FRONTIERSMEN Ep. 4 | Davy Crockett: “The Creek War”

Summary

Podcast Summary: Legends of the Old West

Episode: FRONTIERSMEN Ep. 4 | Davy Crockett: “The Creek War”

Date: October 15, 2025

Host: Chris Wimmer (Black Barrel Media)

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Overview

This episode traces the formative years of Davy Crockett, focusing on his participation in the Creek War (1813-1814) and how these experiences shaped his character, legacy, and eventual political rise. It explores both Crockett’s personal journey and the broader context of frontier conflict, including the devastating Fort Mims massacre, the bloody cycles of retaliation, and the American expansion into Creek lands. Key moments include sorrowful reckoning with violence, Crockett’s evolving reputation, and his transition from reluctant soldier to American icon.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Scene: The Creek War and Rising Tensions

[01:11 - 04:12]

• The episode opens with the tense pre-dawn preparations of Colonel John Coffee’s mixed force—Cherokee, mounted infantry, Tennessee militiamen—surrounding the Creek village of Tallashatchee (eastern Alabama).
• The Upper Creek (Red Sticks) violently resisted American encroachment, recently massacring Americans at Fort Mims.
• The Lower Creek advocated assimilation and trade with Americans; civil war raged within the Creek Nation.

Quote

“Sneaking up on a Native American village was difficult under any circumstance, but attempting it with 900 fighters would require discipline and a lot of luck.”
— Chris Wimmer [01:20]

2. The Ambush at Tallashatchee

[03:41 - 05:24]

• Coffee’s tactically brilliant trap lured the Red Stick warriors, leading to a decisive massacre.
• Davy Crockett, then a scout, participated with his Pennsylvania long rifle.
• The aftermath saw almost 200 Upper Creek killed, marking a turning point in the war.

Quote

“Davy Crockett was appalled by some of the horrors of the battle, but he was also surrounded by shouts of ‘Remember Fort Mims!’”
— Chris Wimmer [04:53]

3. The Early Life of David "Davy" Crockett

[05:50 - 10:17]

• David Stern Crockett, born in 1786, grew up in harsh frontier conditions, often forced to help pay off his father’s debts through indentured servitude at age 12.
• His formative years as a cattle driver and “cowboy” instilled woodsman skills and resilience.
• He married Mary “Polly” Finley and became known for his marksmanship and hunting skills.
• Like Daniel Boone, Crockett proved better at hunting than farming.

Quote

“He never liked the nickname Davy, but it stuck with him throughout history. He preferred to be called David, the name given to him by his parents.”
— Joe Garop [05:55]

4. National Conflict: War of 1812 and Red Stick Uprising

[14:16 - 16:52]

• The United States, at war with Britain since 1812, faced threats on the western frontier.
• The British empowered the Upper Creek (Red Sticks) to disrupt American expansion.
• The Fort Mims massacre shocked Tennessee and galvanized reluctant militiamen like Crockett to take up arms.

Quote

“Many, like Davy Crockett, had little interest in becoming involved in a Creek civil war. But attitude shifted when they heard about Fort Mims.”
— Chris Wimmer [15:41]

5. Fort Mims Massacre and Militia Retaliation

[16:08 - 18:37]

• Vivid recounting of the Fort Mims massacre: over 1,000 Red Stick warriors assault the fort, resulting in the near-total annihilation of its inhabitants.
• Response: Governor of Tennessee dispatches General Andrew Jackson and Colonel John Coffee, with Crockett joining as a volunteer, driven by vengeance and duty.

6. Tallashatchee and Talladega: Bloodshed and Trauma

[19:45 - 26:35]

• Details of Crockett’s campaign: scouting, ambush at Tallashatchee, horrors of battle.
• Emotional toll: Crockett’s dislike of killing, his “disgust with the slaughter,” and later horror at civilian casualties.
• Follow-up: Jackson’s forces break the Red Sticks' siege at Talladega.

