Long time Patriots will recall that we reported on the controversy surrounding Davy Crockett and Lt. Colonel Jose Enrique de la Pena's diary in November 1998.

De la Pena was an officer in General Santa Ana's army. He was present at the Battle of the Alamo in 1836 when the general's troops finally overran the mission, captured a few defenders, and summarily hacked them to death on Santa Ana's orders.

According to Lt. Col. de la Pena, Davy was captured and executed with the rest. His account is in opposition to other reports that Davy went down swinging - just like in that John Wayne movie (click Davy for comment).

De la Pena's diary also suggests that Patriot Davy was really a simpering wuss who tried to lie his way out of a horrible death by telling his captors that he was a naturalist who was just passing by when the the battle started. Presumably, being a non-combatant, he should have been freed, but Santa Ana would hear nothing of it. He ordered Crockett and a handful of survivors executed on the spot.

Patriots, it's hardly important whether Davy died during the battle, or if he was executed afterwards. However, any suggestion that he was a skwerl-huggin' naturalist is treason, pure and simple. And, although we published proof back in '98 that Davy was a skwerl-whackin' Patriot, some folks, mostly pathetic skwerlhuggers, refuse to acknowledge him as a Great Patriot in the struggle against squirrel world domination.

Now, we bring you the final, vindicating proof of Davy Crockett's Great Patriot status. Patriots, observe and then click on the summary below to view the definitive proof of Davy's devotion to the cause, direct from the Great Patriot's journal!

There you have it. Davy Crockett was a Patriot among Patriots. Now, there're only two remaining questions: First, did Davy die in battle, or was he executed later? Author John S. C. Abbot says the latter. And perhaps that's so. But, isn't it more likely that a man brave enough to stand up to the bushytail horde would go down swinging? We think so. But, more importantly, how did the Patriots in the Great Squirrel Hunt prepare and cook all those skwerls? To answer that question, we ask for your help:

ALAMO POSTSCRIPTS:

About 45 days after the fall of the Alamo, Lt. Col. Jose Enrique de la Pena, the officer who pleaded with Generalismo Santa Ana to spare the survivors' lives was killed during the Battle of San Jacinto by a lot of angry Texans howling "Remember the Alamo!"

The Battle of San Jacinto pitted 800 Texans against Santa Ana's army of 1300. The Texans took Santa Ana by surprise and wiped out the Mexican force in a matter of minutes. Santa Ana disguised himself as a common soldier to avoid detection. However, when led into the prisoner's compound, his troops greeted him with "Viva El Presidente!" Later, he was released and returned to Mexico to resume his role as president.

Davy Crockett had as many enemies in life as friends, maybe more. His Congressional service was uneventful, although he did advocate for the rights of the poor to land ownership. In the end, Crockett obtained a stature in death he never had in life. Just as it should be...

On November 18, 1998, Col. de la Pena's diary was sold at auction in Hollywood, California for $350,000. The buyers were two "sons of Texas."