James Butler Hickock (1837–1876)

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James Butler Hickok (May 27, 1837 – August 2, 1876), better known as Wild Bill Hickok, was a legendary figure in the American Wild West. He is perhaps the best known figure from that era. After fighting in the union army during the civil war, he became a legendary army scout, and later, lawman and gunfighter. This image is in the public domain in the United States and possibly other jurisdictions. ... This image is in the public domain in the United States and possibly other jurisdictions. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (480x640, 175 KB) Summary Grave of Wild Bill Hickok. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (480x640, 175 KB) Summary Grave of Wild Bill Hickok. ... May 27 is the 147th day (148th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 218 days remaining. ... | Queen Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom (1837 - 1901) 1837 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... August 2 is the 214th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (215th in leap years), with 151 days remaining. ... 1876 (MDCCCLXXVI) is a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Great Basin region, typical American West The Western United States has played a significant role in history and fiction. ... Lawman was a western television series telecast from 1958 to 1962 that featured John Russell as Marshal Dan Troop. ... Categories: Stock characters | Stub ...

Hickok was born in Troy Grove, Illinois on May 27, 1837. He left his father's farm in 1855 to be a stage coach driver on the Santa Fe and Oregon Trails. His gunfighting skills led to his nickname. Troy Grove is a village located in La Salle County, Illinois. ... Official language(s) English Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Area  Ranked 25th  - Total 57,918 sq mi (149,998 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 390 miles (629 km)  - % water 4. ... May 27 is the 147th day (148th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 218 days remaining. ... | Queen Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom (1837 - 1901) 1837 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1855 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... A stagecoach is a type of four-wheeled enclosed passenger and/or mail coach, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, widely used before the introduction of railway transport. ... The Santa Fe Trail was a historic 19th century transportation route across southwestern North America connecting Missouri with Santa Fe, New Mexico. ... The Ox Team or the Old Oregon Trail 1852-1906 by Ezra Meeker. ... A firearm is a kinetic energy weapon that fires either a single or multiple projectiles propelled at high velocity by the gases produced by action of the rapid confined burning of a propellant. ...

Early Years as a Lawman

In 1857, he claimed a 160 acre (exactly 1/4 mi²=about 0.65 km²) tract of land in Johnson County, Kansas (in what is now the city of Lenexa) where he became the first constable of Monticello Township, Kansas [1]. 1857 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Johnson County (standard abbreviation: JO) is a county located in the state of Kansas. ... Official language(s) English Capital Topeka Largest city Wichita Area  Ranked 15th  - Total 82,277 sq. ... Lenexa is a city located in Johnson County, Kansas and a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. ... In northwest Johnson County, Kansas, Monticello Township is now merged with Shawnee, Kansas. ...

In 1861, he became a town constable in Nebraska. He became well-known for single-handedly capturing the McCanles gang at Rock Creek Station through the use of force. On several other occasions, Hickok confronted and killed several men while fighting alone. 1861 is a common year starting on Tuesday. ... A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. ... Official language(s) English Capital Lincoln Largest city Omaha Area  Ranked 16th  - Total 77,421 sq. ... The McCanles were known as an outlaw gang in the early 1860s that was wanted for alleged train robbery, murder, bank robbery, cattle rustling, and horse theft. ... Rock Creek Station was a stagecoach and Pony Express station in southeastern Nebraska, near the present-day village of Endicott. ...

Civil War and Scouting

After the American Civil War, during which he served for the union, Hickok became an Army scout and a professional gambler, and served as a United States Marshal. In 1867, his fame increased from an interview by Henry Morton Stanley. Hickok's killing of Whistler the Peacemaker with a long-range rifle shot had influence in preventing the Sioux from uniting to resist the settler incursions into the Black Hills. That rifle shot, supposedly downhill, during a windy day, at over a reported 750 yards, helped cement Hickok's legend as a master of all weapons. Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America (Confederate) Commanders Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties Killed in action: 110,000 Total dead: 360,000 Wounded: 275,200 Killed in action: 93,000 Total dead: 258... The United States Marshals Service, part of the United States Department of Justice, is the United States oldest federal law enforcement agency. ... 1867 (MDCCCLXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Sir Henry Morton Stanley (also known as Bula Matari (Breaker of Rocks) in Congo), born John Rowlands (January 28, 1841 – May 10, 1904), was a 19th-century Welsh-born American journalist and explorer famous for his exploration of Africa and his search for David Livingstone. ... This article is about the place in South Dakota. ...