Quote

“He never admitted to killing anyone during the battle, but he was disgusted by the slaughter... and it contributed to his distaste for warfare and his sympathy for tribes in the southeastern United States.”
— Chris Wimmer [22:02]

7. Crockett’s Ambivalence to War & Return to Civilian Life

[28:42 - 30:19]

• Despite his return home, Crockett keeps his word and re-enlists as a sergeant late in the conflict.
• Continues as a woodsman, supplying his hungry unit through his hunting prowess.
• Personal cost: his first confirmed kill in hand-to-hand combat, “clubbed the warrior with his rifle.”

8. Aftermath: End of War and Personal Tragedy

[30:19 - 32:24]

• War ends with Battle of New Orleans and peace treaty.
• Crockett returns home, relishing civilian life but is devastated by the death of his wife Polly.
• Rapid remarriage to Elizabeth Patton, combining two families.

Quote

“This closed out my career as a warrior and I am glad of it.”
— Davy Crockett, via Chris Wimmer [31:40]

9. Path to Legendary Status

[32:24 - 32:49]

• Crockett’s fame as a frontier soldier and woodsman leads him into local and then state politics.
• The episode hints at the next chapter: Crockett’s conflict with Andrew Jackson, entry into folklore, and the call to Texas.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote | | --------- | ------- | ----- | | 01:20 | Chris Wimmer | “Sneaking up on a Native American village was difficult under any circumstance, but attempting it with 900 fighters would require discipline and a lot of luck.” | | 04:53 | Chris Wimmer | “Davy Crockett was appalled by some of the horrors of the battle, but he was also surrounded by shouts of ‘Remember Fort Mims!’” | | 05:55 | Joe Garop | “He never liked the nickname Davy, but it stuck with him throughout history. He preferred to be called David, the name given to him by his parents.” | | 15:41 | Chris Wimmer | “Many, like Davy Crockett, had little interest in becoming involved in a Creek civil war. But attitude shifted when they heard about Fort Mims.” | | 22:02 | Chris Wimmer | “He never admitted to killing anyone during the battle, but he was disgusted by the slaughter... and it contributed to his distaste for warfare and his sympathy for tribes in the southeastern United States.” | | 31:40 | Chris Wimmer (quoting Crockett) | “This closed out my career as a warrior and I am glad of it.” |

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Important Segments & Timestamps

• [01:11] — Opening scene: Colonel Coffee’s pre-dawn ambush at Tallashatchee
• [04:53] — Aftermath and psychological impact of battle on Crockett
• [05:50 - 10:17] — Crockett’s upbringing, hardships, and marriage
• [14:16 - 16:52] — Background to the Creek War and Fort Mims massacre
• [19:45] — Crockett joins Coffee’s force, campaign details
• [22:02] — Crockett’s revulsion at the slaughter, moral complexity
• [24:31] — Battle of Talladega, mass casualties
• [28:42] — Crockett’s re-enlistment, hunting to feed the troops
• [30:19] — War’s end, homecoming, death of Polly
• [32:24] — Political ambitions and setup of next episode

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Tone & Style

Chris Wimmer narrates with a blend of dramatic storytelling and historical detail, bringing empathy to both Crockett’s personal struggles and the wider brutality of frontier warfare. The episode aims for both engagement and reflection, contextualizing Crockett as a man—flawed, brave, haunted by violence—before he became an American folk hero.

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Conclusion

This episode offers a vivid, humanized portrait of Davy Crockett’s early hardships and war experiences, highlighting the psychological scars of conflict and the contours of his burgeoning legend. Laying the groundwork for his rise to political fame and mythic status, the episode closes on Crockett’s exhaustion with war and his restless spirit’s return—foreshadowing the next chapter in both his life and American frontier history.

