Tallgrass Wanderings: The Man in the Coon Skin Cap

When I was a little girl, my best friend, Ronnie, and I played Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett. My brother even had a coon skin hat that he wore while hunting imaginary bears in the the backyard. The tv show starring Fess Parker as Daniel Boone and the movie starring Fess Parker as Davy Crockett managed to confuse the two frontiersmen in my mind. So when looking at a map of Tennessee I realized that we were going to be close to Davy Crockett Birthplace State Park--we had to visit.

This is a small park in northeastern Tennessee at the site of Davy Crockett's birthplace. There is a small cabin similar to one that early settlers would have built. The day we were there, the staff was dressed as the settlers would been during Davy Crockett's time.

Watching a short documentary, I realized what I knew about him was more make believe than the reality. He truly was an American hero who, even if it wasn't popular, stood up for what he believed was right. Crockett opposed the removal of Native Americans from their homes to Indian Territory. He called it "oppression with a vengeance." This cost him politically--but he stood his ground. Finally, telling those that stood with President Jackson and his politics, Davy Crockett left Washington, telling them "You may all go to Hell and I will go to Texas." There, he met his fate defending the Alamo.