176 Years Ago Today: Crockett Searches for Fannin

On March 3, 1836, David Crockett and a handful of companions slipped out of the besieged Alamo in order to search the surrounding area for Col. James W. Fannin and his men, who they hoped were coming to relieve the fort. Crockett and most of his fellow defenders were killed three days later when the Alamo was overrun by Mexican forces under Gen. Santa Anna.

Fannin, who had been unwilling to risk himself in a risky attempt to relieve the San Antonio fort, prolonged his life long enough to surrender his command to the Mexican forces three-and-a-half weeks later and then become one of the victims of the infamous Goliad Massacre.

Read more about Crockett and his companions in "Rogues of the Alamo," one of the chapters in the "Scandal" section of Texas Confidential: Sex, Scandal, Murder, and Mayhem in the Lone Star State!