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their rightful owners.16 James, the youngest Crockett son, was the only family member held captive by the Indian raiders. “He remained with them for seventeen years and nine months,” David wrote in the Narrative, “when he was discovered and recollected by my father and his eldest brother, William Crockett; and was purchased by them from an Indian trader, at a price which I do not remember; but so it was, that he was delivered up to them and they returned him to his relatives.”17 For the rest of his life, those who knew him, including family, referred to James as “Dumb Jimmie.” In Fentress County, Tennessee, where he eventually lived, he was once lost in a hollow on the waters of White Oak that became known as Dumb Jimmie’s Hollow.18 James spent most of his remaining years searching in vain for lost silver and gold mines he had been taken to blindfolded while being held captive.

The murderous attacks profoundly affected the Crockett family. In the aftermath of his parents’ violent deaths, John Crockett was concerned about the safety of surviving family members, especially his wife, Rebecca, but he continued his service in the militia for the duration of the war against Great Britain. John, along with his brothers William, Robert, and Alexander, faithfully served under Colonel Isaac Shelby in the summer of 1780 at the pivotal Battle of King’s Mountain in northwest South Carolina. Credited by many historians as the engagement that turned the tide of the American Revolution’s southern campaign, this fierce battle forever dashed any hope that Britain had of attracting American colonists to their cause.

After gathering at Fort Watauga in what is now Elizabethton, Tennessee, the Crocketts and their fellow Overmountain Men, made up about a half of the colonial force that met the British Loyalists at King’s Mountain. Using Indian-style guerrilla tactics and taking deadly aim with their long rifles, the American patriots either killed or took prisoner large numbers of their enemy, including the British commander, who tried to escape through the battle lines. The entire engagement lasted one hour and five minutes.19

“The next morning, which was Sunday, the scene became really distressing; the wives and children of the poor Tories came in, in great numbers,” wrote James Collins, one of the backcountry patriots who took part in the battle.

Their husbands, fathers, and brothers. Lay dead in heaps, while others lay wounded or dying; a melancholy sight indeed! We proceeded to bury the dead, but it was badly done; they were thrown into convenient piles and covered with old logs, the bark of trees, and rocks; yet not so as to secure them from becoming a prey to the beasts of the forest, or the vultures of the air; and the wolves became so plenty that it was dangerous for anyone to be out at night, for several miles around; also, the hogs in the neighborhood gathered into the place to devour the flesh of men.20

The plunder of battle, including horses, guns, powder, and lead, was distributed to the victors. Articles of clothing also were taken from the dead Tories. The combat-hardened patriots had not forgotten British atrocities and their refusal to grant quarter to prisoners. As a result, at King’s Mountain, many captive enemy survivors were tortured, bayoneted, or hacked to death with sabers. Some were given cursory trials and several were hanged.

“The overmountain men had proved their worth and had settled a long awaited score,” Joseph A. Swann said of King’s Mountain. “The battle was a testimony to the tough resourcefulness of the proud UlsterScots and the deadly accuracy of their long rifles. The superior range and accuracy of the rifles of the overmountain men had proved far superior to the heavier, smooth bored muskets used by the Tories.”

Those frontier Scot pioneers were establishing a name for themselves as effective fighters and excellent marksmen—a reputation that David Crockett, as the son of one of the heroes of that battle, would take to a legendary level. On a larger level, this kind of brutal fighting, which often