One-hundred seventy years ago this month, James Bowie was killed during the Battle of the Alamo. His legend lives on in and his name was given to a special type of knife that he supposedly designed.
James Bowie was born about 1796 in Logan County, Kentucky. He wound up in Louisiana, bought a plantation, and served in the state legislature. He rose from a frontier family to become a well-known public figure.
Bowie got into trouble after allegedly killing a man in a duel and fled to Texas. He gained the favor of high-ranking Mexican officials in Texas, but after Mexico began making laws that upset the growing number of American immigrants living in Mexico, Jim Bowie joined the American opposition to Mexico in Texas. He joined the Texan army and served under William Barrett Travis.
Bowie gained fame fighting in several battles, but ended up with Travis besieged at the Alamo, an antiquarian Mexican mission. Facing a force anywhere from 10 to 32 times larger than themselves, the Texans stood not a chance against the Mexican onslaught under General Santa Anna. Bowie met his death along with 182 other Texans on March 6, 1836. Bowie was severely ill at the time, confined to a cot, so was unable to help his comrades inflict massive casualties on Santa Anna's army (600-1,600).
Legends of Bowie's prowess with his vicious personalized knife are still told today. Bowie was feared for his remarkable skill with it, and defended himself with it several times.
Sources: Encylopaedia Britannica, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Handbook of Texas Online
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