Davy Crockett's Rifles at the Alamo
This past week I was in San Antonio,Texas, so I visited the Alamo. I saw two different rifles that were reportedly Davy Crockett's. I noticed that they were both percussion lock rifles. Is it possible that percussion lock rifles were used in 1836 at the Alamo?
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The patent for the cap lock was applied for in 1807 by a bird hunting minister named Forsyth, so yes, Col. Crocket surely had cap lock rifles at The Alamo in 1836.
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Hall percussion military carbines and Kendall underhammer percussion rifles were in use during that time frame. Whether Crockett was armed with either, is questionable? 0 -
Wiki say mercury fulmate 1807, percussion caps as we know them 1839. So maybe. If it was next to Captain Samuel Hamilton Walker's Uzi I'd be doubtful. 0 -
I have a musket made in Prussia that is a model 1809/35. The 1809 was a flintlock and the /35 was the conversion to percussion. Since the battle was in 1836 it is possible that they had percussion rifle/muskets at the Alamo, however, from what I've read, those accustomed to flintlocks were slow in changing over to the new system. So while it is possible in that percussion guns existed, I don't know that the frontiersmen were quick to use the new technology. 0 -
I think since he was also a Washington politician with inside connections he could get his hands on the lastest technology of the times before the average "Jody Brown", somethings in our system never change [:D] 0 -
It may be true that the percussion cap was being produced at that time, but in no great numbers. The US Dragoons did try out a Perc. cap mdl in the Hall Carbine in 1833,(still using flint pistols at the same time), but the first full production cap weapon was not until the Mdl 1841 or "Mississippi Rifle". So where would the Alamo defenders get these caps?
Then there is the issue of the large number of weapons captured from the Mexican Forces, the "Santanistas" (original term) were mostly armed with India Pattern 'Brown Bess' muskets of .75 caliber. There was also a percentage of the troops armed with older M.1752 Spanish muskets of the same caliber. The light infantry carried Baker Rifles of .62 caliber. There may have been a sprinkling of other muskets as well but all these were probably in the .69 to .75 bores.
The majority of the defenders probably carried versions of the issue U.S. muskets, all of .69 caliber. Any U.S. rifles present would have been .54's. Civilian rifles probably ran in the .40 to .54 range, though there may have been a little variation. Sadly, Santa Anna's troops didn't bother making an inventory. After San Jacinto, there are a couple written comments about "British" muskets and even a note about "jaegers with sabers" which would have been Baker Rifles with their large sword bayonets. These were boxed and put in the capitol basement at that time. Unfortunately, they all disappeared through the years.
So you have the whole Mexican Army coming at you, wave after wave....... would you stick to your one round a minate rifle? or grab on eof those captured Brown Bess and load with buck and ball getting maybe 2 or even 3 rounds off a minate?
There is also the issue that NO Perc. caps have ever been found at the Alamo site.
It is clear that when the Perc. Cap came on the market, many old flinters were converted over. And this could have been the fake of Ole Danny's rifle.0 -
If memory serves me, Davey had at least four rifles called "Old Besty" and the original one I believe he gave to his son before he left for Texas. Who knows what he died with at the Alamo? The actual rifle/musket/shotgun he carried probably got taken off by one of the Mexican soldiers and is whoknowswhere....mightbe with Jim Bowie's big knife and Travis's sword in some hovel in Mexico. Methinks the Alamo defenders were using mostly "buck and ball" at the charging Mexicans as that was the preferred load to cut down attackers as close range. Lots of old rifles were converted later to percussion...but later. I would doubt very much that there were percussion rifles among the Alamo defenders...but I could be wrong....first time this week[;)] 0 -
Those rifles displayed are said to have both been owned by Crockett, but according to the historians only the one on top was present at this battle and no proof exists that it was actually Crockett's rifle.
It's a Jacob Dickert/Lancaster, Pa. produced Long Rifle, a type widely used in the late 1700's-early 1800's and the only known surviving battlefield pick-up rifle from the Alamo.
Crockett was known to have favored Dickert rifles, but no record exists showing what sort of rifle he had with him at the Alamo. Also, due to their popularity it's no stretch to think more than one Dickert rifle may have been used by the Alamo's defenders.
This rifle is reported to have later passed through other owners around the US and was converted to percussion before returning for display.
That second rifle is confirmed as being owned by Crockett, but it's established that he did not bring it to Texas. It was reportedly also converted by a subsequent owner.
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I'm going to weigh into this some more.
I previously stated:
The patent for the cap lock was applied for in 1807 by a bird hunting minister named Forsyth, so yes, Col. Crocket surely had cap lock rifles at The Alamo in 1836.
I should have said he could have had a cap lock rifle.
Even though the cap lock had been around for several years, the mountain men, fur trappers, explorers and frontiersmen stayed with the flint lock. The main reason being the availability of caps, and the fact that caps didn't withstand the elements as well. If you fell in a river and got your caps wet, you where out of business. If you fell in the same river with your flintlock and got your powder wet, you could pour it out on a rock and let it dry in the sun. You can read about this practice in Lewis and Clark's journals.
Col. Crokett was first and formost a hunter and frontiersman, I think he probably stuck with what had always been reliable and worked for him, the flint lock. I would think the rifles on display at the Alamo may have been Crockett's, but where updated after 1836.
But, as you all know, I have been mistaken on ocassion.[^]
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WD
I thought I was wrong once, but I was mistaken[;)]0
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