Sorry to hear of his passing. The image of him as Davy Crockett,the last man standing at the Alamo,swinging Old Betsy at the enemy, has been strongly etched in my memory,since I first saw it as a kid in the 50’s. My life-long interest in the Alamo was born then.
>>>The image of him as Davy Crockett,the last man standing at the Alamo,swinging Old Betsy at the enemy, has been strongly etched in my memory,since I first saw it as a kid in the 50’s
Up to about five years ago the Disney Channel would show the classics such as Zorro and Davy Crockett. I got to see the entire Crockett series and was surprised how effective that closing scene actually was. Seeing Hans Conreid die, then Buddy Ebsen die, and finally Fess Parker alone as Mexican soldiers surrounded him and the story ends. I could just imagine millions of baby boomer little boys seeing that and needing comforting by their parents.
The Disney Corporation of today wouldn’t touch such a story, much less such a brutal and heroic ending.
A contemporary account by one of the Mexican officers says Crockett and half a dozen others survived the battle. Under the orders of Santa Anna they were lined up to a wall and shot by firing squad. The Mexican officer noted they died bravely and in his words, did not disgrace themselves.