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Davy Crockett born
On this day in 1786, frontier icon and Alamo defender Davy Crockett was born in Tennessee. He began his military career as a scout in the Tennessee militia in 1813 and was elected to the Tennessee legislature in 1821. After a turbulent political career, during which he split with President Andrew Jackson, a fellow Tennessean, and acquired a national reputation as a sharpshooter, hunter, and yarn-spinner, Crockett grew disenchanted with the political process and decided to explore Texas. He set out in November 1835 and reached San Antonio de Béxar in February 1836, shortly before the arrival of Antonio López de Santa Anna. Crockett chose to join Col. William B. Travis, who had deliberately disregarded Jackson sympathizer Sam Houston's orders to withdraw from the Alamo, and died in the battle of the Alamo on March 6, 1836. No matter how many fabrications gathered around him, the historical David Crockett proved a formidable hero in his own right and succeeded Daniel Boone as the rough-hewn representative of frontier independence and virtue.
- Links to Related Handbook of Texas Online Articles
- CROCKETT, DAVID
- SANTA ANNA, ANTONIO LOPEZ DE
- TRAVIS, WILLIAM BARRET
- ALAMO, BATTLE OF THE
- TEXAS REVOLUTION
- ALAMO CENOTAPH
- Other Texas Day by Day Articles for This Date
- Black Jack Ketchum is captured in New Mexico (1899)
- Pioneer settler's death prematurely announced (1842)
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