Civil War Articles by Julian WilliamsBoth General John Coffees Knew Davy Crockett
This article was compiled by Julian Williams.
Our story today tells of the Jacksonville, Georgia, (and other) connections to a man heralded as a hero across this land of ours. His name was David Crockett but he is commonly referred to as Davy Crockett. He really was "the king of the wild frontier." He is still a hero.
Davy knew both General John Coffees - hereinafter referred to as "Georgia John" (the one Coffee County, Georgia, and General Coffee State Park at Douglas are named for, who lived at Jacksonville, Georgia) and "Tennessee John" - close sidekick and kinsman of Andrew Jackson. Coffee County, Tennessee, and Coffee County, Alabama, are named for Tennessee John (you guessed it) - who later became "Alabama John" and he made a pile of money as he "surveyed" himself into this new place of residence. Surveying is one skill that both of these Coffee boys possessed and they didn't mind using it. As we go along, despite these commonalities, we will attempt to untangle these two great men more from the coils of confusion.
But before we get into all that let us return briefly to General Mark Willcox, who is thinking about the death of another old Jacksonville personality, Governor John Clark. It seems to General Mark that a lot of folks are dying and it has the effect of being quite permanent. As Davy Crockett put it when friendly Indians told him he would die from his weakened condition if he didn't take nourishment - "a thing," Crockett writes, "I was confoundedly afraid of, myself."
Down around Jacksonville, Georgia, General Mark Willcox had not quite become a general when he lamented the death of his friend and neighbor, General John Clark. The year was 1832. Clark had maintained a plantation home at one time near Jacksonville and the site of present-day Blockhouse Church. The governor had stuck up for his frontier friends as opposed to the wealthy planters of the coastal area. Ironically, he had pushed for the election of the governor by the people - by popular vote. But people began to side with George Troup, who wanted the Indians gone from Georgia, so Clark lost a close contest for the governorship after completing two terms in 1819-1823. He wound up going to Florida as an Indian agent and on a trip to Cuba with his wife, contracted yellow fever and died. John Clark had a tough independent spirit and didn't mind bucking the odds - including a stern old man by the name of Andrew Jackson who later became President of the United States.
John Clark was a lot like another frontiersman who didn't mind bucking Andrew Jackson, or anyone else for that matter. His name was Davy Crockett. Like "Tennessee John Coffee," he resided in Tennessee, and fought in the Indian wars for "Tennessee John," who at that time was known as "Colonel Coffee." Colonel Coffee of Tennessee, and John Coffee of Jacksonville, Georgia, were first cousins.
Davy Crockett was the offspring of John Crockett and the real dangerous and rugged environment of the mountains and valleys of Indian country. At the age of twelve, "his insensitive parents" (actually rock hard, salt of the earth pioneers trying to survive against real tough odds), allowed their twelve-year-old Davy to go gallivanting off with some Dutchman driving cows to Virginia. Actually, "gallivanting" is not a good word because he certainly was not going for a pleasure trip but met with the hardest of conditions.
In his little youthful mind, he could picture the trail filled with Indians, murder, mayhem, scalping and the cold and hunger of nature and deprivation. He really didn't want to leave the fireside of his father's tavern although he loved the outdoors. But this might be carrying the sporting spirit a little too far.
He had insufficient clothes to keep himself warm and often slept on the cold, wet ground. But he learned that his capacity for unselfishness and love of his fellow creatures carried its reward. So, he and an old shaggy dog became bed partners on the trail and kept each other warm by snuggling their bodies together. Davy was a survivor and felt good about himself when he finally reached the cow pens of Natural Bridge.
Like John Clark of Jacksonville, Georgia, who fought at the side of his father at the tender age of fourteen, Davy Crockett now realized it was going to be a struggle but he could lick it.
School had not been one of his favorite subjects. It seemed he was always working or trying to provide for himself and others. He had tried school for a short time by arranging to work some and school some but the cooperative program was short-lived. He found out that he could do the rudiments of adding and subtracting, and even some multiplication, but the mysteries of division were never really revealed to him.
But Davy's talents kicked into high gear as the other skills were left behind the schoolhouse doors. He was determined to be a success in life. His determination, although he did not know it at the time, was also the foundation upon which he became a hero. A hero, as one sage put it, is simply this - "He did what needed to be done, when it needed to be done, without any regard for the consequences." There are not too many of those around. But we cherish the ones we have and the country is better off because of them.
At the end of the cow drive, the old Dutchman didn't want to release Davy from his contract but Davy made good his escape and crossed the wild lands alone. He honed his skills of convincing people of the sense of his notions, of getting along with them, of looking through their eyes also, of listening for the sound of trouble, and surviving in the wilderness. He was preparing himself for greater adventures.
Davy knew the dangers of life. Already his grandfather, David, Sr., and his family, with the exception of some children who were not there at the time, and some of the sons off fighting in the Revolution, were savagely massacred by the Indians. This, and other scenes of grisly horror, he would never forget. But he saw it on both sides, not just the Indian side.
But it was time to take a wife and the first girl had dumped him for another fellow. He just could not understand how that could happen. Was he so unattractive that he could not obtain a mate? These fears were relieved when friends arranged for him to meet one of the prettiest girls he had ever seen. He thought he would never leave her alone with the children for anything.
But the wanderlust was chewing on the heelstrings of Davy Crockett and he knew there were Indians out there trying to do the same thing to folks as had been done to his grandpa and grandma and their family.
He just had to leave to go and fight them. As he put on his buckskins and reached for his old long rifle and powder horn, he tried to remember the name of the military fellow he was supposed to meet up with. He thought for a moment and it came to him. "Colonel Coffee." Colonel John Coffee. Davy wondered if the colonel had ever killed a bear. If he had killed him, Davy wondered if he had skinned him. He wondered a lot about this man named "Colonel Coffee." He looked graciously forward to making his acquaintance. He always thought coffee was "something you drunk."
Credits:
C.T. (Chris) Trowell for info on General John E. Coffee and General John R. Coffee;
Ed Jackson, Carl Vinson Institute for Government, for his info on John Clark;
John S.C. Abbott for David Crockett: His Life and Adventures;
Ann Carswell for letters of and notes on Gen. Mark Willcox;
Willcox Family History by Martha Albertson;
Telfair History (1807-1987);
info furnished by Gertrude Wilcox Williams and Diane Williams Rogers and others.
