The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 37, July 1933 - April, 1934 Page: 108
330 p. : maps ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern HIistorical Quarterly
and got them out in good form for Crockett, but he thought out the
problems for himself, and fearlessly voted according to his con-
victions of what would be best for the country, irrespective of his
party's policy. Thus, we find him voting against the instructions
of the legislature of his own state, relative to the public lands of
Tennessee. He favored internal improvement by the government,
and in a speech in Congress in 1830 he said, "I would vote to go
through any gentleman's estate with a road or a canal if it was for
the good of the whole Union, and I do not believe I will ever give
up this doctrine." This speech gained for him popularity in the
Northern and commercial states. He was invited to Philadelphia,
New York, Boston, and Cincinnati; his whole journey was a sort
of ovation. He also introduced a set of resolutions, favoring the
abolition of the West Point Military Academy on the grounds that
if the government had bounties to bestow, they should be to the
poor and destitute and not to the rich and influential.
But in 1835 David Crockett was defeated for Congress. This
defeat weighed heavily on his spirits. He was loath to give up
popular favor and high position--the sweets which he had tasted.
The iron of his defeat sank deep into his soul, but after grieving
over his downfall for a time, his old motto, "Be sure you are
right, then go ahead," gave him courage to begin a new life. It is
said that in a speech to his constituents, he told them to go to hell
and that he would go to Texas and start all over again. At any
rate, in a short time, he shouldered his favorite rifle, "Betsy," and
started westward again. If the "Autobiography" can be trusted,
it traces his footsteps through Arkansas. After he reached Texas
he can be tracked from Nacogdoches to Washington-on-the-Brazos
thence to San Antonio through official documents. At Nacog-
doches he was elected colonel of a company of Tennesseeans who
were on their way to San Antonio.8 There were some sixteen in
this band when it left Nacogdoches. Possibly only twelve of them
entered the Alamo with Crockett,4 although one or two others of
the company, no doubt, went into the fort a few days later.
aJohn Forbes to J. W. Robinson, January 12, 1836, Lamar Papers, I,
294; Comptroller's Military Service Records, Nos. 10, 13, 208, 226, 1361,
Texas State Library; letter from a "Volunteer of 1836" to Mr. Teulon,
Austin City Gazette, April 4, 1841.
4John Sutherland in Ford's Journal, Archives of the University of
Texas; also see "Sutherland's Account of the Fall of the Alamo," (De-
Shields, editor), in Dallas News, February 5, 1911.108
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Texas State Historical Association & Barker, Eugene C. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 37, July 1933 - April, 1934, periodical, 1934; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101094/m1/122/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.