The Early Adventures of Davy Crockett

1889 Henry Huddle painting

by Denise Weimer

David Crockett, born August 17, 1786 in Greene County, Eastern Tennessee, might best be known as a congressman who opposed President Andrew Jackson’s Indian Removal Act and a Texas revolutionary who died at the Alamo, but few are as familiar with the years that formed him as a frontiersman and his service in the War of 1812. However, his militia stint under the very man, Jackson, he’d one day stand against in politics was what captured my notice as I researched for a novel set in Alabama during the Red Stick War (1813-14).

Crockett was the fifth of nine children born to John and Rebecca Crockett. Some might find Davy’s later opposition to Indian Removal surprising given the fact that while John had been away fighting with the militia, his parents (Davy’s grandparents) were killed in 1777 by Chickamauga Cherokee under Dragging Canoe, allied to the British. One of Davy’s aunts had been scalped but survived, while John’s brother Joseph was wounded, and his brother James was held captive for seventeen years.

We know that John taught Davy to shoot by age eight, but history is unclear on whether Davy actually played the fiddle. To help with family expenses, Davy was often hired out as a worker. At age thirteen, his brief enrollment in school ended with him running afoul of a local bully, then running away to escape his father’s displeasure. Davy spent two years drifting and honing his survival skills, returning in 1802 and working to pay off his father’s debt to a John Canady.

On August 14, 1806 (yes, just shy of twenty years old, and already twice jilted by other girls!), David married Mary “Polly” Finley in Jefferson County—over her mother’s disapproval. They had two sons and a daughter and moved several times, landing in Franklin County in 1813, where he enlisted in the militia of Major John Gibson. He joined the troops of General Andrew Jackson at Camp Blount, just south of Fayetteville, in October, signing on to help avenge the massacre at Fort Mims, Alabama. The Red Stick Creeks had allied with the British, and local militia had ambushed their supply caravan. The Creeks had retaliated by attacking Fort Mims, killing civilians as well as soldiers. 

By November, Crockett found himself hunting and gathering intelligence with a scouting party out of the makeshift Fort Strother (present-day Alabama). In the attack on the Red Stick town of Tallushatchee, four dozen Creeks retreated to a log-and-mud building. According to Crockett’s report, when General Coffee’s dragoons approached, a weakened woman sitting on the ground stretched a bow with her feet and killed a lieutenant, sending the troops into a rage. Men, women, and children were killed in the resulting rampage.

1832 stone engraving

His ninety-day enlistment expired, Crockett missed the Battle of Horseshoe Bend that quelled the Red Stick rebellion. He re-enlisted the following September but saw little action. Soon after, following another move, Crockett first took public office as a commissioner, then a justice of the peace and lieutenant colonel of militia. In 1821, he won a seat in the Tennessee General Assembly, well on his way to being recorded in the annals of history.

Represented by Hartline Literary Agency, Denise Weimer holds a journalism degree with a minor in history from Asbury University. She’s a managing editor for the historical imprints of Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas and the author of almost a dozen published novels and a number of novellas. A wife and mother of two daughters, she always pauses for coffee, chocolate, and old houses! Connect with Denise here:
Monthly Newsletter Sign-up  
Website  
Facebook  
Twitter  
BookBub

Fort Mims drawing: https://www.flickr.com/photos/internetarchivebookimages/14579187199/Source book page: https://archive.org/stream/thrillingadventu00fros_0/thrillingadventu00fros_0#page/n299/mode/1up, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4562894

A Texas Legend

Jim Bowie: Hero of the Alamo
Plus Give Away
by Martha Rogers

James “Jim” Bowie was a hero of the Alamo in the battle for Texas’ freedom from Mexico. Jim, a 19th-century pioneer, played a prominent role in Texas Revolution and gave his life for the cause at the Alamo. Tales about his heroism and exploits in the battle and as a man of the frontier have made him a legendary figure and folk hero in Texas history. Some of the stories are true, but some are from the imagination of people who knew him or about him and expanded on his heroics.

Born in Kentucky in 1796, Bowie spent most of his life in Louisiana until he moved to Texas. Some of his exploits in Louisiana involved land speculation and the purchase of a plantation in Alexandria where he and his brother established the first steam mill for grinding sugar cane. They sold that in 1831.

 Many of Bowie’s exploits involved defending himself with a large knife which led to stories of his prowess with the knife. This in turn led to the widespread popularity of the knife which became known as the Bowie knife. One of those battles was known as the “Sandbar Fight” and furthered the popularity of his knife. It became so popular that British manufacturers produced the knives and shipped them to the United States. The design evolved over the years, but

generally remained like the one Bowie used and is pictured here.

