'James (Jim) Bowie' (probably
April 10,
1796 –
March 6,
1836) was a
nineteenth century American
pioneer and
soldier who took a prominent part in the
Texas Revolution and was killed at the
Battle of the Alamo. He was born in
Kentucky and spent most of his life in
Louisiana before moving to
Texas and joining the revolution.
Bowie is also known for the style of knife he carried, which came to be known as the "
Bowie knife". Stories of his
frontier spirit have made him one of the most colorful
folk heroes of
Texas history.
Early years
Bowie was born in
Logan County, Kentucky (now
Simpson County) on
April 10,
1796 but spent most of his childhood in
Louisiana.
[1][2][3] He was the son of Rezin (or Reason) Bowie and Elve Ap-Catesby Jones (or Johns). The family moved to
New Madrid in what is now
Missouri in 1800, before settling in
Catahoula Parish, Louisiana in 1801. Eight years later Rezin purchased 640 acres on the Vermilion River in
Attakapas County[4] (a defunct county, having been divided into
St. Martin and
St. Mary Parishes in 1811).
During his early years, Bowie spent much time hunting and fishing, and popular folklore says that he roped alligators, tamed wild horses, and trapped bears. As a teenager he worked in
Avoyelles Parish and
Rapides Parish, floating lumber to market along the bayous.
During the
War of 1812 Bowie and his brother Rezin Jr. joined the Louisiana militia company of Colonel Colman Martin to fight the
British at
New Orleans. By the time the pair arrived in New Orleans in January 1815, the war had ended. They returned home and, despite the fact that the
United States had outlawed the importation of slaves more than seven years previously, they entered the slave trade, purchasing illegally acquired slaves from pirate
Jean Lafitte and selling them in
St. Landry Parish. Once they had collected $65,000, the brothers opted out of the slave trade and began speculating in land.
[5]
Bowie knife
Apart from his sudden wealth, Bowie became known for his fiery temper. In 1826 Bowie challenged Norris Wright, the Rapides Parish sheriff and local banker, to a fight for refusing to make Bowie a loan. Bowie survived the fight by luck, as a bullet that Wright fired at him at point-blank range was deflected. To help ensure his safety, his older brother Rezin gave him a large knife to carry.
This now-legendary
Bowie knife had a huge blade that was nine and one-quarter inches long and one and one-half inches wide.
The following year Bowie gained regionwide recognition after he and his knife were involved in
a brawl near
Natchez, Mississippi, known as the
Sandbar Fight, where several people died and Bowie himself was wounded. The brawl was the result of an unsuccessful duel between Samuel Levi Wells III and Dr. Thomas Maddox, whose shots caused no damage. Following the duel an onlooker shot and hit another bystander and Bowie then shot and missed the original shooter. Looking to settle old scores, Norris Wright fired and hit Bowie in the lower chest. Bowie, ignoring the injury, was said to have chased Wright with his Bowie knife. During the skirmish, several people assaulted Bowie with their knives but Bowie, with his long blade, repelled the attacks and caused more damage. This fight cemented Bowie's reputation across the South as a superb knife-fighter, and soon men all over Texas were asking
blacksmiths to make knives for them that were like Bowie's.
Late 1820s
Bowie spent much of the late 1820s living in
New Orleans and concentrating on his land speculations in southern Louisiana. In 1829 Bowie became engaged to Cecilia Wells, but she died in
Alexandria on September 29, two weeks before their wedding.
With his brothers Rezin and Stephen he established a 1,800
acre (730nbsp;
ha) sugarcane plantation known as ''Arcadia'' near
Thibodaux, where they established the first steam-powered sugar mill in the state.
(Their father, Rezin, Sr., had been of a mechanical bent and had constructed and operated a number of mills to process lumber, corn, and sugar cane in Kentucky, Georgia, and Louisiana, and had trained his sons likewise.)
Texas
Establishing himself
On
January 1,
1830, Bowie and his friend Isaac Donoho left Thibodaux for
Texas. They are documented as having stopped at Nacogdoches, at Jared E. Groce's farm on the Brazos River, and in San Felipe, where Bowie presented a letter of introduction to
Stephen F. Austin from Thomas F. McKinney, one of the
Old Three Hundred colonists. On February 20th Bowie and his friend took the oath of allegiance to
Mexico and then proceeded to
San Antonio. There, Bowie continued to speculate in land, supplementing his income with gambling and often falling into debt.
By the end of 1830 Bowie had been baptized into the
Roman Catholic Church and became a
Mexican citizen. Because the terms of his citizenship stipulated that he would need to estabish textile mills in Coahuila, he arranged to purchase an existing mill. The following year, after grossly exaggerating his wealth (and misrepresenting his age), Bowie married Ursula Maria de Veramendi,
[6] daughter of the Governor of the province of Texas.
