"[27], While in Springfield, Hickok and a local gambler named Davis Tutt had several disagreements over unpaid gambling debts and their common affection for the same women. At the coroner's inquest into Strawhun's death, despite "very contradictory" evidence from witnesses, the jury found the shooting justifiable. Only station employees were allowed to testify at the trial (testimony by McCanless son was barred), and the verdict was that the men had acted in self-defense. Following his Civil War service, Wild Bill Hickok moved to Kansas where he was appointed sheriff in Hays City and marshal of Abilene. Brink, were tried for killing McCanles, but were found to have acted in self-defense. He drove freight wagons and coaches. When Jane arrived in Deadwood, South Dakota in 1895, she told others that she needed money to enrol Jessie in a convent school at Sturgis. Before and during Hickok's lifetime (1837-1876), the most readily available firearms were cap-and-ball, or percussion. Hickoks family emigrated from England in 1635 to Massachusetts, where his great-grandfather responded to the British march on Lexington and Concord at the beginning of the American Revolution. [6][35] Witnesses confirm that while working as a scout at Fort Harker, Kansas, on May 11, 1867, Hickok was attacked by a large group of Indians, who fled after he shot and killed two. Paramount Pictures' Western silent film Wild Bill Hickok (released on November 18, 1923) was directed by Clifford Smith and stars William S. Hart as Hickok. That belief came from the fertile imaginations of othersespecially Jean McCormick, who claimed to be the daughter of the legendary pair. At the [second] trial it was suggested that [McCall] was hired to do his work by gamblers who feared the time when better citizens should appoint Bill the champion of law and order a post which he formerly sustained in Kansas border life, with credit to his manhood and his courage. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Though no solid record exists, he is believed to have served as a Union spy in the Confederate Army before his discharge in 1865. [20], On July 12, 1861, David McCanles went to the Rock Creek Station office to demand an overdue property payment from Horace Wellman, the station manager. Macintosh of irregularities and misconduct during the election. ", Hermon, Gregory (1987). It was written by Michael Lanahan and directed by Timothy Woodward Jr. During this period Hickok prevented a man from beating an 11-year-old boy, who grew up to become Buffalo Bill Cody, Hickoks longtime friend. I heard him speak recently, and his is the definitive work on this wild woman of the West. Visit our corporate site. [i][68], Jack McCall was hanged on March 1, 1877, and buried in a Roman Catholic cemetery. There are many versions of the shootout that occurred at Rock Creek on July 12, 1861, shortly after the start of the Civil War, and all, in one way or another, contributed to Hickoks legend. Standing some 50 yards away from his subject, Hickok "without sighting his pistol and with his eye" rang off six shots, each of them hitting the direct center of the letter. In 1857, Hickok claimed a 160-acre (65ha) tract in Johnson County, Kansas, near present-day Lenexa. Around this time, young James Hickok began using his father's name of William - the 'Wild' part came later - and he also met Buffalo Bill Cody, then just a messenger boy on a wagon train. [j] Utter supervised the move and noted that, while perfectly preserved, Hickok had been imperfectly embalmed. [28] Strawhun "made remarks against Hickok", and Hickok killed him with a shot through the head. [3] [4] James was the fourth of six children. James Butler Hickok (May 27, 1837 - August 2, 1876), also known as "Wild Bill" Hickok was a legendary figure in the old west. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wild-Bill-Hickok, Spartacus Educational - Biography of Wild Bill Hickok, Wild Bill Hickok - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). . On July 21, 1865, frontier legend Wild Bill Hickok gunned down gambler Davis Tutt in what is often called the first "Wild West" showdown. (If said child had actually existed, he or she was said to . What was the relationship between Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane? Horace Hickok was born in October of 1834. Nicholss version of the shootout in Harpers grabbed the publics attention, making Hickok an instant legend whose gunfighting prowess became fodder for dime novels. Deadwood was overrun with miners, gunmen, and gamblers when Hickok became a peace officer there in July 1876, relying as much on his reputation as on his diminishing gun skills, which were compromised by failing eyesight. In any case, Hardin appeared to have thought highly of Hickok. In 1855, at the age of 18, he left to become a part of thegrowing American West. Although the show brought Hickok some much-needed income, he was unhappy, began drinking heavily, and returned to the West in March 1874. ", "James Butler Hickok May 27 1837 - August 2 1876 Better known as "Wild Bill" Hickok", "James Butler 'Wild Bill' Hickok, Early Deadwood", "Nebraska Legends: Rock Creek Station and the McCanles Massacre", "Chronology on Life of