While recuperating from his wounds in the Sandbar Fight, Bowie moved to Texas and became a Mexican citizen and married Maria Ursala Veramendi, the daughter of the Mexican vice-governor of the province. In 1830, Texas then became his permanent residence. He and Maria had two children, but unfortunately, Maria and the children died of cholera in 1833.

He became well-known in Mexican politics for his land speculation, his expeditions for the Mexican government, and Indian battles. Bowie never boasted of his exploits despite his growing reputation and fame. He was described as a humble man who never used profanity or vulgarities.

In 1835, the president of Mexico ordered the arrests of all Texans doing business in the area of Monclova. This forced Bowie to flee the province and return to the Anglo areas of Texas.

Bowie then joined the Texas Militia when Stephen F. Austin formed the “Texian Army.” Before the Alamo, Bowie was involved in other battles along with William B. Travis and James Fannin. When Sam Houston became chief of the Texas army, he offered Bowie a commission as an officer on his staff, but Bowie declined. He said he’d rather be in the midst of the fighting.

After several battles with the Mexicans in which they were defeated, the Texans believed the war was over and many returned to their families. Bowie didn’t and instead went to San Felipe to ask the Texas council to allow him to recruit his own regiment but was denied.

When Sam Houston learned that Santa Anna was leading a large force to attack San Antonio, Bowie offered to lead the volunteers to defend the Alamo Mission from attack. He arrived in late January, 1836, with thirty men and found one hundred and four men there to defend it. 

In February, Davy Crockett arrived with thirty Tennesseans. Then Bowie commanded the volunteers and Travis commanded the regular army and the volunteer cavalry.

On  February 24, 1836, the siege of the Alamo began. Although Bowie was too ill to join in much of the active battle, he gave a valiant effort. One story goes that when it became evident the Mexican army would prevail, Travis drew a line in the sand and asked those willing to die for Texas to cross the line. At Bowie’s request, Crockett and several others carried Bowie’s cot across the line. There were no survivors to authenticate the account, and it believed to have been known to embellish his articles. Even so, it became a famous scene in the John Wayne movie about the Alamo.

Accounts of his death are as varied as the reputation of the man himself. Some say he died fighting on his cot with his guns blazing and wielding his knife. Others say his tongue was cut out while he was alive because he cursed a Mexican soldier. Other stories claim Bowie shot himself or was killed by Mexican soldiers because he was too weak to defend himself. Texans like their heroes and believe the first story of his going out with a fight to be the most accurate one.

Bowie’s body, along with Travis and Crockett’s were burned. One year after the battle, Juan Seguin returned to the Alamo, retrieved the remaining ashes from the pyre and placed them in a coffin. The coffin with the ashes was interred at the Cathedral of San Fernando. This is a replica of the Bowie knife and is on display at the Alamo today.

Bowie has been immortalized in both movies and TV shows. For two years, Bowie was the subject of a series, The Adventures of Jim Bowie.

All movies about the Alamo include the heroics of Jim Bowie. A county in Texas is named for him as are many elementary schools in the state. To Texans, he is hero right along with the likes of Davy Crockett and Sam Houston. The Bowie Knife remains as another part of his legacy.  


Because there were not enough posts to have a good drawing, I've extended it to include this month. So, leave a comment below and tell me who is a great  or legend in your state. You will have a choice of the gift of an e-book version or a hard copy of Bride on the Run or the paperback copy of Christmas at Stony Creek.

Kelly Morgan looks forward to her marriage to Darrell, but something isn't right and her childhood friend, Tyler, sees it. When a domineering soon to be mother-in-law takes over, changes honeymoon plans and dashes all hopes of Kelly decorating her own home, she falls apart and runs away from the ceremony. Who will be there to pick up the pieces of her shattered life and bring her home?

News reporter Tom Whiteman befriends a homeless man, Joe, and brings him home to Stoney Creek. Tom’s journalistic instincts suggest there’s more to the old man than appearances tell. A carpenter by trade, Joe works at odd jobs around town and makes many new friends including Faith Delmont, a girl who grew up with Tom. Contradictions in the man’s manners and way of speaking whet Tom’s nose for news and raises even more questions. As he and Faith seek the truth, they learn that God’s love can turn tragedy and loss to triumph and true love comes to those who seek it.     

Martha Rogers is a multi-published author and writes a weekly devotional for ACFW. Martha and her husband Rex live in Houston, Texas where they are active members of First Baptist Church. They are the parents of three sons and grandparents to eleven grandchildren and great-grandparents to four. Martha is a retired teacher with twenty-eight years teaching Home Economics and English at the secondary level and eight years at the college level supervising student teachers and teaching freshman English. She is the Director of the Houston Christian Writers Conference held in Houston in August each year, a member of ACFW, ACFW WOTS chapter in Houston, and a member of the writers’ group, Inspirational Writers Alive.

Find Martha at:  www.marthawrogers.com