San Saba Mine
Shortly after his marriage Bowie became fascinated with the story of the "
lost" Los Almagres Mine, said to be west of San Antonio near the ruin of Santa Cruz de San Sabá Mission. He quickly obtained permission from the Mexican government to mount an expedition into Indian territory to search for the legendary silver mine. On November 2nd, with his brother Rezin and nine others, Bowie set our for San Saba. Six miles from their goal the group realized that they were being followed by a large Indian raiding party and stopped to negotiate. The attempts at parley failed, and Bowie and his group were forced to fight for their lives for the next thirteen hours. When the Indians finally retreated Bowie had reportedly lost only one man, while over forty Indians had been killed and thirty more wounded.
The group returned to San Antonio to recover and regroup. In January 1832 Bowie set out again with a larger force. After two and a half months of searching, the group returned home with nothing to show for their efforts.
Texas independence
Tension was beginning to rise between the Mexican officials and the mainly Anglo citizenry. In July 1832 Bowie, who was in Natchez, heard that the Mexican commader of Nacogdoches, Jose de las Piedras, had demanded that all residents in his area surrender their arms. Bowie returned to Texas and led three hundred armed men in a siege of the garrison at Nacogdoches. After a battle in which Piedras lost thirty-three men, the Mexican army evacuated during the night. Bowie and eighteen companions ambushed the fleeing army, and, after Piedras fled, marched the soldiers back to Nacogdoches.
The following
fall, while Bowie was suffering from
yellow fever in Natchez, his wife Ursula and their child (in addition to her parents), died during an outbreak of
cholera.
Afterward, Bowie reportedly
turned to the bottle.
Bowie returned to land speculation in Texas in 1834 after the Mexican government passed new laws allowing land sale in the state. He was appointed a land commissioner, tasked with promoting settlement in the area purchased by John T. Mason. His appointment ended in May 1835, when
Santa Anna abolished the Coahuila-Texas government and ordered the arrest of all Texans (including Bowie) doing business in Monclova. Bowie was forced to flee Mexico and return to the San Felipe-Nacogdoches area of Texas.
Santa Anna began preparing for war, sending large numbers of Mexican troops to Texas as the Anglos in Texas began agitating for war. Bowie worked with
William B. Travis, the leader of the War Party, to gain support for war, with Bowie even visiting several Indian villages in East Texas to try to convince the reluctant tribes to fight against Mexico.
Stephen F. Austin returned to Texas in September 1835 and was soon elected the commander of the volunteer army in Texas. Bowie joined the army with a small party of friends from Louisiana, and Austin quickly named him a colonel. On the orders of Austin and General
Sam Houston, who commanded the Texas regular army, Bowie and Captain
James W. Fannin scouted the area south of Bexar. On the 28th of October, a Mexican force consisting of three hundred cavalry and a hundred infantry attacked Bowie and his ninety-two horseman. At the end of the skirmish Bowie had lost only one man, while the Mexican army suffered sixteen fatalities and had sixteen men wounded.
Following the battle, Bowie tried several times to resign his commission, preferring to contribute to fights when needed but less interested in holding a formal command.
After a brief absence from the army he returned in late November and, accompanied by 40
cavalry, successfully took a train guarded by Mexican troops which carried food for the Mexican garrison livestock in a battle known as the
Grass Fight.
[8]
The Alamo
The Alamo, circa 1907
In January 1836, Bowie arrived in Bexar with a detachment of thirty men. Although his orders were to demolish the fortifications there, Bowie wrote to the Governor urging that the
Alamo be held as it was a strategic spot. Bowie and his men joined the seventy-nine men already at the Alamo, and were joined in the next few weeks by William Travis, with thirty men, and
Davy Crockett, with twelve additional men. After the Alamo's commander, Colonel
James C. Neill, left the mission, the men elected Bowie as their commander. He celebrated by getting drunk. After that spectacle, Bowie agreed to share responsibility with Travis.
The Mexican army, with 1,500 cavalrymen, arrived in Bexar in late February and demanded that the Texans surrender. Bowie refused, but collapsed on February 24, most likely from advanced
tuberculosis, and was confined to a cot in his quarters. He perished with the rest of the Alamo defenders on March 6th, when the Mexicans attacked.
Bexar mayor Francisco Ruiz identified his body, and
Santa Anna chose to personally observe his corpse to verify that he was dead.
Jim Bowie in popular culture
Film
★ ''
The Painted Stallion'' (1937) is a 1820s wagon train drama directed by
Alan James,
Ray Taylor, and
William Witney. Jim Bowie is played by
Wally Wales.
★ ''
Heroes of the Alamo'' (1937), directed by
Harry L. Fraser. Jim Bowie is played by
Roger Williams.
