Davy Crockett Again

I wrote about Davy Crockett not too long ago here but I'm going to write about him again. I learned a lot more about him since then. My earlier post was mostly about the Disney version of Davy Crockett from my childhood. I was also influenced by the John Wayne version of Davy Crockett in the movie The Alamo that he directed and released in 1960. 

I've been reading a new book on The Alamo titled Forget the Alamo that was just recently published. I'll write more about that in another post but for now I want to write about Davy Crockett again.

The version of Davy Crockett I grew up with was all a made up scam as he himself was in real life. He had a reputation for hunting and storytelling but was known as a frontiersman, a politician, soldier and folk hero.  He ran for Congress bases on his reputation as a story teller and writing in almanacs. He did not last long as a politician. 

A myth about the Alamo has been created and embellished over the years concerning everything about the incident including the creation of heroes where none existed among a group of men trying to protect their institution of slavery in a country that had abolished that practice. That is what the Texas Revolt was about and the protection of property they were fighting over was their slaves. The Mexican general Santa Ana was coming to the Alamo to free the slaves that were illegally brought to his country by a group of illegal immigrants from across the border in America.

Davy Crockett arrived at the Alamo about a week before Santa Ana began the siege with a group of adventurers. He thought he was there for publicity after another political loss and didn't expect to put himself in mortal peril. The actual battle of the Alamo only lasted about 90 minutes.

The later depictions of the battle made out the defenders to be heroic to a man and especially the three main characters of Travis, Bowie and Crockett. In reality none of them died the way they have been portrayed in the Texas myths and taught in public school. And certainly not in the movies.

In recent years there have been verified documentation from eyewitnesses as to the true events of the Alamo and it's aftermath. Many of the so called defenders cut and ran but were tracked down and killed by Mexican cavalry.  Many others surrendered rather than fighting to the death as depicted in the myths.

In the John Wayne and Disney movies the defenders of the Alamo were compared to the fight against communism. In reality Travis was killed by a bullet in the forehead moments after the battle began when he stood up and looked over the wall. The slave seller Jim Bowie was killed in the church while hiding in a closet. 

Davy Crockett was shown in the movies killing dozens of Mexicans and when he ran out of bullets he swung his musket like a club and stabbed attackers with his knife. Nope, didn't happen. Documented eyewitnesses saw him hiding until he surrendered. He was then taken out and executed but not before he was on his knees begging for his life but died screaming from a sword.

So much for my childhood heroes that turned out to be just another fake commie dupe but I will watch the movie again this week.