King of the Wild Frontier

The earliest variant of the name that became Tennessee was recorded by Captain Juan Pardo, the Spanish explorer, when he and his men passed through an American Indian village named "Tanasqui" in 1567 while traveling inland from South Carolina. In the early 18th century,

British traders encountered a Cherokee town named Tanasi (or "Tanase") in present-day Monroe County, Tennessee. The town was located on a river of the same name (now known as the Little Tennessee River), and appears on maps as early as 1725.

It is not known whether this was the same town as the one encountered by Juan Pardo, although recent research suggests that Pardo's "Tanasqui" was located at the confluence of the Pigeon River and the French Broad River, near modern Newport.

Tennessee is known as the "Volunteer State," a nickname earned during the War of 1812 because of the prominent role played by volunteer soldiers from Tennessee, especially during the Battle of New Orleans.

The War of 1812 was a military conflict, lasting for two-and-a-half years, between the United States of America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, its North American colonies and its American Indian allies.

The Battle of New Orleans was a series of engagements fought between December 24, 1814 through January 8, 1815 and was the final major battle of the War of 1812. American combatants, commanded by Major General Andrew Jackson, prevented an invading British Army, commanded by General Edward Pakenham, and Royal Navy, commanded by Admiral Alexander Cochrane, from seizing New Orleans as a strategic tool to end the war.

Although best known as an iconic American folk hero, David Crockett’s participation in the War of 1812 is little appreciated by most Americans today. After moving from East Tennessee in 1811, Crockett and his family settled in Franklin County at the time of the outbreak of the Creek War.

Beginning in September 1813, he first served a three-month enlistment in the Second Regiment of Tennessee Volunteer Mounted Riflemen under Brigadier General John Coffee and his unit saw action at the battles of Tallushatchee and Talladega in November of that year.

In September 1814, Crockett reenlisted for six months in Major William Russell’s Battalion of Volunteer Mounted Gunmen, where he served as a sergeant for the remainder of the war. The fact that Crockett was a non-commissioned officer revealed his ailities and his growing reputation and within his community.

Davy Crockett was one of the most celebrated and mythologized figures in American history. Crockett’s biographers often say there were actually two Crocketts: David, the frontiersman and congressman martyred at the Alamo, and Davy, the larger-than-life folk hero whose exploits were glorified in several books and a series of almanacs.

According to historians, Crockett was a natural leader. He advanced from justice of the peace to two terms in the Tennessee legislature. He was elected to Congress in 1827 and 1829 as a Democrat. Then he broke with Jackson over a number of issues and was defeated in 1831; in 1833 he returned to Congress, this time as a Whig.

In 1835 he was again defeated. Disgusted, he is quoted as saying, “You can all go to Hell and I’m going to Texas.”

True or not, he did leave Tennessee in November 1835, and subsequently appeared in east Texas, ostensibly looking for land upon which to settle. Controversy surrounds his reason for going to the Alamo. He was there when it was attacked, however, and he died when it fell.

In 1955, when I was 8 years old, ABC aired a 5 part series on Davy Crockett, starring Fess Parker and Buddy Ebsen, and George Russell, and I remember watching all 5 – 1 hour episodes as if there is nothing else in the whole wide world that I would have rather done. My parents bought me the 45 rpm record of The Ballad of Davy Crockett and I remember playing it over and over and over again. I played it so much in fact that the needle wore a groove into the plastic and it no longer would play... but, I did not care, because I had it memorized by then.

The Ballad of Davy Crockett

Born on a mountain in Tennessee
Greenest state in the land of the free
Raised in the woods so's he knew every tree
He killed him a b'ar when he was only three

Davy, Davy Crockett, king of the wild frontier

Fought single-handed thru the Injun war
'Till the Creeks was whipped and the peace was in store
And while he was a'handlin' this risky chore
Made hisself a legend forever more

Davy, Davy Crockett, the man who don't know fear

When he lost his love, his grief was gall
In his heart, he wanted to leave it all
And lose hisself in the forest tall
But he answered, instead, his country's call

Davy, Davy Crockett, the choice of the whole frontier

He went off to Congress and served a spell
Fixin' up the government and laws as well
Took over Washington, so I hear tell
And patched up a crack in the Liberty Bell

Davy, Davy Crockett, seein' his duty clear

When he came home, his politickin' done
Why, the big western march had just begun
So he packed his gear and his trusty gun
And lit out a'grinnin' to follow the sun

Davy, Davy Crockett, leadin' the pioneer

His land is the biggest, his land is the best
From grassy plaines to the mountain crest
He's ahead of us all and meetin' the test
And a'follern' his legend right into the west

Davy, Davy Crockett, king of the wild frontier
Davy, Davy Crockett, king of the wild frontier

Nostalgia? You bet your life this is nostalgia! But, more importantly, it takes us back to a time thoughtful innocence when some days just had to have lasted more than 24 hours and there was nothing at all to fear except being left alone without any pals to play with because their mom's were making them clean up their rooms.

We were completely and totally unaware of everything that wasn't right in front of us... meaning all things were possible, even wanting to be King of the Wild Frontier.

At 8 years old, I was in the 3^rd grade and little did I know that this grade would change my life forever, setting into motion a course of action from which I could never return.