Film is likely to fuel a battle of the Alamo

Davy Crockett: U.S. congressman, legend in his own time, venerated hero of the Alamo who lost his life after Mexican troops overran the now fabled fort.

That's according to Walt Disney Studios, whose new film, "The Alamo," premieres in San Antonio next Saturday.

The real shocker might be what comes next: the execution of Crockett by Mexican soldiers, a movie scene that's sure to be seen as sacrilege by rabid Alamophiles who like to imagine the myth-shrouded "Lion of the West" going down fighting.

Noted Alamo author Frank Thompson has seen people come to blows over how Crockett died, so dearly do they hold his memory.

With the film's release and the publication of its companion book—complete with glossy photos from the movie and dialogue from the screenplay — the controversy is almost certain to flare anew.

According to "The Alamo: The Illustrated Story of the Epic Film"—written by Thompson, with a foreword by film director John Lee Hancock — Crockett surveys the Alamo grounds after the battle and sees a Mexican soldier wearing his vest, another holding his fiddle.

Crockett chuckles wryly. Then, despite looking down the gun barrels of men ready to execute him, he proceeds to sass his captors.

"If the general here will have his men put down their weapons and peacefully assemble, I will take you to Gen. (Sam) Houston and try my best to get him to spare most of your lives," Crockett quips.

Infuriated, Gen. Antonio López de Santa Anna orders his men to kill Crockett by hacking him with swords.

"This is an absolute watershed in Alamo film history," said Linda Salvucci, an associate history professor at Trinity University who teaches a class called "Remember the Alamo: Myth, Mystery and History." Of the final line, however, she said: "It just seems like such an anachronism — that choice of words — I can't imagine him saying he's a screamer."

Stephen Hardin, a professor of Texas and American history at Victoria College and a consultant for the film, explained the context of being a "screamer" in the 19th century.

"I don't think people are necessarily going to get this, but in the 19th century, being a screamer meant, 'I'm an important person, I'm a stud, I'm a person to be reckoned with,'" he explained. "It doesn't mean he's screaming like a girl."

No other major Hollywood production has portrayed Crockett's end as an execution.

The manner in which Crockett died has been debated since the diary of José Enrique de la Peña, a lieutenant in the Mexican Army at the battle, was translated into English in the 1970s.

The execution episode in de la Peña's memoirs caused a controversy that has roiled for 30 years. Historians dispute whether the diary is authentic and reliable.

The English translation was completed by Carmen Perry, director of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library at the Alamo. When the translation was published in 1975, Perry received threats from people who thought she was dishonoring Crockett.

Three years later, Dan Kilgore wrote a book examining the execution theory called "How did Davy Die?" Kilgore received death threats.

Trinity University can't keep Kilgore's book in its regular stacks, because it gets defaced. It's kept under lock and key with rare books.

Some think that if Crockett was captured and executed his heroic status would be degraded.

"You're dealing with a very touchy topic. You're messing with people's fantasies," said noted Alamo author Stephen Harrigan, who did minor consulting work and script revision for the film. "Somehow people twist the idea of execution to surrender and from there it's a short step to 'he lost his nerve' or gave up.

"There's no question that he's no less dead for having been executed as having gone down fighting — there's no reason to think any less of Crockett. But people are so deeply invested in this cherished notion of Crockett going down fighting that it's hard to shake it out of people's heads. And I don't know that it should be shaken out."

A larger-than-life figure even in his time, Crockett's legend was stoked for generations by images of him swinging his musket against insurmountable odds. The former Tennessee congressman in the coonskin cap arrived at the Alamo with volunteers in February 1836 to help defend the fortress against the advancing Mexican army.

Along with William Travis and James Bowie, Crockett was among the most famous of the "Texian" defenders who held the Alamo for 13 days until it fell to about 4,000 Mexican troops the morning of March 6.

Harrigan, who wrote "The Gates of the Alamo," doesn't buy into the execution theory — and he's not the only respected Alamo historian in that camp.

"The evidence that he was executed was too slight," Harrigan said. "There are several documents that seem to support Crockett was executed, but there's plenty of room for scholarly dispute."

Bruce Winders, curator for the Alamo, said there's no doubt that Texian fighters were executed after the battle, but he doesn't believe that Crockett was among them.

"I am unconvinced he was executed, but I don't rule out the possibility," Winders said, adding he's not surprised the film used the execution theory. "In the evolution of the modern Alamo story, I don't see how they could have done it any other way."

"Even if you believe de la Peña, he clearly says he died without humbling himself," said Thompson. "It's so weird to me that people get so incensed about something we don't know or will never know. It strikes me as being silly at best and deranged at worst."

Native Texan and Dallas resident Jerry Phillips, who spent a recent rainy afternoon touring the Alamo, agrees.

"The fact they were here is what's important," said Phillips, 61. "The people who died here contributed to our freedom."

