One of my heroes as a kid was Daniel Boone. I think he was one of Dad’s, too, as he would tell me stories when I was little. These were stories he had read when he was a kid. They were of the legend of Daniel Boone. Legends grow from truths, half-truths, and sometimes from outright lies. Boone, his life, and his legend are prime examples.

Truth Vs. Fable – The Legend of Daniel Boone

It reminds me of the iconic Maxwell Scott’s line in the movie The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, “When the legend becomes fact, print the legend…” Hollywood didn’t help spread the truth. Fess Parker portrayed Boone as well as the legendary Davy Crockett back in the 50s and 60s. Parker was, as the theme song of the Daniel Boone series described, a big man. Parker stood 6’ 5”, while the real-life Boone was by most accounts 5’9”. This was quite the contrast. Though, in Boone’s day, he would have been considered tall. 

Boone’s Headwear

In the theme song of the series, one of the lines reads: From the coonskin cap on the top of Ole Dan to the heel of his rawhide shoe. Although Parker portrayed Boone as a coonskin cap-wearing frontiersman, it is believed the coonskin cap legend stemmed from a painting from 1820. This painting hung in the walls of the state capitol of Kentucky for decades. After the painting had deteriorated, the artist, Chester Harding, cut out Boone’s head from the painting. He then pasted it on another background, and an engraving was made of the original painting.

To aid in selling the prints made from this engraving, an actor was hired to perform as Boone. He wore an authentic costume but was unable to find a beaver felt hat. The actor instead wore a coonskin cap. These performances were very popular, and alas, the legend of the coonskin cap was born. In truth, according to his son in an interview, “My father, Daniel Boone, always despised the raccoon fur caps and did not wear one himself, as he always had a hat.” – Nathan Boone in My Father, Daniel Boone, The Draper Interviews with Nathan Boone. 

Boone’s Rescue

When Boone suffered a gunshot to the ankle during a skirmish at Boonesborough and could not walk, many historians claim Boone’s friend, Simon Kenton, came to his rescue. But according to Nathan Boone’s account, it was his sister, 14-year-old Jemima who dashed from the fort. She came to her father’s aide and helped him back inside the protection of the walls of Boonesborough.

Boone-The Indian Fighter

While it is thought and we have been led to believe Boone had killed hundreds of Native Americans, in one of Boone’s many skirmishes, Boone was leading a group of men when a Native American warrior raised up from behind a stump. Boone raised the fowling piece he was carrying to his shoulder and fired, killing the Native American. He later confessed to his son that he was only positive of having killed one Indian.

What we do know that is factual is Boone was born in 1734 in Berks County, Pennsylvania. He died in 1820 at his son Nathan’s home in Defiance, Missouri.

Boone’s Final Resting Place 

Boone’s final resting place was far from final. He was buried in a cemetery nearby in Marthasville, Missouri, next to his wife, Rebecca. But even in death, Boone’s legend continues to this day. In 1845, a cemetery convinced descendants of Boones to have Daniel and Rebecca’s bodies exhumed and relocated to the cemetery in Frankfort, Kentucky.

With much fanfare and a reinterment ceremony, Daniel and Rebecca were laid to rest in their final resting area. Soon after, rumors surfaced that Boone’s grave in Missouri was not well marked. As a result, the wrong remains were dug up. The state of Kentucky remains vigilant that Boone is buried in Kentucky. However, some Missourians contend the plot next to Rebecca was already occupied. Thus, they argue the wrong remains were dug up.

The Legend of Daniel Boone

In 1983, a forensic anthropologist studied a casting made from what was believed to be Boone’s skull, which was made after Boone had been exhumed (For goodness sake! Can we just let the man rest in peace). The findings showed the skull was of African-American descent, not Caucasian. Another anthropologist examined the casting and concluded the skull had been in too poor a condition to make a conclusive decision. There are naysayers to this, so we may never really know who is buried in either of Boone’s graves.

For more information, visit: https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/daniel-boone