Transcript

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[Chris Wimmer]

Colonel John Coffee's plan was audacious. Before dawn on November 3, 1813, roughly 900 men crept through the woods outside of a Native American village. Sneaking up on a Native American village was difficult under any circumstance, but attempting it with 900 fighters would require discipline and a lot of luck. Yet Colonel Coffee's men were trying and succeeding. Coffee's force was a mix of mounted infantrymen, Tennessee militiamen, and Cherokee warriors. They positioned themselves to completely surround a Native American village called Tallashatchee in what is today eastern Alabama. The village was home to a couple hundred people from the Creek Nation who were known as the Upper Creek. Their warriors were nicknamed the Red Sticks because of the wooden clubs they carried into battle, which were painted red. Two months earlier, 700 Red Sticks had annihilated an American fort and killed nearly everyone inside. Colonel John Coffee's force had been sent down from Tennessee to exact a measure of revenge, but also to help one side of the Creek Civil War, which had exploded in the summer of 1813. The Creek homeland sprawled across the modern areas of western Georgia, all of Alabama, and all of Mississippi. In 1813, the present day states of Alabama and Mississippi were still part of Mississippi Territory. The Upper Creek lived in the northern part of the territory and the Lower Creek lived in the southern part near the Gulf Coast. Many of the Upper Creek were furious at the encroachment of American settlers. They vowed to fight the Americans and then their own countrymen. The Lower Creek had developed good trade relations with American settlements and they favored assimilation into the United States. The Civil War between the Upper Creek and the Lower Creek led to the destruction of Fort Mims by Red Stick warriors. Now, two months later, Colonel Coffee's force wanted payback and A chance to help the Lower Creek win the civil war. In the woods outside of Tallashachi, Most of Coffey's 900 fighters waited to spring a trap. His men had encircled the camp before dawn without alerting the villagers, and now he put the second phase of his daring plan into motion. About an hour after sunrise, he sent many of his Tennessee militiamen forward. They had been acting as scouts for his column, but now they were acting as bait.

[Joe Garop]

As they approached the village, the warriors.

[Chris Wimmer]

In the settlement spotted them. The militiamen opened fire. The red sticks returned fire, and the skirmish drew in nearly all of the warriors from the village. At that point, the militiamen turned and ran. The warriors chased the militiamen into the woods, exactly as Colonel Coffee hoped they would.

[Joe Garop]

As the militiamen lured the warriors away.

[Chris Wimmer]

From camp, the nearly 900 men let.

[Joe Garop]

Loose with a concussive blast of musket fire.

[Chris Wimmer]

The volley shredded the front ranks of the warriors.

[Joe Garop]

And one of the men who used his Pennsylvania long rifle to deadly effect that morning was Davy Crockett. He was a Tennessee militiaman and a.

[Chris Wimmer]

Scout who had helped find the village.

[Joe Garop]

But Colonel Coffee kept him with the.

[Chris Wimmer]

Main body of troops for the surprise attack rather than sending him forward to draw out the warriors. Now Crockett, Coffee, and the rest of the mixed American Cherokee force charged the surviving warriors. They fought through some of the warriors and scattered others, and they kept up relentless fire as they raced into the village. Without most of the warriors, the village was at the mercy of the attackers. Some of the women and children were spared and taken prisoner, but not all.

[Joe Garop]

Davy Crockett was appalled by some of.

[Chris Wimmer]

The horrors of the battle, but he was also surrounded by shouts of Remember Fort Mims. Which became a rallying cry in honor of those who had been slaughtered by the Upper Creek two months earlier. When the fight that morning was done, the American force had killed nearly 200 Upper Creek and turned the tide of the war.

[Joe Garop]

From Black Barrel Media, this is an American frontier series on legends of the Old West.

[Chris Wimmer]

I'm your host, Chris Wimmer, and this.

[Joe Garop]

Season we're telling the stories of two of America's most famous frontiersmen, Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett. This is episode four, Davy Crockett, Part.

[Chris Wimmer]

One, the Creek War.

[Joe Garop]

The full name of the future scout.

[Chris Wimmer]

Political leader and defender of the Alamo.

[Joe Garop]

Was David Stern Crockett. He never liked the nickname Davy, but it stuck with him throughout history. He preferred to be called David, the name given to him by his parents.

[Chris Wimmer]

John and Rebecca Crockett.

[Joe Garop]

On August 17, 1786, he was raised in an area around the present day town of Limestone, Tennessee. But the state of Tennessee didn't come along until David was nine years old. Until then, the woods in which he roamed in a region known as the.