Later Career as a Lawman/Gunfighter

His famous statement to Phil Coe, who supposedly stated he could "kill a crow on the wing," (flying) is one of the Old West's most famous sayings, and showed that Hickok was certainly a cool customer in a fight. He answered Coe by sneering, "Did the crow have a pistol? Was he shooting back? I will be." Hickok later killed Coe.^[1] Whether or not Coe had actually made the crow brag, and Hickok answered as reported, it certainly personified the reputation Wild Bill accrued.

On July 21, 1865, in the town square of Springfield, Missouri, Hickok killed Davis K. Tutt, Jr. during an incident which is considered by some historians to have been the first "Wild West" gunfight. The incident was precipitated by a dispute over a gambling debt incurred at a local saloon. July 21 is the 202nd day (203rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 163 days remaining. ... 1865 (MDCCCLXV) is a common year starting on Sunday. ... Springfield is the third largest city in Missouri. ... Official language(s) None Capital Jefferson City Largest city Kansas City Largest metro area St. ...

While Sheriff/City Marshal of Hays, Kansas on July 17, 1870, he was involved in a gunfight with disorderly soldiers of the 7th US Cavalry wounding one and mortally wounding another. In 1871, Hickok became marshal of Abilene, Kansas. His encounter there, with John Wesley Hardin, resulted in the latter fleeing the town after Wild Bill managed to disarm him. Hays is a city located in Ellis County, Kansas, near the intersection of Interstate 70 and U.S. Highway 183. ... 7th Cavalry Regiment Coat of Arms 7th Cavalry Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia The 7th United States Cavalry Regiment is a United States Army cavalry regiment, whose lineage traces back to the mid-19th century. ... 1871 (MDCCCLXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Abilene is a city located in Dickinson County, Kansas, United States, 163 miles (262 km) west of Kansas City. ... John Wesley Hardin. ...

On Oct 5, 1871 Hickok was standing off a crowd during a street brawl, and caught the movement of someone running toward him. He quickly fired one shot in reaction, accidentally shooting and killing Abilene Special Deputy Marshall Mike Williams, who was coming to his aid, an event that would haunt him for the remainder of his life. [2]

In 1873–1874, Hickok joined Buffalo Bill Cody and Texas Jack Omohundro in a touring stage play titled Scouts of the Plains, the forerunner to Cody's Wild West shows. There, he befriended 'Calamity Jane' (Martha Jane Cannary-Burke), who was later to claim a romantic relationship, which appears dubious as Hickok was newly married and greatly enamored of his wife. He was fired from the show due to drunkenness. The two were to meet again in Charlie Utter's 1876 wagon train from Colorado to Deadwood, South Dakota, where the three of them remained close friends. 1873 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calaber). ... 1874 (MDCCCLXXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Buffalo Bill Cody Buffalo Bill (February 26, 1846 – January 10, 1917) was an American soldier, buffalo hunter and showman. ... Texas Jack (July 26, 1846 - June 28, 1880), born John Baker Omohundro, was a frontier scout, actor, and cowboy. ... Calamity Jane at the age of 33. ... Charlie Utter (born near Niagara Falls, New York, 1838 - death unknown) was an early figure in the American Wild West, best known as a great friend and companion of Wild Bill Hickok. ... 1876 (MDCCCLXXVI) is a leap year starting on Saturday. ... A wagon train is a long chain of wagons, each moving together and forming a line. ... A photograph of Deadwood in 1876. ... Official language(s) English Capital Pierre Largest city Sioux Falls Area  Ranked 17th  - Total 77,163 sq mi (199,905 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 380 miles (610 km)  - % water 1. ...

It is difficult to separate the truth from fiction about Hickok, the first "dime novel" hero of the western era. Hickok himself told the writers with great seriousness that he had killed over 100 men. While this number is doubtful, there is no doubt that Hickok was a fearless and deadly fighting man, equally at home with a rifle, revolver, or knife. His story of fighting a grizzly bear, which he claims mistook him for food due to his greasy buckskins, personified a man who feared nothing alive, and after emptying his pistols into the bear, killed it with a bowie knife.

Hickok invented the concept of "posting" men out of town. He would put a list on what was called the "dead man's tree" (men had been lynched on it) while constable of Monticello Township. If they were not gone by sundown of that day, Hickok proclaimed he would shoot them on sight the following day. Few stayed around to find out if he was serious.

