Davy Crockett: The Real Story (How Did He Die at the Alamo?)

Davy Crockett: the real story, told from the real portraits, paintings and records. Who was Davy Crockett, why he went to Texas, Davy Crockett at the Alamo, how Davy Crockett died, and how Disney made him the King of the Wild Frontier. David Crockett was born in 1786 on the Tennessee frontier, hired out at twelve to pay his father's debts, and ran away at thirteen. This Old West documentary follows him through the Creek War under Andrew Jackson, the Tennessee legislature, and three terms in Congress, where he was the only Tennessee member to vote against Jackson's Indian Removal Act. Then the famous line, "you may all go to hell, and I will go to Texas", the road through Little Rock and Nacogdoches, and the Battle of the Alamo: Travis, Bowie and Santa Anna, the 13-day siege, the line in the sand legend, and the final assault on March 6, 1836. Was Crockett killed fighting, or captured and executed? We weigh the de la Pena memoir against the other witnesses. Finally, San Jacinto, "Remember the Alamo", the Crockett almanacs, Fess Parker and Disney's Davy Crockett, John Wayne's The Alamo, and the Davy Crockett nuke. Chapters 0:00 March 6, 1836: The Alamo Before Dawn 1:49 Who Was Davy Crockett? A Tennessee Frontier Boy 5:06 Polly Finley and the Marriage Contract 6:59 The Creek War and Andrew Jackson 9:07 Colonel Crockett: Tennessee Politics 11:55 Davy Crockett in Congress and the Indian Removal Act 14:13 Go to Hell, I Will Go to Texas 16:41 Gone to Texas: Little Rock, Nacogdoches and the Tornel Decree 20:32 The Alamo: Travis, Bowie and Santa Anna 23:41 The 13-Day Siege and the Line in the Sand 29:04 March 6, 1836: The Battle of the Alamo 35:26 How Did Davy Crockett Die? The de la Pena Memoir 39:32 Remember the Alamo: San Jacinto 42:11 King of the Wild Frontier: Disney, Fess Parker and the Legend Sources Wikipedia: Davy Crockett; Battle of the Alamo; Davy Crockett (miniseries) Photographs and newspapers: public domain archival images from Wikimedia Commons, plus the licensed images credited below. Maps and diagrams are our own. Image credits (Wikimedia Commons) CC BY 2.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0): "Alamo Texas" by Tim Pearce, Los Gatos CC BY 3.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0): "Crockett Cabin1" by Victor9876 at en.wikipedia; "Davy-crockett-birth-cabin1", "Nolichucky-river-dcbsp-tn1", "Marble-springs-walker-cabin-tn1", "John-crockett-tavern-tn1", "Arnwine-cabin-tn1" by Brian Stansberry CC BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0): "Davy-Crockett-Last-Home-Rutherford-tn" by Brian Stansberry (photographer); "Sarcophagus of Alamo martyrs" by Michaelluckey CC BY-SA 2.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0): "Presidio La Bahía, Goliad, Texas" by Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA CC BY-SA 2.5 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5): "Mission San Antonio aka Alamo" by Cqui CC BY-SA 3.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0): "John Blackburn Log House 01", "John Blackburn Log House 02" by CalicoSilk; "Davy Crockett - I Will Go to Texas" by Ringtailedpanther; "Davy Crockett knife" by Brian Reading CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0): "Portrait of Santa Anna, Northwest Territories (Nunavut)" by Albert Peter Low Music: "Anamalie", "Crossing the Divide", "Lost Frontier", "Pale Rider", "Smoking Gun", "Showdown", "Western Streets", "Americana", "Windswept", "Dark Times", "Oppressive Gloom", "Cowboy Sting" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) Narration is AI-generated from our own researched script. Maps and diagrams are our own. Which American legend should we take apart next? Tell us in the comments. #DavyCrockett #TheAlamo #OldWest #Texas #AmericanHistory #History