[Chris Wimmer]

State of Franklin, or sometimes the Free Republic of Franklin.

[Joe Garop]

The Crockett family eventually grew to include nine children.

[Chris Wimmer]

John Crockett was active in local politics.

[Joe Garop]

But that didn't help him make ends meet. He was a failed farmer who racked up debt. His financial problems seemed to get better when he purchased a grist mill to grind cereal grains. But a flood destroyed the mill shortly thereafter and washed away the family business. John Crockett's business ventures routinely failed, and he turned to his 12 year old son David to help pay his mounting debts. In 1798, David Crockett became an indentured servant. John Crockett made a deal with a nearby farmer. David would work on the farm for a period of time. The money David earned through his work would be paid to his father. In turn, his father would use it to pay off his debts. With the deal done, David Crockett became a cowboy. Long before the term was commonplace in.

[Chris Wimmer]

America.

[Joe Garop]

David worked for a man named Jacob Siler. And David's first job was to help siler drive cattle 400 miles from Tennessee to Virginia. Crockett worked dutifully as a cowboy, and Siler was impressed by the boy's work ethic. Instead of vast, dusty prairies without the sorriest excuse for a shade tree which future cowboys would face in the west, David Crockett helped drive cattle through the mountainous and heavily forested terrain of eastern Tennessee and western Virginia. He proved to be a good horseman.

[Chris Wimmer]

And a valuable worker.

[Joe Garop]

By all accounts, Jacob Siler treated David well. And when David finished his indentured servitude.

[Chris Wimmer]

Several months later, Seiler invited the boy.

[Joe Garop]

To stay on and work for him. But David was desperately homesick and he declined the offer. He wanted to return to his family so badly that he set out alone During a brutal snowstorm. David nearly froze to death. But he found a wagon train with people he recognized and they took him back to his family.

[Chris Wimmer]

John and Rebecca Crockett welcomed their son home, and John supposedly cried with relief.

[Joe Garop]

And gratitude for the work his son had done on his behalf.

[Chris Wimmer]

The family still had debts, but the money David had earned from Jacob Siler helped a great deal.

[Joe Garop]

Over the next few years, David put.

[Chris Wimmer]

His newfound cowboy skills to work when opportunities arose. But he never spent long away from home. As his teenage years passed, he grew to a Solid and sturdy, six feet.

[Joe Garop]

Tall, he was a tough, outgoing, dashing.

[Chris Wimmer]

Young man who caught the attention of young ladies throughout eastern Tennessee. His eye fell on a lass of Irish descent named Mary Finley, who was usually called Polly. Polly was strong and attractive and three years younger than David, and her mother did not care for her choice of boyfriend. But David slowly charmed Polly's mother, and the couple were married on August 16, 1806. One day before David turned 20. David and Paulie made their home in Jefferson County, Tennessee. He built a log cabin and proudly displayed his prized possession above the fireplace.

[Joe Garop]

His Pennsylvania long rifle.

[Chris Wimmer]

A rifled musket was a relatively rare and valuable weapon at the time.

[Joe Garop]

It featured grooves carved into the inside.

[Chris Wimmer]

Of the barrel, which caused a musket.

[Joe Garop]

Ball to spin as it flew out of the gun. The rifling made the gun far more.

[Chris Wimmer]

Accurate than the traditional smoothbore musket. And it was the same type of weapon which Daniel Boone carried throughout his life. Like Boone, Crockett used the rifle to become an exceptional hunter in order to feed his growing family. David and Polly had two sons and a daughter over the next five years.

[Joe Garop]

And in another similarity to Daniel Boone, David Crockett turned out to be far better at hunting than farming.

[Chris Wimmer]

In 1813, two years after his daughter was born, Crockett moved his family west to Franklin county, where he thought the soil might be better.

[Joe Garop]

The second farm was no easier than.

