The Famous Frontiersman From Tennessee Who Died at the Alamo

Davy Crockett was an American frontiersman who died during the Battle of the Alamo in 1836, according to some historical accounts. As the 1954 Disney movie ballad begins, he "was born on a mountaintop in Tennessee," and by verse 20, we learn that "To the Texas plains he jest had to go, Where freedom was fightin' another foe, An' they needed him at the Alamo." Historian Brenda Gunn wrote, "He was widely known as a frontiersman, a hunter, a militiaman and a teller of tall tales."

When Crockett lost re-election to his U.S. congressional seat in 1834, he left Tennessee for Texas. Like other Americans, he was looking for new lands and opportunities. By February 1836, Crockett was involved in the siege of the mission. No one disputes that Crockett died as a result of fighting at the Battle of the Alamo; the controversy surrounds how he died. Tales from the front said Crockett died in battle. However, in 1955, a translation of a diary kept by Mexican Army Lieutenant Colonel José Enrique de la Peña revealed Crockett had been captured, along with other men, and executed after the battle.