his political opponents.
It's an aspect of his personality that's been picked up on by nearly every TV show or movie,
whether Fess Parker for Disney, John Wayne's The Alamo, or Billy Bob Thornton's portrayal
in another totally different movie also titled The Alamo.
People identified with his folksy charm.
He was likeable, funny, smart, and verbally adroit.
He gave and got good press; he was quotable in the extreme.
Crockett was also plagued by money woes most of his life.
In his youth he was moderately successful as a hunter, but less so as a farmer and mill
owner.
His congressional salary wasn't enough, either, apparently, but he realized he could advance
his own image and career and pick up a hefty chunk of change if he published his autobiography.
It was a hit, and he added to his fame with the publication of Davy Crockett's Almanack.
He had become a legend in part of his own making.
After losing his last congressional race in 1835, Crockett, nearing 50 years of age, decided
to start over and head for Texas.
At the time, Texas was owned by Mexico, but a wave of American settlers was aggressively
challenging that rule.
Crockett took a group of Tennessee volunteers with him to join the growing insurgence and
ended up as part of the garrison of the Alamo, a former mission that had been hastily turned
into a military installation outside San Antonio.
Depending on who you believe, the garrison numbered anywhere from 185-250 and they were
facing an army of thousands of Mexican soldiers.
The defenders of the garrison were issued an ultimatum: surrender, or they would face
no mercy.
They refused to surrender, and on March 6, 1836, the Mexicans overran the Alamo.
Every one of the defenders, including Davy Crockett, was killed in the fighting.
Or... were they?
Though all the soldiers at the Alamo died, not everyone at the Alamo was killed.
There were actually some women who were spared by the attacking army, including Susanna Dickinson.
Her husband, the Alamo's artillery commander, was killed, and though her accounts of the
siege varied widely, she consistently reported that Crockett was also among those killed
in the siege.
However, not everyone believes this to be the case.
Over the last two centuries, documents have emerged suggesting that Crockett as well as
a few other fighters actually survived the battle and were taken prisoner.
However, since Mexican commander Santa Anna had promised there would be no mercy, he had
Crockett and the prisoners executed.
There's really no way to know for sure.
According to all accounts, the dead however they died were all burned in a giant funeral
pyre by the Mexican army, so there's no physical evidence to speak of.
Was Crockett killed in action?
Was he captured and executed?
Did he and some of the other defenders possibly even surrender before meeting their grisly
fate?
All we have to go on is legend and that seems perfectly fitting for a man who created his
own.
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