[Chris Wimmer]

The first, though it probably wasn't the fault of the farm. More than likely, the trouble lay with the farmer again. Like Daniel Boone, David Crockett was a naturally gifted woodsman. And it was far more exciting and fun to spend time hunting in the woods than it was to spend time plowing the fields. But by the end of the year, Crockett wouldn't have to worry about farming as it had during Daniel Boone's time. War started to dominate the landscape. For Boone, it had been a war of independence for 13 British colonies in America. For Crockett, it was a war between the new United States of America and the old empire of Great Britain.

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[Chris Wimmer]

Realm the United States and Great Britain.

[Joe Garop]

Had signed the peace treaty which officially recognized the new American nation in 1783 and it took just 20 years for.

[Chris Wimmer]

The two countries to go back to war.

[Joe Garop]

The new nation declared war on the old empire on June 18, 1812, after.

[Chris Wimmer]

Five years of growing problems involving international trade. Most of the fighting occurred far away from Crockett's life in Tennessee. But by 1813, British forces turned their attention to the American frontier.

[Joe Garop]

A struggle was brewing in Mississippi territory, and the British hoped to use it to their advantage.

[Chris Wimmer]

The Creek tribe, who were also known.

[Joe Garop]

As the Muscogee, was descending into civil.

[Chris Wimmer]

War from western Georgia across the modern day states of Alabama and Mississippi. The Upper Creek were openly hostile toward the Lower Creek Cherokee and any white settlers in their vicinity. American pioneers had encroached on Creek land for years. The Upper Creek wanted to fight back, while the Lower Creek wanted to work with the American settlers. The British threw their support behind the Upper Creek, whose warriors were nicknamed the Red Sticks in an effort to defeat.

[Joe Garop]

The U.S. the British provided resources for.

[Chris Wimmer]

The Red Sticks to launch attacks against frontier towns.

[Joe Garop]

Tennesseans braced themselves for the bloodshed to.

[Chris Wimmer]

Move north to their state, and they.

[Joe Garop]

Began calling up militia units.

[Chris Wimmer]

Many, like Davy Crockett, had little interest.

[Joe Garop]

In becoming involved in a Creek civil war. But attitude shifted when they heard about Fort Mims.

[Chris Wimmer]

Fighting in Mississippi territory, though mostly within the modern boundaries of Alabama, spread and.

[Joe Garop]

Intensified throughout June and July of 1813.

[Chris Wimmer]

As a result, people fled farms and.

[Joe Garop]

Settlements to seek shelter in Forts.

[Chris Wimmer]

Roughly 400 people crowded into the stockade walls of Fort Mimms, about 35 miles north of Mobile. They were a mix of Lower Creek villagers, white settlers, and slaves. Somewhere around 150 fighters protected the fort, a collection of Mississippi territorial volunteers and American and Creek militiamen. The commander of the Mississippi volunteers was in charge of the fort, and his superior officer expressed concern about the fort's condition during a visit in early August. Apparently, the refugees had been in the fort for long enough without suffering an attack that they had become complacent.

[Joe Garop]

The general who visited the fort recommended a series of improvements to help strengthen.

[Chris Wimmer]

The position, but the Mississippi volunteer commander did none of them. Reportedly, the situation got worse. By the end of August, the people in the fort were leaving the gates wide open. The commander had not strengthened the palisade walls. He had not sent out regular patrols to scout for war parties. And now he was allowing the gates to stand open and virtually unguarded. And that was when the Red Sticks attacked. At midday on August 30, 1813, roughly a thousand warriors rushed the gates of the fort. They cut down nearly all of the 100 Mississippi Territorial Volunteers in the first couple minutes of the assault, including the commander. Warriors streamed into the fort and terrified civilians retreated to buildings deeper in the stockade. The militiamen who were left after the initial onslaught found themselves divided into groups. Many found shelter in a blockhouse, but the warriors quickly overran it. By early afternoon, the refugees were isolated in two buildings. They put up a strong defense until the warriors launched volleys of flaming arrows at the wooden buildings. As fires tore through the buildings, the flames forced the people outside and the Red Stick warriors slaughtered them. Some accounts say a few lucky people found ways to escape the fort and a few others were captured. But other accounts say the warriors killed every man, woman and child in Fort Mimms. Regardless, the discrepancies were minimal. The Fort Mims massacre was by far the biggest and bloodiest engagement of the war up to that time. In response, the governor of Tennessee authorized the commander of his state's militia, General.

