King of the Wild Frontier
Two hundred and twenty nine years ago, a little baby boy was born in to this world, in a place now called Greene County, Tennessee. His name was David "Davy" Crockett, and he was to become one of the best-known American folk heroes.
Part history and part legend - the name Davy Crockett is known to all Americans for his larger-than-life exploits, as a soldier, statesman, pioneer and hunter, whose life has been glorified in a series of books and almanacs.
He was born to a pioneer family living on the Nolichucky River in east Tennessee in 1786, and his family moved several times during his childhood, before he himself followed the pioneer trails westward, later settling with a family of his own in the north west of Tennessee. He enlisted in the militia in 1813, and participated in several battles before his discharge, then following his natural progression as a leader into Congress where he was elected in 1827 and 1829.
His role in politics wasn't particularly outstanding however, and he opposed Congress and President Andrew Jackson on many issues, speaking out against public money being used unjustly, and issues that he believed would not sit well on his own conscience.
He was firmly set in his beliefs that his votes were good, honest, and would not make him ashamed in his day of judgement - the most notable being his opposition to President Jackson's Indian Removal Act 1830. Alas, it lost him some favor with the voters of his own district, and he was finally defeated in 1835. After his defeat, he is famously quoted as saying “You can all go to Hell and I’m going to Texas.”
His angry departure to Texas (then the Mexican state of Tejas) came shortly thereafter in November 1835. Reaching Nacogdoches in early 1836, he signed up to the Texas Revolution for six months with a number of other volunteers from the United States, with each man being promised 4600 acres of Texas land as payment, however, history claims that he died defending the Alamo in March 1836.
So, what was the young Davy Crockett like? How did he grow? One thing we're sure of, he was born into poverty and hard times and from these humble beginnings, he rose to be a man his neighbours saw fit to be elected to the congress of the United States. One of the old time radio broadcasts from the series Inheritance, sheds some light on his youth, from a narrative written by Davy Crockett himself. It begins:-
"Since I was elected to the congress, the public has expressed some interest in my history, and for this reason I have determined to lay before the world a narrative on which they can rely as being true. My father's name was John Crockett, and he was an Irish descendant. The name of my mother was Rebecca Hawkins. At the time of their marriage, they lived in Lincoln County in the state of North Carolina, but when they moved from there, they headed for that district of country which is now embraced in the east division of Tennessee, but it was not then erected into a state. Nor did they have a road to follow, but an old buffalo trail, riding down through the mountains..."
You can listen to the entire show, Young Davy Crockett, by clicking on the link.
There are several other radio broadcast involving Davy Crockett or The Alamo which you may be interested to hear:-
David Crockett, from the series Cavalcade of America
Defense of the Alamo, from the series You Are There
The Fall of the Alamo, from the series Frontier Fighters
Though he died at only 39 years old, during his life, his independence and simple moral thinking, along with his bold persona as a daring explorer and adventurer won him love and adoration throughout 1800s America.
A legend in his time, and ever since. Happy Birthday Davy Crockett!
