The Life and Times of the Real Davy Crockett

Key Takeaways

• Davy Crockett was known as King of the Wild Frontier.
• Young Davy Crockett was often sent as an indentured worker to pay off his father’s debts.
• At age 13, he ran away from home to join a cattle drive.
• Crockett claimed to have killed 105 bears within seven months.

Young Davy—and Education in the Wilderness

David Crockett was born on Aug. 17, 1786, in eastern Tennessee to pioneer parents, John and Rebecca. By the time he was 8, Davy had become an excellent marksman, having learned to shoot from his father. John Crockett was active in politics, but the family struggled financially. For a while, they lived on land owned by John Canaday, a Quaker. Ultimately, John ran a tavern on a stagecoach route.

When Davy was 12, he was sent to a Virginia cattle ranch to work off his father’s debts. After returning home, his father enrolled him and his brothers in school. But Davy got into a fistfight with an older, much larger boy. Knowing that the consequences for beating up a classmate would be dire, Davy did not go back. John was furious. So, Davy ran away and joined a cattle drive. For the next several years, he traveled around working at odd jobs. Most importantly, he sharpened his skills as a hunter, marksman, and frontiersman.

In 1802, Davy, now 16, returned home. He had grown so much that, at first, his family didn’t recognize him. Indeed, Davy had matured, but his father had continued in his old ways. John Crockett was in more debt, including money owed to their old landlord, John Canaday. Davy was again indentured to pay off his father’s debts. Meanwhile, Davy continued to hone his wilderness skills, and he learned many life lessons from Canaday.

When the debts were paid, and his father released him, Davy learned to read and write and went back to work for Canaday for four years.

Work wasn’t the only thing on Davy’s mind when he was with the Canaday’s. He fell in love, got engaged, was jilted, and finally married Polly Finley in 1806. With two sons, the young family settled in Franklin County, Tennessee. Polly died in 1815, and Davy married Elizabeth Patton, a widow with two children. The couple had three more children together.

Soldier in Two Wars

In 1813, Davy joined the Tennessee Militia during the Creek War. He served with General Andrew Jackson, but his role was mostly as a scout and game hunter. In 1814, he served for a brief time during the War of 1812.

His Reputation Preceded Him

Davy was a master storyteller. He may have “embellished” the tales of his exploits, but just like the game of “telephone,” the stories grew more elaborate as they were repeated. He became an American frontier hero. For example, he made a living as a bear hunter, and he claimed to have bagged 105 bears in seven months in the mid-1820s. One often-told tall tale was that he stabbed a bear in the heart, in the pitch-black dead of night.

An 1831 play called “The Lion of the West” featured a coonskin hat-wearing frontiersman whose wild adventures strongly mirrored Davy’s life. Though his name was not used in the play, audiences were mesmerized, and the real Davy Crockett became a celebrity, with newspaper articles recounting his fearless feats. Davy seized the opportunity. He published his autobiography and went on a speaking tour.

Representing Tennessee

Like his father John, Davy loved politics. In 1817, he became the public commissioner of Lawrence County, later was elected Justice of the Peace. He then won a seat in the Tennessee General Assembly. The avid storyteller refined his public speaking skills. In 1823, he moved to Carroll County and served in the General Assembly but lost his bid for Congress in 1825. He tried again in 1827 and 1829, successfully attaining a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. He lost in 1830 but won again in 1833. He made his final run in 1835 and lost. “I told the people of my district that I would serve them faithfully as I had done,” the defeated Crockett famously said, “but if not, they might go to hell, and I will go to Texas.”

Remember the Alamo

On Nov. 1, 1835, Davy left for Texas to join the Texas War for Independence in exchange for 4,600 acres of land. His family would never see him again. His youngest child, Matilda, later wrote, “He seemed very confident, the morning he went away, that he would soon have us all to join him in Texas.”

On February 23, General Santa Anna, with troops numbering in the thousands, attacked the Alamo, defended by a mere 200 Texas volunteer soldiers, including Davy and his Tennessee brigade. They held out against the bombardment for 13 days. The final battle raged for 90 minutes until every Texas independence fighter was killed.

Davy Crockett died on March 6, 1836, at age 49.