David Crockett (4 page)

This rare image—an 1849 daguerrotype of the Alamo chapel by an unknown photographer—is the earliest known extant photograph taken in Texas. It is also the only known photograph of the Alamo taken before it was repaired and rebuilt by the U.S. Army in 1850. (Dolph and Janey Briscoe Collection, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin)

Equestrian portrait of Antonio López de Santa Anna, president of Mexico, general in chief of the Army of Operations, and commander of Mexican forces at the siege of the Alamo. (Prints and Photographs Collection, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin)

This fanciful wood engraving from 1836 is thought to be the first published illustration of Crockett’s death at the Alamo. It appeared in
Davy Crockett’s Almanac of Wild Sports in the West
. (Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin)

The Personal Narrative of Lt. Col. José de la Peña
, which includes his detailed description of Crockett’s execution immediately following the fall of the Alamo. (José de la Peña Papers, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin)

James Kirke Paulding, author of the 1831 play
The Lion of the West
, which featured a frontier character named Nimrod Wildfire who was loosely based on David Crockett. Paulding also served as secretary of the navy from 1838 to 1841. (Naval History and Heritage Command)

Carte de visite of Frank Mayo in the title role of
Davy Crockett; or, Be Sure You’re Right, Then Go Ahead
by Frank Murdoch, 1872. Mayo, who coauthored the play, starred in the drama from 1872 until his death in 1896. (Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations)

This famous clipper ship, named for Crockett, was constructed on the Mystic River in Connecticut and launched in 1853. A profitable ship for forty years, it sailed primarily from New York to San Francisco and New York to Liverpool. (Courtesy of G. W. Blunt White Library at Mystic Seaport Museum, Mystic, Connecticut)

“Col. Crockett’s Desperate Fight with the Great Bear,”
Almanac
illustration, 1835. (Photograph by Dorothy Sloan, Dorothy Sloan Rare Books)

Almanac
cover, 1836. (Photograph by Dorothy Sloan, Dorothy Sloan Rare Books)

Almanac
cover, 1836. (Photograph by Dorothy Sloan, Dorothy Sloan Rare Books)

Almanac
illustration, 1836. (Photograph by Dorothy Sloan, Dorothy Sloan Rare Books)

Almanac
cover, 1838. (Photograph by Dorothy Sloan, Dorothy Sloan Rare Books)