[Joe Garop]

Andrew Jackson, to take a force south to help.

[Chris Wimmer]

Jackson brought in his friend Colonel John Coffee to lead part of the expedition, and a frontiersman in Franklin county named named Davy Crockett, signed up with Coffee's militia to avenge Fort Mims. Davy Crockett gathered his bedroll, weapons and extra clothes, and he saddled his horse. His battle kit featured his trusty hunting.

[Joe Garop]

Knife, a tomahawk, which he could wield.

[Chris Wimmer]

And throw with deadly accuracy, and his.45 caliber Pennsylvania Long Rifle. Crockett left his wife and three children on September 20th and joined a company of mounted riflemen who served under Colonel Coffee. Coffee's force numbered about a thousand, and they were all under the overall command of General Andrew Jackson. Jackson sent Coffee's men south immediately while he, Jackson, stayed in Tennessee to finish raising the full force of 5,000 men which had been authorized by the Tennessee legislature. For more than a month, Crockett and.

[Joe Garop]

The rest of Coffee's command searched northern.

[Chris Wimmer]

Alabama for Red Sticks. The threat of ambush was constant, which wore on the men's nerves. The Red Sticks remained elusive, and patience began to wear thin in Coffee's command. In October, General Jackson, with the main force from Tennessee, rendezvoused with Coffee's advance column. Toward the end of the month, Jackson heard about a large body of Red Stick warriors in a village called Tallashachi.

[Joe Garop]

And he ordered Coffee to attack it.

[Chris Wimmer]

Coffey led about a thousand men in the direction of the village, though no.

[Joe Garop]

One knew its exact location. As they believed they drew closer, Coffee sent some of his Tennessee militia scouts.

[Chris Wimmer]

Including Davy Crockett, on a reconnaissance mission to find the village.

[Joe Garop]

The small group moved quickly but quietly.

[Chris Wimmer]

Through the thick brush and trees of eastern Alabama until they all stopped in unison. They heard voices floating through the woods. Crockett and the scouts moved toward the sounds. As they neared a clearing, they saw a settlement. There were roundhouses with domes designed to keep occupants insulated during winter.

[Joe Garop]

Women and children moved about the homes doing chores.

[Chris Wimmer]

More importantly, the scouts noticed warriors. Red Stick Warriors. The scouts hurried back to Colonel Coffee and relayed their information. About an hour after dawn on November 3, Coffee launched the attack and totally surprised the village. A force of scouts lured the warriors out of the camp where the rest of Coffee's men, including Crockett, unleashed a devastating ambush. Most of the warriors fell in the first barrage from Coffee's men and the troops charged at those who remained. Coffee's men tore through the village where.

[Joe Garop]

The fight took on shades of a slaughter.

[Chris Wimmer]

Some inhabitants received mercy, but not many as the fighters shouted remember Fort Mimms as a rally cry and burned the village. Coffee's Command killed nearly 200 Upper Creek while losing only five men in the process. The battle turned the tide of the Creek war.

[Joe Garop]

It convinced many of the Upper Creek to stop fighting.

[Chris Wimmer]

And on a personal level, it was.

[Joe Garop]

Pivotal for Davy Crockett.

[Chris Wimmer]

He never admitted to killing anyone during.

[Joe Garop]

The battle, but he was disgusted by the slaughter.

[Chris Wimmer]

The battle remained stamped in his memory.

[Joe Garop]

Years later, and it contributed to his distaste for warfare and his sympathy for.

[Chris Wimmer]

Tribes in the southeastern United States. Colonel Coffee was later criticized for the.

[Joe Garop]

Deaths of so many non combatants.

[Chris Wimmer]

But he defended himself and his men by arguing that the retreating warriors hid in their homes, which endangered their wives and children.

[Joe Garop]

If the warriors had stayed in the.

