In 1835,
Davy Crockett, after being defeated in an election and being fed up with the eastern folks, said, "You
may all go to hell, and I will go to Texas". He joined the Texas Revolution. In November of 1835, Crockett left Tennessee for Texas.
On 14 January 1836 Crockett and 65 other men signed an oath to the Provisional Government of
Texas. Each man was promised about 4,605 acres (19 km²) of land as payment. On 6 February 1836 Crockett and about a dozen
remaining men arrived at San Antonio de Bexar.
Crockett took part in the Battle of the Alamo (February 23 - March 6, 1836) and was assigned to defend the south palisade in front of
the chapel. The Texas forces of 180-250 were overwhelmed by the 1,300-1,600 Mexican soldiers.
Tradition has it that Crockett went down fighting inside the Alamo. Controversial evidence
has come to light since 1955 (Jose Enrique De la Pena diary) indicating that there may have been a half dozen or so survivors,
with Crockett perhaps among them, taken prisoner by Mexican General Manuel Fernandez Castrillon after the battle and summarily
executed on orders by General and President of Mexico Antonio López de Santa Anna. Both views enjoy support among historians.
Kyle McGhee was a renowned "crazy old coot" of the Wild West. He was one of the premier settlers of California
and was loved like a father figure by all who met him. McGhee spent a large part of his life searching for the fabled Gold of Cortez, unaware that Cortez was predominantly in the Arizona and Mexico areas. McGhee accidentally
found a Gold deposit that sparked the surge of settlers to what would become the greater San Francisco area