58 Facts About James Bowie

James Bowie was an American military officer, landowner and slave trader who played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution.

James Bowie was among the Americans who died at the Battle of the Alamo.

James Bowie spent most of his life in Louisiana, where he was raised and where he later worked as a land speculator.

James Bowie's rise to fame began in 1827 on reports of the Sandbar Fight near present-day Vidalia, Louisiana.

James Bowie led an expedition to find the lost San Saba mine, during which his small party repelled an attack by a large Native American raiding party.

At the outbreak of the Texas Revolution, James Bowie joined the Texas militia, leading forces at the Battle of Concepcion and the Grass Fight.

James Bowie died on March 6,1836, with the other Alamo defenders.

James Bowie was the ninth of ten children born to Reason and Elve Ap-Catesby James Bowie.

James Bowie's father was wounded while fighting in the American Revolutionary War, and in 1782 he married Elve, the young woman who nursed him back to health.

James Bowie became proficient with pistol, rifle, and knife, and had a reputation for fearlessness.

The James Bowie brothers arrived in New Orleans too late to participate in the fighting.

James Bowie supported himself by sawing planks and lumber, and floating them down the bayou for sale.

The extent of James Bowie's participation is unclear, but he returned to Louisiana before the invasion was repelled by Spanish troops.

James Bowie made three trips to Lafitte's compound on Galveston Island.

James Bowie became internationally famous as a result of a feud with Norris Wright, the sheriff of Rapides Parish.

James Bowie had supported Wright's opponent in the race for sheriff, and Wright, a bank director, had been instrumental in turning down a James Bowie loan application.

James Bowie supported duelist Samuel Levi Wells III, while Wright supported Wells's opponent, Dr Thomas Harris Maddox.

James Bowie was shot in the hip, and, after regaining his feet, he drew a knife, described as a butcher knife, and charged his attacker.

Wright shot at and missed the prone James Bowie, who returned fire and possibly hit Wright.

Newspapers picked up the story and named it the Sandbar Fight, describing in detail James Bowie's fighting prowess and his unusual knife.

Scholars disagree as to whether the knife James Bowie used in this fight was the same design as the blade, now known as a James Bowie knife, fabricated by a knifemaker in Arkansas who created another renowned large blade known as the Arkansas toothpick.

Some claim that James Bowie designed it, while others attribute the design to noted knife makers of the time.

However, Rezin James Bowie's grandchildren said that Rezin only supervised his blacksmith, who was the designer of the knife.

The design of the knife continued to evolve, but a James Bowie knife is generally considered to have a blade 8.25 inches long and 1.25 inches wide, with a curved point, a "sharp false edge cut from both sides", and a cross-guard to protect the user's hands.

In 1828, after recovering from the wounds he received in the Sandbar Fight, James Bowie decided to move to Coahuila y Texas, at that time a state in the Mexican federation.

James Bowie was baptized into the Roman Catholic faith in San Antonio on April 28,1828, sponsored by the alcalde of the town, Juan Martin de Veramendi, and his wife, Josefa Navarro.

On January 1,1830, James Bowie left Louisiana to live in Texas, permanently.

James Bowie stopped at Nacogdoches, at Jared E Groce's farm on the Brazos River, and in San Felipe, where he presented a letter of introduction from Thomas F McKinney, one of the Old Three Hundred colonists, to Stephen F Austin.

James Bowie was elected a commander of the Texas Rangers later that year, with the rank of colonel.

James Bowie renounced his American citizenship and became a Mexican citizen on September 30,1830, after promising to establish textile mills in the state of Coahuila y Tejas.

At the time, James Bowie claimed to have a net worth of $223,000, mostly in land of questionable title.

James Bowie lied about his age, claiming to be 30 rather than 35.

Shortly after his marriage, James Bowie became fascinated with the story of the "lost" Los Almagres Mine, said to be northwest of San Antonio, near the ruin of the Spanish Mission Santa Cruz de San Saba.

James Bowie set out again the following month, with a larger force, but returned home empty-handed after.

James Bowie never talked about his exploits, despite his increasing fame.

Lacey, who spent eight months living in the wilderness with James Bowie, described him as a humble man who never used profanity or vulgarities.

In July 1832, after hearing that the Mexican army commander in Nacogdoches, Jose de las Piedras, had demanded that all residents in his area surrender their arms, James Bowie cut short a visit to Natchez to return to Texas.

James Bowie later served as a delegate to the Convention of 1833, which formally requested that Texas become its own state within the Mexican federation.

James Bowie was appointed a land commissioner and was tasked with promoting settlement in the area purchased by John T Mason.

James Bowie's appointment ended in May 1835, when President Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna abolished the Coahuila y Tejas government and ordered the arrest of all Texans doing business in Monclova.

James Bowie was forced to flee Monclova and return to the Anglo areas of Texas.

The Anglos in Texas began agitating for war against Santa Anna, and Bowie worked with William B Travis, the leader of the War Party, to gain support.

James Bowie visited several Native American villages in East Texas in an attempt to persuade the reluctant tribes to fight against the Mexican government.

At some point, James Bowie appeared before the council and spoke for an hour, asking for a commission.

Shortly after James Bowie left San Antonio, Ben Milam led an assault on the city.

In early January 1836, James Bowie went to San Felipe and asked the council to allow him to recruit a regiment.

James Bowie was older than Travis, had a better reputation and considered himself a colonel, thus outranking Travis, who was a lieutenant colonel.

James Bowie refused to answer to Travis, who called an election for the men to choose their own commander.

James Bowie celebrated his appointment by getting very drunk and causing havoc in San Antonio, releasing all prisoners in the local jails and harassing citizens.

James Bowie hurried to gather provisions and herd cattle into the Alamo compound.

James Bowie brought several black servants, some of whom worked at the Veramendi Palace, into the security of the Alamo fortress.

Travis became the sole commander of the forces when James Bowie was confined to bed.

The soldier maintained that James Bowie castigated a Mexican officer in fluent Spanish, and the officer ordered James Bowie's tongue cut out and his still-breathing body thrown onto the funeral pyre.

James Bowie placed these in a coffin inscribed with the names of Bowie, Travis, and Crockett.

Jim James Bowie was inducted posthumously into the Blade Magazine Cutlery Hall of Fame at the 1988 Blade Show in Atlanta, Georgia, in recognition of the impact that his eponymous design had upon generations of knife makers and cutlery companies.

From 1956 to 1958, James Bowie was the subject of a CBS television series, The Adventures of Jim James Bowie, which was primarily set in 1830s Louisiana, although later episodes ventured into the Mexican province of Texas.

Rock star David James Bowie, who was born David Robert Jones, adopted the folk legend's surname.

James Bowie chose the Bowie eponym because he admired James Bowie and the Bowie knife, although his pronunciation uses the -ee variant.