Lewis County Herald - Serving Hohenwald, Lewis County Tennessee Since 1898

The October 3, 2022 meeting of the Lewis County Historical Society was about David, or Colonel Crockett, led by Doug Dewitt, a retired military man who studied this storied figure. He spoke about his humble beginnings in Tennessee to The Alamo where he died a hero’s death.

If you are a certain age, you probably can sing the song from the TV show... “Born on a mountain top in Tennessee. Greatest state in the land of the free.” But there was more to this man than the TV and legends. He was born in Green County in 1786, one of nine children. The family struggled to make ends meet and moved many times. He was often hired out to help the family, but loved to hunt most of all.

He moved to Lawrenceburg and became a businessman, and witty, well-spoken, honest, and beloved politician. He joined the Army with Andrew Jackson, hunting to provide food for the regiment. However, he thought the Indigenous people deserved their own land and bitterly disagreed with Jackson’s treatment of the Indians.

He left the military and became a popular Congressman. The Whig party even wanted him to become president. Known as an honest, caring man, because of his strong disagreement with Jackson and James Polk, he lost the election.

Wanting to take a break from politics, he went to Texas with a large group of Tennessee volunteers to help with the Texas Revolution against Mexico at the battle at The Alamo.

Joining and defusing tension between Jim Bowie and William Travis, their forces were badly outnumbered. Despite going nightly out to recruit others to help, and with no help from General Sam Houston, their heroic resistance met with defeat. Crockett died a brave hero fighting with his volunteers under insurmountable odds.

This is one of the reasons Tennessee is called the Volunteer State.

Come learn about Lewis County and Tennessee at the next meeting planned for Monday, November 7, 2022.

For more information, contact Leila Oertel at 717-576-8312.