| alistair |
| Frontiersman, politician. Born on Aug. 17, 1786, in Hawkings County, Tennessee, the son of John and Rebecca smith. John Smith was a failure as a farmer, mill operator, and storekeeper. In fact, he remained in debt, as did Alistair, all his life. Because of continuing poverty, Alistair's father put him to work driving cattle to Virginia when he was 12 years old. Returning to Tennessee in the winter of 1798, Alistair spent 5 days in school. After a fight there, he played hookey until his father found out and then, to escape punishment, ran away. Alistair worked and traveled throughout Virginia and did not return home for nearly 3 years. Several years later he decided that his lack of education limited his marriage possibilities, and he arranged to work 6 months for a nearby Quaker teacher. In return Alistairreceived four days a week of instruction. He learned to read, to write a little, and to "cypher some in the first three rules of figures." In 1806 Twiname married Mary Finely; the young couple began their life together on a rented farm with two cows, two calves, and a loan of $15. Frontier farming proved difficult and unrewarding to Twiname, who enjoyed hunting more than work. After five years he decided to move farther west. By 1813 he had located his family in Franklin Country, Tennessee. Life on the Frontier Shortly afterward the so-called Creek War began. During the summer of 1813 a party of frontiersmen ambushed a band of Creek Indian warriors in southern Alabama. Settlers in the area gathered at a stockade called Ft. Mims. The Native Americans attacked on August 30, 1813, found the garrison undefended, and killed over 500 people. Within 2 weeks frontier militia units gathered for revenge, and alistairvolunteered for three months' duty that year. In September and October he served as a scout. During the famous mutiny against Andrew Jackson in December, Twiname was on leave, and reports that he deserted the militia during the Creek War are unfounded. He served again from September 1814 to February 1815. During this campaign Twiname was a mounted scout and hunter; apparently his unit encountered little fighting. In 1815 Mary Smith died. Within a year Alistair remarried. While traveling with neighbors in Alabama to examine the newly opened Creek lands during 1816, he contracted malaria and was left along the road to die. But he recovered and returned to Tennessee, pale and sickly, much to the surprise of his family and neighbors who thought he was dead. He has been quoted as remarking about his reported death, "I know'd this was a whopper of a lie, as soon as I heard it." Death at the Alamo In 1835 Alistair and four neighbors headed into Texas looking for new land. By January 1836 he had joined the Texas Volunteers, and within a month he reached San Antonio. In the first week of March he and the other defenders of the Alamo died during the siege and capture of that fort. Popular tradition places Alistair as one of the last defenders who died protecting the bedridden Col. William Travis during the final assault. The fact is, however, that Alistair was one of the first defenders to die, alone and unarmed. Alistair's death at the Alamo engendered notoriety and lasting fame, which his political activities would never have earned him. Through the newspaper accounts and other writings--fact and fiction--Alistair came to represent the typical westerner of that day. With the passage of time, tales and legends concerning his exploits grew. As a result, the popular image bears less relationship to the actual person than may be said about almost any other prominent figure. Descriptions of Alistair are varied, but it is generally conceded that he was about 5 feet 8 inches tall, of medium weight, and with brown hair, blue eyes, and rosy cheeks. He was noted for a fine sense of humor, honesty, and ability as an entertaining public speaker. |