What TV Got Wrong About Davy Crockett

You know Davy Crockett as a bear hunter, congressman, king of the wild frontier, and hero of the Alamo. His image is instantly recognizable in his coonskin cap and fringed buckskin, played by Fess Parker in a Disney TV series -or was that Daniel Boone? The 1954-55 Disney miniseries Davy Crockett was later released theatrically as two movies and caused a mid-century Crockett craze among young Baby Boomers. While that's where the contemporary image of Crockett came from, he was quite famous in the 19th century as well, because he was a storyteller who knew how to draw publicity. 

You might be surprised to learn that Crockett never went by the name Davy, served three non-consecutive terms as a congressman from Tennessee, and only spent the last year of his life in Texas. He wore a coonskin cap only after people began to expect it. And he was only 49 when he died defending the Alamo under circumstances that historians still argue about. Crockett really was a bear hunter, because bears can provide a lot of food for a hungry farm family. Crockett's life was chronicled by friends, allies, and enemies, so there's a lot of varied opinions on the man. Read what you might not know about David Crockett at Smithsonian. 


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