Death

On August 2, 1876, while playing poker at Nuttal & Mann's "Saloon No. 10" in Deadwood (then part of the Dakota Territory but on Indian land), Hickok could not find an empty seat in the corner, where he always sat in order to protect himself against sneak attacks from behind, and instead sat with his back to the door; unfortunately, his previous caution proved wise, as he was shot in the back of the head with a double-action .45 caliber revolver by Jack McCall. The motive for the killing is still debated. (McCall may have been paid for the deed, it may have just been the result of a recent dispute, or McCall may, in a drunken rage, have become enraged over what he perceived as a condescending offer from Hickok to let him have enough money for breakfast after he had lost all his money playing poker the previous day.) McCall claimed at the resulting two-hour trial by a motley group of assembled miners and businessmen that he was avenging Hickok's earlier slaying of his brother and was acquitted, resulting in the Black Hills Pioneer editorializing: August 2 is the 214th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (215th in leap years), with 151 days remaining. ... 1876 (MDCCCLXXVI) is a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Poker Room at the Trump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City, New Jersey Poker is a card game, the most popular of a class of games called vying games, in which players with fully or partially concealed cards make wagers into a central pot, which is awarded to the player or players... Nuttal & Manns was a saloon located in Deadwood, South Dakota, and the deathplace of Wild Bill Hickok. ... Dakota Territory was the name of the northernmost part of the Louisiana Purchase of the United States. ... A US Army 45 Colt. ... The word calibre (British English) or caliber (American English) designates the interior diameter of a tube or the exterior diameter of a wire or rod. ... The Colt Single Action Army, one of the most popular revolvers of all time A revolver is a multishot firearm, usually a handgun, in which the rounds are held in a revolving cylinder that rotates to fire them through a single barrel. ... Jack McCall (also known as Crooked Nose Jack) (born in the early 1850s in Jefferson County, Kentucky - died March 1, 1877 in Yankton, South Dakota) is the man who gained notoriety as a coward and a drunkard by shooting James Wild Bill Hickok in the back, to the point where... The Black Hills Pioneer, published by A. W. Merrick along with W. A. Laughlin, was the first newspaper in Deadwood, South Dakota. ...

"Should it ever be our misfortune to kill a man ... we would simply ask that our trial may take place in some of the mining camps of these hills."

McCall was subsequently rearrested after bragging about his deed, and a new trial was held. The authorities did not consider this to be double jeopardy because Deadwood at the time was an illegal city due to several laws that made it illegal to settle on Indian land, although many people did anyway. The new trial was held in American territory, in Yankton, South Dakota. Hickok's brother, Lorenzo Butler Hickok, traveled from Illinois to attend the retrial. This time McCall was found guilty and hanged. After his execution it was determined that McCall had never even had a brother. The saloon proprietor claimed that, at the time of his death, Hickok held a pair of aces and a pair of eights, with all cards black, and this has since been called a "dead man's hand". Double jeopardy (also called autrefois acquit meaning already acquitted) is a procedural defense (and, in many countries such as the United States, Canada and India, a constitutional right) that forbids a defendant from being tried a second time for a crime, after having already been tried for the same crime. ... Yankton is a city in Yankton County, South Dakota, USA. The population was 13,528 at the 2000 census. ... The dead mans hand, aces over eights. ...

Utter claimed the body, and placed a notice in the local newspaper, the Black Hills Pioneer, which read: The Black Hills Pioneer, published by A. W. Merrick along with W. A. Laughlin, was the first newspaper in Deadwood, South Dakota. ...

"Died in Deadwood, Black Hills, August 2, 1876, from the effects of a pistol shot, J. B. Hickok (Wild Bill) formerly of Cheyenne, Wyoming. Funeral services will be held at Charlie Utter's Camp, on Thursday afternoon, August 3, 1876, at 3 o'clock, P. M. All are respectfully invited to attend."

Almost the entire town attended the funeral, and Utter had Hickok buried with a wooden grave marker reading: Motto: Nickname: Map Political Statistics Founded 1867 Incorporated Laramie County Mayor Jack R. Spiker Geographic Statistics Area  - Total  - Land  - Water 57. ... Official language(s) English Capital Cheyenne Largest city Cheyenne Area  Ranked 11th  - Total 97,818 sq mi (253,348 km²)  - Width 280 miles (450 km)  - Length 360 miles (580 km)  - % water 0. ...

"Wild Bill, J. B. Hickok killed by the assassin Jack McCall in Deadwood, Black Hills, August 2d, 1876. Pard, we will meet again in the happy hunting ground to part no more. Good bye, Colorado Charlie, C. H. Utter."

