Editing Davy Crockett (section)

===Controversy===
The popular mythology of Crockett's death in American culture is one of a heroic last stand, a tale that is backed up by some historical evidence. For example, a former [[Slavery in the United States|African-American slave]] named Ben, who had acted as cook for one of Santa Anna's officers, maintained that Crockett's body was found in the barracks surrounded by "no less than sixteen Mexican corpses", with Crockett's knife buried in one of them.{{sfn|Tinkle|1985|page=214}} There is, however, historical evidence countering the popular myth, with stories of a Crockett surrender and execution circulating as far back as just a few weeks after the battle.{{sfn|Petite|1999|page=123}}

The counter myth picked up historical steam when, in 1955, Jesús Sánchez Garza discovered the memoirs of [[José Enrique de la Peña]], a Mexican officer present at the Battle of the Alamo, and self-published it as ''La Rebelión de Texas{{snd}}Manuscrito Inédito de 1836 por un Oficial de Santa Anna''. [[Texas A&M University Press]] published the English translation in 1975 ''With Santa Anna in Texas: A Personal Narrative of the Revolution''. The English publication caused a scandal within the United States, as it asserted that Crockett did not die in battle, but was executed soon thereafter.{{sfn|Todish|Todish|Spring|1998|page=120}} The translator of the English publication, Carmen Perry, the former librarian of the [[Daughters of the Republic of Texas]], was harassed with anonymous letters and intimidating phone calls by Crockett loyalists who considered the mere suggestion that Crockett had not died fighting blasphemous.<ref name=Paulsen>{{cite web |last1=Paulsen |first1=Barbara |title=Say It Ain't So, Davy |url=https://www.texasmonthly.com/article/say-aint-davy/ |work=Texas Monthly|date=February 9, 2017 }}</ref>

Some have questioned the validity of the text. Author and retired firefighter William Groneman III posited that the journals were made up of several different types of paper from several different paper manufacturers, all cut down to fit.{{sfn|Groneman|1999|page=136}} Longtime [[John Wayne]] enthusiast Joseph Musso <ref>{{cite web |last1=Spangenberger |first1=Phil |title=Davy Crockett's "Ol' Betsy" Found |url=https://truewestmagazine.com/davy-crocketts-ol-betsy-found/ |website=True West: History of the American Frontier |date=March 18, 2014 |publisher=True West |access-date=September 11, 2019 |archive-date=October 18, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191018034417/https://truewestmagazine.com/davy-crocketts-ol-betsy-found/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> also questioned the validity of de la Peña's diary, basing his suspicions on the timing of the diary's release, and the fact that historical interest in the topic rose around the same time as the [[Walt Disney]] mini-series ''[[Davy Crockett (TV series)|Davy Crockett]]'' was released in 1955. Some questions were answered when, in 2001, archivist David Gracy published a detailed analysis of the manuscript, including lab results. He found, among other things, that the paper and ink were of a type used by the Mexican army in the 1830s, and the handwriting matched that on other documents in the Mexican military archives that were written or signed by de la Peña.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Adams|first1=Cecil|title=Remembering the Alamo (and the death of Davy Crockett)|url=http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2508/remembering-the-alamo-and-the-death-of-davy-crockett|website=straightdope|date=May 14, 2004|access-date=23 April 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gracy II |first1=David B. |title=Just As I Have Written It: A Study of the Authenticity of the Manuscript of José Enrique de la Peña's Account of the Texas Campaign |journal=Southwestern Historical Quarterly |date=October 2001 |volume=105 |issue=2 |pages=254–294 |url=https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101222/m1/285/}}</ref>

[[File:David Crockett (1853 clipper ship) sailing card.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|right|''David Crockett'' [[Clipper|clipper ship]] card]]
As for those who have questioned de la Peña's ability to identify any of the Alamo defenders by name, historians believe that de la Peña likely witnessed or was told about executions of the Alamo survivors. And while some claim neither he nor his comrades would have known who those men were,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tamu.edu/ccbn/dewitt/adp/archives/delapena/lind_crisp/lind.html|title=Michael Lind's, The Death of David Crockett|website=tamu.edu|access-date=June 24, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081015034118/http://www.tamu.edu/ccbn/dewitt/adp/archives/delapena/lind_crisp/lind.html|archive-date=October 15, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> others conclude that the "enormous weight of evidence" is in favor of the surrender-execution hypothesis.<ref name=Paulsen/> However, several survivors and first-hand witnesses to the battle claimed Crockett fought to the death.<ref name="Gilley" /> Furthermore, no other officer under Santa Anna's command mentions Crockett's surrender, not even his personal secretary Ramon Caro. Later in life, Santa Anna wrote a memoir only stating that Davy Crockett's body was "among the corpses" without giving context to how he died. Santa Anna further wrote "Not one soldier showed signs of desiring to surrender."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jeter |first=Derrick |title=On the Death of David Crockett |url=https://www.yallogy.com/p/on-the-death-of-david-crockett |access-date=2024-11-25 |website=www.yallogy.com |language=en}}</ref>