[Chris Wimmer]

Fight, the so called collateral damage would not have been as high. Regardless, it didn't sit well with Crockett, but he didn't have time to dwell on it. Six days after defeating the Red Sticks at Tallashatchee, Crockett and the rest of Coffee's men joined joined General Jackson in what became known as the Battle of Talladega.

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[Chris Wimmer]

Talladega was a Creek town and about a hundred Creek.

[Joe Garop]

Who were loyal to the US were trapped inside.

[Chris Wimmer]

They were surrounded by 700 to 1,000 Red Stick warriors under the leadership of a man named William Weatherford. When Jackson heard about the siege, he immediately marched a column to relieve the town. He hoped a decisive victory would end the war, but his men were not able to completely surround the attackers the way Coffee's men had done at Tallashatchie. Weatherford and several hundred warriors escaped, but Jackson's force overwhelmed those who remained. The American Coalition killed more than 300 Red Stick warriors and broke the siege of Talladega. Davy Crockett and the Tennessee militiamen served admirably in two furious battles in less than a week, but they, like all the men in Jackson's army, were struggling due to a severe lack of supplies. The wagon train with supplies was long overdue, and Jackson personally led a march to find it in mid November. Luckily, the wagon train was in fact on its way to resupply Jackson's army, and when the hungry men found it, they gorged themselves. But the men needed more than just food. Their horses were done in and their clothes were rotting as the weather turned colder. With December coming on, Crockett and many of the Tennessee volunteers told General Jackson that they needed to go home to resupply and check on their families. Jackson barked at them and said he would shoot them for mutiny. Crockett and the militiamen called Jackson's bluff, not wanting to alienate good men or have to explain why he shot his own troops. Jackson relented. Crockett and some of the Tennessee volunteers headed north with the promise that they would come back to continue the campaign. Crockett departed Jackson's force in December, and he returned home to spend Christmas with his wife and children. While he was gone, a lot changed in the War of 1812 for a.

[Joe Garop]

Few months, the heaviest fighting happened along.

[Chris Wimmer]

The American Canadian border. Then, on March 27, 1814, four months after Crockett took his leave, his comrades from Tennessee fought in their third major engagement. General Andrew Jackson's army crushed an army of Red Stick warriors in a vicious five hour fight called the Battle of Horseshoe Bend near present day Dadeville, Alabama. In large part due to Jackson's victory, the Upper Creek, whose warriors were the Red Sticks, agreed to sign the Treaty of Fort Jackson which gave 23 million acres of land to the US five months later, the British landed troops in Maryland.

[Joe Garop]

They invaded Washington D.C. burned the White.

[Chris Wimmer]

House and then turned their attention toward Baltimore. British warships spent 24 hours bombarding Fort.

[Joe Garop]

McHenry to convince Americans to surrender the position.

[Chris Wimmer]

A lawyer named Francis Scott Key watched the bombardment and he was certain he would see the British flag flying above the fort when the sun came up. On the second day at dawn, when the American flag still flew over the ramparts, he was inspired to write a poem called defense of Fort McHenry. He scribbled the first verse immediately and then added three more verses before the poem was published in local newspapers. Within a week, he and his brother in law had set the words to.

[Joe Garop]

The music of a popular British tune.

[Chris Wimmer]

And turned the poem into a song. The most common belief is that a.

[Joe Garop]

Baltimore publisher came up with the idea.

[Chris Wimmer]

Of changing the title to the Star Spangled Banner. Around the time Francis Scott Key unknowingly etched his mark on American history, Davy Crockett returned to the army. Crockett had squeaked out nearly nine months of leave before reporting for duty in September 1814. He hated combat and he didn't like the idea of killing people. But since he was a man of his word, he returned as promised.

[Joe Garop]

Crockett expected to continue fighting the Red.

[Chris Wimmer]

Sticks, but that fight was mostly done now. In September 1814, the focus was on ending the British threat once and for all.

[Joe Garop]

Crockett became a sergeant in a new unit called the East Tennessee volunteer mounted gunmen. Sergeant David Crockett's unit joined a larger.

