Frontier Partisans
Jan 6, 2017 12:47:55 GMT -5
Post by deuce on Jan 6, 2017 12:47:55 GMT -5
Texan and REH fan, Ben Friberg, just posted this today:
I missed the anniversary yesterday but on January 5, 1836, David Crockett made his first fateful steps into the boundaries of Texas. After being beaten at politics (for defending the Cherokee against the land hungry settlers) and with a deep rooted hatred for the current president Martin Van Buren (a Jackson man), Crockett had done what many Americans in history have threatened to do when someone they hated took power - he left the United States.
Texas was a foreign country then (still kinda is) as it was a northern state of Mexico. Crockett's fellow Tennessee failure, Sam Houston, already lived here and was quickly becoming a mover and a shaker. He was also secretly trying to get Texas for Andy Jackson to annex...but that's another story. Crockett, like Houston, came seeking rebirth as a big fish in a small pond. He'd been talking about moving to Texas at least since 1834. Most folks back then moved to Texas to start over and remake themselves into something grander than what they had been in the United States. Texas was a tabula rasa - a blank slate - for struggling folks in the United States, a "garden spot" overflowing with natural resources the tiny population of Tejanos had thus far failed to exploit. Texas was a seductive siren for mid-life crisis men like Crockett trying to shake off their failures and start fresh.
Crockett very much needed a new start. Though he was a superstar he somehow managed to stay rather poor. He'd written a popular autobiography, made a public tour of the East coast, served in Congress, had popular stage characters created in his image, etc. but he still had to pawn a watch when he got into Texas in order to get a little spending money. Think of that. Here was a man who was literally a household name all over the US and he had to pawn his personal belongings to buy stuff.
The rumblings of the Texas Revolution had already vibrated east, so Crockett was well aware of the general state of affairs when he entered East Texas in January, 1836. He had been delivering "You can go to hell, and I will go to Texas" speeches over and over again as he traveled from Tennessee through Arkansas and into Nacogdoches.
Once he arrived in Texas he very quickly decided to join the army of the provisional government and would later take the oath on January 14th, famously signing it only after insisting upon the insertion of the word "republican" in the document. He would only swear allegiance to the "Provisional Government of Texas or any future REPUBLICAN Government that may be hereafter declared." Crockett had his belly full of American tyrants in the White House...he wouldn't risk his neck to prop up another. By then, he was fully committed to the Texian cause of liberty. He certainly also had an eye towards a future position in the new government. If you are going to bleed to birth a nation, why wouldn't you want to be rewarded with a position in the newborn government? But his insistence on the new government being republican in nature reveals a certain high minded idealism in his decision to join the army. After joining the army, he set his eyes towards San Antonio...and Eternity.
Whenever I read up on the events surrounding the Alamo, I am always struck by Crockett's situation. Here was a 50 year old guy, at that time well past middle age, trying to start completely over. He was a national celebrity but had to sell his own watch to get money. How embarrassing that must have been. He had little military experience but was now suddenly considered one of the most important leaders in probably the most famous siege in modern history. He was also one of the oldest defenders surrounded by 20-something single men who all revered him as a Paul Bunyan type figure. From the few eye witness accounts, I feel he took on a fatherly responsibility of the men, knowing he was the de facto alpha male because of his fame. He constantly worked to keep the morale up with jokes, encouragement, bouts of marksmanship and fiddle playing.
Though I don't find him quite as fascinating as Jim Bowie, I think Crockett was one of the most moral men involved at the Alamo. He was there for the right reasons. He was in Texas because he had fought for the Cherokee against the almighty Andrew Jackson. He was now fighting a brutal dictator in order to establish a republican government. He had the chance to leave when he rode out to help guide in reinforcements later in the siege...then rode back with them to his grave because he wouldn't abandon his new friends. He was a very simple man - too simple sometimes - but he was also a heroic man more than worthy of his motto "Be always sure you're right-then go a-head!"
I missed the anniversary yesterday but on January 5, 1836, David Crockett made his first fateful steps into the boundaries of Texas. After being beaten at politics (for defending the Cherokee against the land hungry settlers) and with a deep rooted hatred for the current president Martin Van Buren (a Jackson man), Crockett had done what many Americans in history have threatened to do when someone they hated took power - he left the United States.
Texas was a foreign country then (still kinda is) as it was a northern state of Mexico. Crockett's fellow Tennessee failure, Sam Houston, already lived here and was quickly becoming a mover and a shaker. He was also secretly trying to get Texas for Andy Jackson to annex...but that's another story. Crockett, like Houston, came seeking rebirth as a big fish in a small pond. He'd been talking about moving to Texas at least since 1834. Most folks back then moved to Texas to start over and remake themselves into something grander than what they had been in the United States. Texas was a tabula rasa - a blank slate - for struggling folks in the United States, a "garden spot" overflowing with natural resources the tiny population of Tejanos had thus far failed to exploit. Texas was a seductive siren for mid-life crisis men like Crockett trying to shake off their failures and start fresh.
Crockett very much needed a new start. Though he was a superstar he somehow managed to stay rather poor. He'd written a popular autobiography, made a public tour of the East coast, served in Congress, had popular stage characters created in his image, etc. but he still had to pawn a watch when he got into Texas in order to get a little spending money. Think of that. Here was a man who was literally a household name all over the US and he had to pawn his personal belongings to buy stuff.
The rumblings of the Texas Revolution had already vibrated east, so Crockett was well aware of the general state of affairs when he entered East Texas in January, 1836. He had been delivering "You can go to hell, and I will go to Texas" speeches over and over again as he traveled from Tennessee through Arkansas and into Nacogdoches.
Once he arrived in Texas he very quickly decided to join the army of the provisional government and would later take the oath on January 14th, famously signing it only after insisting upon the insertion of the word "republican" in the document. He would only swear allegiance to the "Provisional Government of Texas or any future REPUBLICAN Government that may be hereafter declared." Crockett had his belly full of American tyrants in the White House...he wouldn't risk his neck to prop up another. By then, he was fully committed to the Texian cause of liberty. He certainly also had an eye towards a future position in the new government. If you are going to bleed to birth a nation, why wouldn't you want to be rewarded with a position in the newborn government? But his insistence on the new government being republican in nature reveals a certain high minded idealism in his decision to join the army. After joining the army, he set his eyes towards San Antonio...and Eternity.
Whenever I read up on the events surrounding the Alamo, I am always struck by Crockett's situation. Here was a 50 year old guy, at that time well past middle age, trying to start completely over. He was a national celebrity but had to sell his own watch to get money. How embarrassing that must have been. He had little military experience but was now suddenly considered one of the most important leaders in probably the most famous siege in modern history. He was also one of the oldest defenders surrounded by 20-something single men who all revered him as a Paul Bunyan type figure. From the few eye witness accounts, I feel he took on a fatherly responsibility of the men, knowing he was the de facto alpha male because of his fame. He constantly worked to keep the morale up with jokes, encouragement, bouts of marksmanship and fiddle playing.
Though I don't find him quite as fascinating as Jim Bowie, I think Crockett was one of the most moral men involved at the Alamo. He was there for the right reasons. He was in Texas because he had fought for the Cherokee against the almighty Andrew Jackson. He was now fighting a brutal dictator in order to establish a republican government. He had the chance to leave when he rode out to help guide in reinforcements later in the siege...then rode back with them to his grave because he wouldn't abandon his new friends. He was a very simple man - too simple sometimes - but he was also a heroic man more than worthy of his motto "Be always sure you're right-then go a-head!"