James Butler HICKOK, Wild Bill Hickok, Old West Kansas", "Rock Creek Station State Historical Park", "Legal Culture, Wild Bill Hickok and the Gunslinger Myth", "Myths and Realities of Frontier Violence: A Look at the Gunfighter Saga", "Frontier Hero - Reminiscences of Wild Bill Hickok by his old Friend Buffalo Bill", "The State Journal (Jefferson City, Mo. Updates? In 1869 Hickok became sheriff of Hays City, Kansas, where he killed several men in shootouts. Outlaw John Wesley Hardin arrived in Abilene at the end of a cattle drive in early 1871. [21][22] Hickok, Wellman, and another employee, J.W. Wild Bill Hickok was born on May 27, 1837 in Troy Grove, Illinois. The wagon train arrived in Deadwood in July 1876. [44] In his 1895 autobiography, published after his death, Hardin claimed to have been befriended by Hickok, the newly elected town marshal, after he had disarmed the marshal using the road agent's spin, but Hardin was known to exaggerate. Four of the men on the self-appointed committee who planned Calamity's funeral (Albert Malter, Frank Ankeney, Jim Carson, and Anson Higby) later stated that, since Hickok had "absolutely no use" for Jane in this life, they decided to play a posthumous joke on him by laying her to rest by his side. His reputation as a gunfighter gave rise to legends and tales about his life. Hickok managed to fire another shot, wounding the bear's paw. Less than a month after Hickok's death, the trial was found to have no legal status because Deadwood was located in Indian Territory - McCall's acquittal was deemed invalid. [77][78] A print of the film is maintained in the Museum of Modern Art film archive.[79]. Drawn to this ruffian lifestyle, he headed west at age 18 as a fugitive from justice, working as a stagecoach driver and later as a lawman in the frontier territories of Kansas and Nebraska. Wild Bill Hickok is remembered for his services in Kansas as sheriff of Hays City and marshal of Abilene, where his ironhanded rule helped to tame two of the most lawless towns on the frontier. It was here that he supposedly became romantically linked to Martha Jane Canary, also known as "Calamity Jane," but most historians discount any such amorous relationship between the two. Were Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane married, and did they have a daughter? ", Rosa, Joseph G. (1984). He is said to have wrestled a bear In 1866 Hickok helped guide Gen. William T. Shermans tour of the West, and in 186768 he scouted for Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock and Lieut. Bath The way Wild Bill conducted himself in his later years was a direct correlation for what he did when he was a young boy. Astrological Sign: Gemini, Death Year: 1876, Death date: August 2, 1876, Death State: South Dakota, Death City: Deadwood, Death Country: United States, Article Title: Wild Bill Hickok Biography, Author: Biography.com Editors, Website Name: The Biography.com website, Url: https://www.biography.com/personality/wild-bill-hickok, Publisher: A&E Television Networks, Last Updated: July 28, 2020, Original Published Date: April 2, 2014. In reality, Janes first verified child was born in November 1882 when she was living with rancher Frank King near Miles City, Montana. Then in 1996, a second daughter was revealed. By the end of 1861, he was a wagon master, but in September 1862, he was discharged for unknown reasons. Hickok was bedridden for months before he went to southern Nebraska in the summer of 1861 to work at the Pony Express station at Rock Creek. In another account of the Coe shootout: Theophilus Little, the mayor of Abilene and owner of the town's lumber yard, recorded his time in Abilene by writing in a notebook, which was ultimately given to the Abilene Historical Society. Mulvey angrily declared that he had come to town to kill Hickok. Relegated to making a living through other means than law enforcement, he traveled from one town to another as a gambler. McCall tried to . James Butler Hickok was born in Troy Grove, Illinois, on May 27, 1837, to William Alonzo Hickok and Polly Butler Hickok. Not wasting a second, he quietly drew his revolver and shot Hickok in the back of the head, instantly killing him. During Wild Bill Hickok 's life he was many things such as, an actor, gambler, lawman, and a marksman specialists. [51], Hickok was relieved of his duties as marshal less than two months after the accidental shooting, this incident being only one of a series of questionable shootings and claims of misconduct during his career. Jack McCall. Two 7th Cavalry troopers jump, Most people have heard of Calamity Jane, once promoted as The Famous Woman Scout of. In the episode Dillon and Hickok are old friends. His own show, The Daring Buffalo Chase of the Plains, did not fare well, but in 1873 he joined Buffalo Bill Codys The Scouts of the Prairie, which was based in Rochester, New York. Hickok has remained one of the most popular and iconic figures of the American Old West, and is still frequently depicted in popular culture, including literature, film, and television. But thirty years had passed when she began making inquiries about Jane, whom she thought was her grandmother. 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