David Crockett_ The Lion of the West - Michael Wallis [146]
The Alamo remains the most instantly recognized battle in American history, with the possible exception of Gettysburg. It has been said that not until the Battle of the Little Big Horn and the death of George Armstrong Custer forty years after the Alamo would Americans have a more vainglorious event to rally around. Texans also used the Alamo and the revolt against Mexico to establish a republic and, later, a state that they believed unique and more special than any other. In 1845, when the Republic of Texas gave up its sovereignty to become the biggest state in the Union, it did so with the caveat—depending on whose interpretation of the Texas Constitution is followed—that it could secede at any time and split into five separate entities, thus creating four new states.34 The strong belief among many Texans was that their independence—their Lone Star status—had been bought and paid for at the Alamo.
Crockett’s death sums up the single most important aspect of his brief stay in Texas. His contribution to the Lone Star State resulted not so much from how he lived but how he died. His impact on Texas derives precisely from his death in that battered Spanish mission. In death he turned into an even more marketable commodity than he had been in life, and the Alamo eventually would become the state’s biggest tourist attraction and one of the most popular historic sites in the nation.
Crockett’s death helped fuel the flames of rebellion against Mexico and also made him a celebrated martyr for the cause. This contributed to the creation of the prideful, sometimes bellicose, stereotypical image of swaggering, boastful Texans bursting with superlatives and pride when describing the land they love. Crockett’s demise also helped turn the Alamo into the “Cradle of Texas Liberty” and a monument to Anglo westward expansion that became known as Manifest Destiny.
There was the David Crockett of historical fact, and there is the Davy Crockett of our collective imagination. The first was a man who led a most interesting and colorful life. The other is the American myth, featuring Crockett as a symbolic figure with superhuman powers; in this version, Crockett is frequently used by others to promote their own interests. Both Crockett and the Alamo remain ensnared in clouds of myth.
In the end, Crockett was a uniquely American character and a formidable hero in his own right. He should not be judged by his death but rather by his life—including the good and the bad and the shades of gray. Consider him as a legend and a hero, but always bear in mind that he was a man willing to take a risk. That was what he symbolized and that is how he should be remembered.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Writing a book is ultimately a solitary act. But the process of getting to the point of the actual writing and all that transpires after a manuscript is completed is far from solitary. This book—my sixteenth—was no exception. It took many people besides me to get the job done. Each of them was important, many were essential, and a few of them were so invaluable that without them this book would never have been written.
Two people who absolutely fit in that last category are Suzanne Fitzgerald Wallis and Joseph A. Swann. That is why I dedicated the book to them. This gesture is but a small token of my appreciation to both of them.
Suzanne is my life partner, best friend, lover, and chief collaborator. Her wisdom, diligence, and encouragement are largely responsible for this book as well as for all the others I have written and those yet to come. Suzanne, with assistance from our quirky feline muse, Sophie, is there for me every day whether I deserve it or not.
Joe Swann not only acted as a tireless guide and excellent source of knowledge about all things Crockett but also unselfishly shared his entire unpublished manuscript detailing Crockett’s many years spent in Tennessee. The voice and vision of Joe Swann echoes throughout much of this book. Joe