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David Crockett Biography

David Crockett Image

CROCKETT David, pioneer, born in Limestone, Tenn., Aug. 17, 1786. At the age of twelve years he became an associate of a German and tramped with him 400 miles. Being dissatisfied, he returned home and worked as a teamster and drover for several years. He learned to read and write at the age of eighteen years, when he attended school for a few weeks. In 1811 he removed to Franklin county, then a wild and unsettled part of the state, and two years later served in the war against the Creek Indians under General Jackson. He was elected to the legislature in 1821, where he made a creditable record, though ignorant of the art of public speaking. He was reelected to the legislature, and in 1826 secured a seat in congress, where he served three terms. His reputation at Washington was that of a man of shrewdness, common sense, and thorough independence. When the Texan contest for independence broke out, he joined the Texan patriots. He was one of the 140 defenders of Fort Alamo, who were attacked by a large Mexican force. All but six men were killed in the defense, and along with five survivors he surrendered to Santa Anna. The survivors were shot by the orders of the commanding general on March 6, 1836.

The Teachers' and Pupils' Cyclopædia, Vol. I (Kansas City: Bufton Book Co., 1909) 437.