Davy Crockett ( 1853 – September 30, 1876) was an American

outlaw An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so that anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill them ...

and a younger relative of the famed frontiersman of the same name,

Davy Crockett David Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) was an American folk hero, frontiersman, soldier, and politician. He is often referred to in popular culture as the "King of the Wild Frontier". He represented Tennessee in the U.S. House of Re ...

Biography

Davy Crockett was born to Andrew Crockett and Mary (Danley) Crockett in

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, but the family moved to central

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, where Andrew operated a toll bridge across the

Brazos River The Brazos River ( , ), called the ''Río de los Brazos de Dios'' (translated as "The River of the Arms of God") by early Spanish explorers, is the 11th-longest river in the United States at from its headwater source at the head of Blackwater Dr ...

, when Davy was still a boy. According to differing accounts, Crockett was either a grandson or grandnephew of the better-known Crockett. When he was grown, Crockett went to

New Mexico Territory The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912. It was created from the U.S. provisional government of New Mexico, as a result of ''Santa Fe de Nuevo México ...

with a friend named Peter Burleson and established a

ranch A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most often ...

near Cimarron, which at the time was a small, but wild, cowtown. At first, Crockett maintained a good relationship with the people of Cimarron, but his quarrelsome partner, Agustus "Gus" Heffron, led him astray. Eventually, Crockett and Heffron became the leading bullies in town. Local folklore says that Crockett was a member of a lynch mob headed by

Clay Allison Robert A. Clay Allison (September 2, 1841 – July 1, 1887) was a cattle rancher, cattle broker, and sometimes gunfighter of the American Old West. He fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War. Allison had a reputation for violence, having s ...

who killed the Elizabethtown

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

, Charles Kennedy, in 1870. However, Crockett's presence during the lynching remains debatable. Crocket after doing many crimes was sent to jail in 1872 after which he later escaped.

Murders at the St. James Hotel

Crockett's ongoing stint as an outlaw reached its peak in 1876, after he murdered three

Buffalo Soldiers Buffalo Soldiers originally were members of the 10th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army, formed on September 21, 1866, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. This nickname was given to the Black Cavalry by Native American tribes who fought in t ...

from the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

's 9th Cavalry inside the bar of the St. James Hotel. There are two differing accounts of the hotel shooting and Crockett's demise; the first, which is substantiated by contemporary newspapers, is the generally accepted version. The second comes from the Crockett family history and is remarkably different. According to the generally accepted version, on the night of March 24, 1876, Crockett, Heffron, and a friend named Henry Goodman were touring Cimarron's

saloons Saloon may refer to: Buildings and businesses * One of the bars in a traditional British pub * An alternative name for a bar (establishment) * Western saloon, a historical style of American bar * The Saloon, a bar and music venue in San Francisc ...

and

gambling hall A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

s when they decided to go home to their ranch. Before leaving, however, they stopped at the St. James Hotel to purchase a bottle of whiskey for the ride. After purchasing the whiskey, Crockett headed to the door, but he had trouble opening it because someone was attempting to enter from the outside. When he finally did get the door opened, Crockett found himself standing in front of a Buffalo Soldier. Already drunk, and no doubt annoyed, Crockett pulled out his

revolver A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six roun ...

and shot the man. He then whirled around and fired into three other soldiers who were playing cards at a table in the bar. Three of the soldiers, Privates George Small, Anthony Harvey, and John Hanson, were killed and an unnamed trooper was wounded. Crockett fled the town and hid at a nearby ranch. He remained at large for the next few months until making arrangements for a favorable hearing before a sympathetic

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

. Ultimately, Crockett was acquitted because he was drunk and therefore unable to control himself. He was also fined $50 for carrying a gun in town.

Death

Crockett's acquittal for the murders of the soldiers is said to have led to his antics becoming intolerable. According to author

Leon Claire Metz Leon Claire Metz (November 6, 1930 – November 15, 2020) was an American cultural historian, author, television documentary personality, and lecturer on the American Old West period. Metz presented hundreds of his programs to groups all over t ...

, Crockett and Heffron "terrorized Cimarron's peaceful population with sporadic gunshots, rambunctious behavior, and brazen threats." Often, Crockett would ride his horse inside a building and fire into the ceiling or force people at gunpoint to perform services for him, such as shining boots. Metz writes that on one occasion Crockett forced the

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

, Isaiah Rinehart, at gunpoint to drink until he was incapacitated. He also says that one time Crockett bought a suit and had the bill sent to Rinehart's house. Rinehart's version of events was that he formed a

posse Posse is a shortened form of posse comitatus, a group of people summoned to assist law enforcement. The term is also used colloquially to mean a group of friends or associates. Posse may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Posse'' (1975 ...

of himself; a rancher named Joseph Holbrook and the town

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

, John McCullough. All three were armed with

double-barreled shotgun A double-barreled shotgun is a break-action shotgun with two parallel barrels, allowing two single shots to be fired in quick succession or simultaneously. Construction Modern double-barreled shotguns, often known as ''doubles'', are almost u ...

s. On September 30, 1876, the so called posse (Crockett and Heffron were not fugitives or as far as they knew even wanted by the law) took up concealed positions near a

barn A barn is an agricultural building usually on farms and used for various purposes. In North America, a barn refers to structures that house livestock, including cattle and horses, as well as equipment and fodder, and often grain.Allen G. ...

where Crockett and Heffron usually left their horses. According to the account given by the three members of the ambush/posse, at about 9:00 PM, Crockett and Heffron approached the barn on horseback, ignored a call to put their hands up, and were shot without returning fire. A wounded Crocket was allegedly carried away on his bolting horse as it galloped out of town. The posse asserted they had found his dead body on the other side of the Cimarron River, about a quarter of a mile away from town, yet still on his horse with his hands locked in a "death grip" on the saddle horn. Wounded in the arm and head, Heffron was taken to jail, and held in custody although it is not clear what the charge was; he supposedly escaped a month later, and was never heard from again. Las Vegas Gazette, October 7, 1876, Image 2, Contemporary report of killing of Crockett and wounding of Heffron
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Crockett family history

The Crockett family has a largely different version of Davy's demise that has been passed down through the generations. According to Andrew Jackson Crockett, one of Davy's nephews, Rinehart wanted Crockett's horse and when he refused to give it up the former accused the latter of

horse theft Horse theft is the crime of stealing horses. A person engaged in stealing horses is known as a horse thief. Historically, punishments were often severe for horse theft, with several cultures pronouncing the sentence of death upon actual or presu ...

. Afraid of confronting him on his own, Rinehart had some Buffalo Soldiers attempt to make an arrest, but Crockett killed three of them and escaped. Sometime later, Rinehart and another man ambushed Crockett as he was leaving town and shot him in the back, which killed Crockett.

Interment

Crockett was buried in the town

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

though lacking a marker for many years. Although there is currently a marker for Crockett, whether it is placed over the correct grave is uncertain.

References