SUMMARY: RUNNING TIME: Approx. 43:00 Min.
This episode first aired on The History Channel on November 8, 2014. Hosted by forensic geologist-author Scott Wolter, the premise is not about The Alamo itself. Rather, the theory is: what if Davy Crockett survived the Battle of the Alamo?
Wolter probes the claim of a local family in Double Springs, Alabama, in possession of three documents, including an 1859 land deed from U.S. President James Buchanan indicating a David Crockett purchased and then lived on their future property for the remainder of his life. Wolter subsequently coordinates an excavation of this property with Search₂O archaeologist Mike Arbuthonot’s group searching for relevant artifacts, including Crockett’s possible gravesite.
Wolter further explores the frontiersman’s background by visiting The Alamo, as well as interviewing one of Crockett’s 4th great-granddaughters: Joy Bland, in Rutherford, Tennessee. Another Wolter interview is with Crockett biographer Michael Wallis at The Alamo. Freemason expert Jack Roberts, in Minneapolis, offers his input on Crockett’s purported status as a Freemason. Battle reenactments (featuring Jeremy Frandup as ‘Crockett’ and Ludy Webster as ‘General Santa Anna’) are frequently replayed.
Based upon his interpretation of circumstantial evidence, Wolter ultimately concludes there is at least a possibility that Crockett relocated to Alabama after his supposed death.
REVIEW:
Unmistakably, this slickly-produced documentary is peddling tabloid speculation worthy of The National Enquirer. For instance, by implying Crockett possibly faked his death like Jesse James and other historical figures accused of the same, the episode tries to stoke controversy amongst the most gullible. Epitomizing this episode’s ridiculous premise is what the excavation team actually uncovers in their dramatic dig (here’s a hint: it’s a called a buried rock).
Other than offering a bizarre theory that General Santa Anna (as a fellow Freemason) inexplicably spared Crockett’s life, there is zero proof explaining how Crockett would have survived past March 6, 1836. Given this bleak certainty, the consensus from Scott Wolter’s interviews fails to justify his illogical suppositions that Crockett could have secretly resurfaced in Alabama.
Had the episode’s narrative merely conveyed that Crockett’s murky fate is reminiscent of Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid (whose remains were never conclusively located), that assertion is far closer to common sense. The same applies to biographer Michael Wallis’ belief that, if he was captured as a P.O.W., Crockett was then summarily executed, post-battle, by Santa Anna’s forces. As the Alamo defenders’ remains were burned in mass, the dubious outcome of the excavation team’s search for Crockett’s unmarked grave in Alabama is unsurprising.
A reenactment sequence of Crockett displaying a Freemason surrender gesture that Santa Anna mercifully accepts, is, therefore, ludicrous. More so, Wolter’s instant acceptance of mid-19th Century documents supposedly signed by Crockett (especially the all-too-modern-looking ‘April 1836 Cincinnati Whig’ news clipping stating Crockett had survived his battle wounds) comes off as utterly blind wishful thinking rather than applying sufficient critical analysis. Notably, Wolter’s careful sidestepping of Mike Arbuthonot’s logical theory that the land deed’s scribbled signature belongs to some mid-19th Century local also named ‘David Crockett’ speaks for itself.
Wolter makes valid points re: why a person’s signature can worsen over time, but this episode’s compelling new ‘evidence,’ is still flimsy and highly implausible. Even worse, such what-if speculation shamelessly insults a viewer’s intelligence. Why The History Channel would risk its credibility on such sensationalistic garbage says a lot about its programming choices.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 2 Stars
IMAGE NOT AVAILABLE