At the urging of Calamity Jane, Utter in 1879 had Hickok reinterred in a ten foot square plot at the Mount Moriah Cemetery, surrounded by a cast-iron fence with an American flag flying nearby. A monument has since been built there. In accordance with her dying wish, Calamity Jane was buried next to him. Calamity Jane at the age of 33. ... 1879 (MDCCCLXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Mount Moriah Cemetery on Mount Moriah in Deadwood, South Dakota is the burial place of Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane and Seth Bullock, and other notable figures of the Wild West. ...

Shortly before Hickok's death, he wrote a letter to his new wife, which in retrospect seems eerily prescient:

"Agnes Darling, if such should be we never meet again, while firing my last shot, I will gently breathe the name of my wife - Agnes - and with wishes even for my enemies I will make the plunge and try to swim to the other shore".

A week before Hickok's death he wrote a letter to his wife, Agnes, containing: "My dearly beloved if I am to die today and never see the sweet face of you I want you to know that I am no great man and am lucky to have such a woman as you."

Trivia

• The last days of Hickok's life are a subject of the Deadwood TV series, in which he is portrayed by Keith Carradine. He also appeared as a character in the Dustin Hoffman movie Little Big Man. He also was a model for Rooster Cogburn in "True Grit", and appears in Richard Matheson's novel The Memoirs of Wild Bill Hickock.
• Hickok was featured in the 1995 series "Legend", episode 1.06 The Life, Death and Life of Wild Bill Hickok. The episode portrays his death factually, but then goes on to show that he faked his own death (wearing a sort of bullet-proof vest), so that he could retire peacefully.
• Hickok was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 1979.
• Hickok's supposed death chair is now in a glass case above the saloon entrance, though the saloon itself was moved after the original 10 burned down; the original site is down the street to the north, about a block away.
• Hickok was a Roman Catholic.
• Hickok was left-handed.
• Hickok is portrayed by Jeff Bridges in the 1995 movie Wild Bill.
• Gary Cooper plays Wild Bill in the 1936 film The Plainsman, featuring Jean Arthur as Calamity Jane and directed by Cecil B. DeMille.

Deadwood is a weekly American television drama that premiered in March 2004 on HBO. The series is a Western set in the 1870s in Deadwood, Dakota Territory. ... Keith Carradine Keith Carradine (born August 8, 1949, in San Mateo, California) is an Academy Award-winning actor born into a family of actors. ... This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ... Little Big Man is a book and later, a movie in 1970. ... Richard Matheson Richard Burton Matheson (born February 20, 1926, Allendale, New Jersey) is an American author and screenwriter, typically of fantasy, horror or science fiction. ... The Poker Hall of Fame is a group of poker players who have played poker well against top competition for high stakes over a long period of time. ... This page refers to the year 1979. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... People who are left-handed are more dextrous with their left hand than with their right hand: they will probably also use their left hand for tasks such as personal care, cooking, and so on. ... Jeff as The Dude in The Big Lebowski. ... Gary Cooper and Eleanor Roosevelt, in 1950 Gary Cooper (May 7, 1901 – May 13, 1961) was a two-time Oscar-winning American film actor of British heritage, whose career spanned from the 1920s up until the year of his death. ... The Plainsman is a 1936 Western movie directed by Cecil B. DeMille that presents a highly fictionalized account of the relationship between Wild Bill Hickok (Gary Cooper) and Calamity Jane (Jean Arthur), with a villainous Charles Bickford inciting the Indians to battle. ... Jean Arthur Jean Arthur (October 17, 1900 – June 19, 1991) was an American actress. ... Calamity Jane at the age of 33. ... Cecil Blount DeMille (August 12, 1881 – January 21, 1959) was one of the most successful filmmakers during the first half of the 20th century. ...

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Wild Bill Hickok

• The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok
• Deadwood, South Dakota

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... Wikimedia Commons logo by Reid Beels The Wikimedia Commons (also called Commons or Wikicommons) is a repository of free content images, sound and other multimedia files. ... The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok was a television series which ran from 1951 through 1958. ... A photograph of Deadwood in 1876. ...

References

General References

• Joseph G. Rosa Wild Bill Hickok Gunfighter: An Account of Hickok's Gunfights
• Thadd Turner Wild Bill Hickok, Deadwood City - End of Trail

Specific Footnotes

1. ^ Spartacus Educational, http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAthompsonB.htm

External links

• Profile by Don Collier