[Chris Wimmer]

Force of 1,000 men who were led by now Brigadier General John Coffee.

[Joe Garop]

The objective was to catch up to.

[Chris Wimmer]

Jackson's army, which had recently won the Battle of Pensacola in Florida and was now rushing west to protect New Orleans from the British. Ultimately, Crockett's unit and Coffee's command never made it. They ended up fighting sporadic skirmishes against the remaining Red Stick warriors who were still in the field.

[Joe Garop]

And then they had big supply problems. Once again, the column ran dangerously low on Food.

[Chris Wimmer]

If some reports are to be believed, Crockett almost single handedly kept his unit fed.

[Joe Garop]

He went into the woods and hunted without rest.

[Chris Wimmer]

And during one hunting trip he ended up in a desperate hand to hand.

[Joe Garop]

Fight with a Red stick warrior.

[Chris Wimmer]

Crockett finally clubbed the warrior with his rifle and killed him. It was Crockett's first confirmed kill as.

[Joe Garop]

A soldier and he wouldn't be a.

[Chris Wimmer]

Soldier for much longer. Throughout December 1814, representatives of the US and Great Britain met in Belgium to discuss a peace treaty. They signed the treaty to end the war on December 24. Britain ratified it four days later, but.

[Joe Garop]

It still had to travel across the.

[Chris Wimmer]

Atlantic Ocean to be approved by American leaders. Ten days after Great Britain agreed to the treaty, General Andrew Jackson's army defeated the British at the Battle of New Orleans. And Jackson became an American legend in the process. Five weeks after the battle, in February 1815, the US ratified the Peace treaty and the war was officially over. Davy Crockett returned home to his wife and children that spring. He said leaving military service was a joyous occasion. After receiving his discharge papers from General John Coffee, Crockett said, this closed out my career as a warrior and I am glad of it. When Crockett returned to Franklin county in the spring of 1815, he was happy to see his cabin, his wife and his children. But Crockett's joy at returning home was short lived. His wife Polly became seriously ill. Before long she was bedridden and nothing seemed to stop her decline. The illness was either unknown or unidentified and she clung to life for several painful months before she passed away at the age of 27. David Crockett was 29 years old and now he had to raise three small children on his own and run his farm. He didn't wait long to marry again and some have surmised that it was a marriage of necessity rather than love. He married a war widow named Elizabeth Patton. She had 250 acres of land and a couple of children who were close in age to Crockett's. The marriage was good by all accounts and the couple had three children of their own over the next few years. But Davy Crockett, like Daniel Boone, had a restless spirit and he couldn't see into the future. He said his career as a warrior was done, but it wasn't. His regional celebrity status as a well known soldier and woodsman would help him get into local politics. Local politics would lead to statewide politics and then national politics. And then that restless spirit would draw.

[Joe Garop]

Him to the new western frontier.

[Chris Wimmer]

Of Texas. David Crockett, along with hundreds of other Tennesseans, would stream into Texas to help settlers carve out a new republic from Old Mexico.

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Go.

[Chris Wimmer]

Next time on Legends of the Old West, David Crockett enters the world of politics.

[Joe Garop]

He becomes a highly respected figure whose.

[Chris Wimmer]

Woodsman reputation becomes folklore like Daniel Boone's. But Crockett spars with his former general, Andrew Jackson, and he experiences turmoil in his political career while Sam Houston helps lead a rebellion in Texas, which will soon call to Crockett's restless spirit. That's next week on Legends of the Old West. Members of our Black Barrel plus program receive each new season to binge all.

[Joe Garop]

At once with no commercials, as well as exclusive bonus episodes. Sign up now through the link in.

[Chris Wimmer]

The Show Notes or on our website blackbarrowmedia.com or subscribe directly on Apple Podcasts.

[Joe Garop]

Through the Podcast show page.

[Chris Wimmer]

The series was written and researched by Michael Meglish.

[Joe Garop]

It was produced by Joe Garop. Original music by Rob Valiere.

[Chris Wimmer]

I'm Chris Wimmer. Thanks for listening.