Hardin clearly is frustrated by the debate over how Crockett met his end — he believes the question is more emotional than historical.

"The sacrifice is undiminished. He gave his life for a cause he believes in," Hardin said.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------- adorsett@express-news.net

I have not seen any post that considers the relationship of the Disney films of the late 1950's and Disney television of the 1960's and, their effect on the attitudes of the BOOMERS.

I think it's incredibly relevant and glad you brought it up. I grew up with Disney's version of Crockett and Boone, and I've got friends/relatives the same age who didn't have that influence, or were reading about Alamo history at an earlier age.

As I've read more and more about the Alamo, about Crockett, about Boone (I've known more than a few Texans who confuse the two), I've come to realize that Disney and John Wayne were way off the mark.

Nothing against Disney or Wayne, they did what they did because of constraints (time, technology, etc.) and because they were/are companies out to make a buck, and there is nothing wrong with it.

What is wrong is people who take their versions of those events/characters as being the truth.

The truth is, what actually happened, and the actual lives of Crockett and Boone are much much more interesting than anything you see in the movies or on TV.

I suspect Davy had no idea he would end up DEAD after this affair!

Hard to say. He and the other anglos that were riding to Texas to fight knew they were going to be outnumbered and heavily dependent upon one another. Those showing up at the Alamo knew that it couldn't be defended well. That makes it all the more interesting. I doubt any would realize just how important the Alamo and San Jacinto (and Goliad) would be to the United States in the future.

Thorton's Crockett says something to the effect of "If I was just plain old Davy from Tennessee, I might slip over that wall, but that Crockett fellow, people are watching him". That's not the exact quote from the movie (heard it in a preview) and Crockett probably didn't say that. I agree with it (the idea the writers/filmakers were trying to convey) and I don't agree with it.

From his writings and what others wrote about him at the time, he had a sense of responsibility, and he took it seriously that people looked up to him. When he was in office, he fought for things that were unpopular, even knowing he might be defeated in another election. People ignore/forget that. Back home he had been booted from office, but at the Alamo, people relied upon him, people stayed there because they believed in him, and I think he knew how important that was.

Some say that his legend drove him to stay there, even knowing he was going to die, that he was more worried about his legend and that running away would kill his chances of being elected again if he lived.

This was not Davy Crockett's fight before he showed up - he and the others that rode to Texas were illegal aliens in fact (an important aspect of the war that some overlook). Once he showed up he gave some Texians and Tejanos hope, I think he knew how important he had become. Had he decided "this ain't my fight, I'm not going to risk my life", he could very well have crippled the movement. He knew that, and he knew that his being there probably gave some men the courage and hope they needed to hang on and fight.

I'm a fan of Crockett, if you can't tell. In fact, I think his image was slightly tarnished by Disney and John Wayne in a way. I think he saw the bigger picture. I think he saw how important it was that he stay and fight, even though it wasn't his fight. It wasn't because of his legend, but because he saw that in the big picture, he was giving a much needed boost, both to individuals fighting, and to the movement as a whole.

His sense of responsibility to those men, even though they were few in number, was greater than any sense of legend. Maybe it's the fan in me, but I think he knew he was going to die, and I think he knew that if he had to die, he'd probably rather die there, with those few men who stood beside him. It was not the first time he faced death, so he probably had already prepared himself before then.

Crockett was a man of outstanding integrity and courage. I believe he started out as a Jackson man and then was defeated when he opposed Jackson's "ethnic extermination or deprotation" policies east of the Mississippi River towards American Indians.

This is precisely why I don't think he was more concerned about adding to his legend, as some have argued. If anything, he used his legend to help Texas.

He fought fights in which he lost, in which he was outnumbered, but he didn't give up and his time in office showed he'd rather risk defeat than surrender his integrity.

He was the right man at the right time to help during Texas' war, and I think he knew that his simply being there gave courage to others. I would argue that he knew he was going to die, but that it was the best death a man of his courage and integrity could die.

I'll stop being a Crockett fanboy now :-)

"If I am not mistaken he was actually helped by the US to regain power after his initial explusion."

Santa Ana was ruler of Mexico on no fewer than nine separate occasions.

And yes, you are correct. During the Mexican-American war, when Zachary Taylor was stalled in the field and before Winfield Scott got going, President Polk fell for Santa Ana's promise that if he were allowed to return from exile unimpeded he would quickly come to terms and end the war.

Instead, of course, he took charge of the Mexican army and fought several battles against Scott--all of which he lost. (Why, oh why, do people still listen to diplomats?)

People whine about the "imperialist" treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, but it is worth noting that the war would never have occurred if the Mexicans hadn't contested the land between the Nueces and the Rio Grande--which belonged to Texas by treaty.

Think of it--if they hadn't been so hard-headed about that little strip of land, to this day California, Arizona, and New Mexico might look like Tijuana.

Just imagine how much better that would have been than having them fall victim to American "imperialism."

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.