★ ''
Man of Conquest'' (1939), directed by
George Nichols, Jr.. A biographical drama of
Sam Houston. Jim Bowie is played by
Robert Armstrong.
★ ''
Comanche Territory'' (1950), directed by
George Sherman, features Jim Bowie (played by
MacDonald Carey).
★ ''
The Iron Mistress'' (1952), directed by
Gordon Douglas, depicts a New Orleans love affair between Jim Bowie (played by
Alan Ladd) and the fictional Judalon de Bornay (played by
Virginia Mayo).
★ Walt Disney's ''
Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier'' (1954), directed by
Norman Foster. Jim Bowie (played by
Kenneth Tobey) is a side-character.
★ ''
The Last Command'' (1955), an Alamo film directed by
Frank Lloyd. Jim Bowie is played by
Sterling Hayden.
★ ''
The First Texan'' (1956), directed by
Byron Haskin and set at the Alamo. Jim Bowie is played by
Jeff Morrow.
★ ''
The Alamo'' (1960), directed by
John Wayne, who also stars as
Davy Crockett. Jim Bowie is played by
Richard Widmark.
★ ''
Houston: The Legend of Texas'' (1986), a made-for-TV movie directed by
Peter Levin. Jim Bowie is played by
Michael Beck.
★ ''
The Alamo: Thirteen Days to Glory'' (1987), a made-for-TV movie directed by
Burt Kennedy. Jim Bowie is played by
James Arness.
★ ''
Texas'' (1994), a made-for-TV movie directed by
Richard Lang. Jim Bowie is played by
David Keith.
★ ''
Two for Texas'' (1998), directed by
Rod Hardy. A made-for-TV movie about two chain gang prisoners who escape and join
Sam Houston's army. Jim Bowie is played by
Peter Coyote.
★ ''
The Alamo'' (2004), yet another retelling of the Battle of the Alamo, this time a major motion picture produced by
Touchstone Pictures. Bowie is played by
Jason Patric.
Television
★ ''
The Adventures of Jim Bowie'' (1956-1958), set in 1830s Louisiana Territory. Jim Bowie is played by
Scott Forbes.
★ The scifi series ''
The Time Tunnel'' featured Jim Bowie in an episode entitled
"The Alamo" (1966). Jim Bowie is played by
Jim Davis.
★ The children's scifi series ''
Into the Labrynth'' featured Jim Bowie in an episode entitled
"Alamo" (1981). Jim Bowie is played by
Norman Bowler.
★ The PBS anthology series ''
American Playhouse'' featured Jim Bowie in an episode entitled
"Seguin" (1982). Jim Bowie is played by
Tex Hill.
★ The
Steven Spielberg series ''
Amazing Stories'' featured Jim Bowie in an episode entitled
"Alamo Jobe" (1985). Jim Bowie is played by
Jon Van Ness.
Literature
★ ''
Bowie: A Novel'' (2000), by
Randy Lee Eickhoff and
Leonard C. Lewis.
★ ''
Red Ripper'' (2000), by
Kerry Newcomb.
★ ''
Deep in the Heart'' (2003), by
Gilbert Morris.
★ ''
The Crystal City'' (2003), by
Orson Scott Card.
★ ''The Iron Mistress (1951)'' by Paul I. Wellman. Doubleday & Garden Company, Inc. (Out of print).
Music
David Robert Jones, an aspiring rock star in the 1960s, feared his name was too similar to
Davy Jones, a member of already famous
The Monkees. David Jones chose to use the stage name "Bowie" after Jim Bowie, and subsequently became
David Bowie.
Punk Rock band
The Dickies wrote a song about Bowie called ''Jim Bowie''.
Bowie is often mentioned in Alamo based country songs, including "The Ballad of the Alamo" by
Marty Robbins(which has also been covered by Texas country arists
Brian Burns and
K.R. Woods), "The Sons of San Antone" by
Michael Shane Borden, and multiple tracks from K.R. Wood's ''Fathers of Texas'' album.
References
1. Bowie
2. Handbook of Texas, retrieved on 2006-12-26; the birthplace described corresponds to
3. Kentucky Historical Society, retrieved on 2006-12-26
4. Handbook of Texas, retrieved on 2006-12-26
5. History of the North Mexican States, , Joseph Joshua, Peatfield, A.L. Bancroft and Company, ,
6. Handbook of Texas, retrieved on 2007-2-23
7. Texas: The Rise, Progress, and Prospects of the Republic of Texas, , William, Kennedy, R. Hastings, ,
8. The Grass Fight
Further reading
★ Edmondson, J.R.; ''The Alamo Story-From History to Current Conflicts''; Republic of Texas Press;
ISBN 1-55622-678-0
★ Hopewell, Clifford; ''James Bowie-Texas Fighting Man''; Eakin Press;
ISBN 0-89015-881-9
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