This was the last time Hickok was ever involved in a gunfight; the accidental death of Deputy Williams was an event that haunted Hickok for the remainder of his life. ", This page was last edited on 27 February 2023, at 18:12. One of the workers, Joseph McLintock, wrote a detailed description of the reinterment. [5] William Hickok died in 1852, when James was 15. He was found not guilty by a miners court after telling judges that Hickok killed his brother, though later accounts showed McCall had no brothers. A legend during his life and considered one of the American west's premier gunfighters James Butler (Wild Bill) Hickok was born May 27, 1837, in Troy . Quay House, The Ambury, The bullet emerged through his right cheek and struck another player, riverboat Captain William Massie, in the left wrist. Some contemporaneous reports of his exploits are known to be fictitious, but they remain the basis of much of his fame and reputation. [1][2], James Butler Hickok was born May 27, 1837, in Homer, Illinois, (present-day Troy Grove, Illinois) to William Alonzo Hickok, a farmer and abolitionist, and his wife, Polly Butler. A second son, named Lorenzo Butler Hickok, was born in October of 1831 but died soon thereafter. Alonzo and Polly Hickok moved to Illinois in 1833, finally settling in Troy Grove (known as Homer at the time), LaSalle County, along the banks of the Little Vermillion Creek. "[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. A former cavalryman, J.W. [28] Strawhun "made remarks against Hickok", and Hickok killed him with a shot through the head. Duck Bill and Shanghai Bill The son of William Alonzo and Polly Butler Hickok, he was by all accounts a master marksman from an early age. Hickok ordered him to be arrested for firing a pistol within the city limits. The couple had five children besides James Butler , three boys and two girls. Hickok was killed August 2, 1876, at the age of 39, and Calamity Jane died of illness on August 1, 1903, at age 51; both died in South Dakota.. During his life, Hickok was a soldier, scout, stagecoach driver, lawman, gunfighter, showman, marksman, gambler, and more. Wild Bill Hickok, byname of James Butler Hickok, (born May 27, 1837, Homer [now Troy Grove], Illinois, U.S.died August 2, 1876, Deadwood, Dakota Territory [now in South Dakota, U.S.]), American frontiersman, army scout, and lawman who helped bring order to the frontier West. 10 in Deadwood, Dakota Territory. Nick McGlashan had two children, Lennyn Annette Richardson of Unalaska (7) and Kane Wilder Hammond of Port Townsend, WA (1). Within a month of the birth, newspapers tracked her to a hurdy-gurdy house in Livingston. Picks on rebels, especially Texans, to kill." [citation needed], Henry M. Stanley, of the Weekly Missouri Democrat, reported Hickok to be "an inveterate hater of Indian People", perhaps to enhance his reputation as a scout and American fighter, but separating fact from fiction is difficult considering his recruitment of Indians to cross the nation to appear in his own Wild West show. [52], In 1876, Hickok was diagnosed by a doctor in Kansas City, Missouri, with glaucoma and ophthalmia. Calamity Jane never married Wild Bill . Citizens of the town complained to Hickok, who requested that Thompson and Coe remove the image. Joseph J. [38], On September 1, 1868, Hickok was in Lincoln County, Kansas, where he was hired as a scout by the 10th Cavalry Regiment, a segregated African-American unit. [19] According to Hickok's account, he found the road blocked by a cinnamon bear and its two cubs. When a seat opened up at the table, a drunk man named Jack McCall sat down to play. Bill and Jane are buried next to each other in Deadwoods Mount Moriah Cemetery. This incident added to his fame as a gunslinger, which skyrocketed when journalist and later explorer Sir Henry Morton Stanley reported as fact in the New York Herald in 1867 Hickoks exaggerated claim that he had killed 100 men. There the familys small farm served as a stop on the Underground Railroad. At the time, shooting stray dogs within city limits was legal, and a 50-cent bounty was paid by the city for each one shot. authorities, and after trial has been sentenced to death for willful murder. The glorification of Wild Bill Hickok began in Springfield, Mo., on July 21, 1865, when he killed gunman Dave Tutt. James Butler Hickok, better known as " Wild Bill ," was a wagon master, soldier, scout, lawman, gunfighter, gambler, showman, and actor well-known in the American West. The trial began on December 4 and it only took two days for the jury to find McCall guilty. McCall tried to . During the Civil War, Wild Bill Hickok served in the Union Army as a civilian scout and later a provost marshal. How Did Wild Bill Hickok Die? Omissions? For confirmation that Hickok was employed as a U.S. Army scout fighting Indians in Kansas in the summer of 1867, see Ames, George Augustus, Russell, Majors and Waddell freight company, List of cultural depictions of Wild Bill Hickok, "How many men did Wild Bill Hickok actually kill? [10][pageneeded][11] In an 1867 article about his shootout with Davis Tutt, his surname was misspelled as Hitchcock. Take that!" The movie The Plainsman (1936), starring Gary Cooper as Hickok, features the alleged romance between Calamity Jane and him as its main plot line. Author McClaird theorised that Jessie, who had no birth certificate, said what she had to in order to receive financial assistance at her last residence in California. 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. Perhaps most famously, Harper's New Monthly Magazine printed an account of the story in 1867, claiming Hickok had killed 10 men. The first major description of the incident appeared in Harpers New Monthly Magazine in February 1867, six years after the fact, written by Col. George Ward Nichols, who claimed to have been told the story by Hickok in 1865. [61], Hickok died instantly. awaiting execution. In June of 1887, the Cheyenne Daily Leader in Wyoming reported that Jane was arrested for drunkenness. One story claimed he killed a bear with his bare hands and a bowie knife. She said she was the daughter of Jane and Wild Bill Hickok, and was born in a cabin near Livingston, Montana in 1873. While in Deadwood, South Dakota, Wild Bill Hickok became a regular poker player at Nuttal & Mann's Saloon. She was born in Missouri and spent most of her life on the country's western border. He was later elected constable of Monticello Township in Johnson County, Kansas. [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. In the film version, Howard Keel co-stars as Hickok to Doris Day's Calamity Jane. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. ", "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. Notorious Old West gunmen John Wesley Hardin and James Butler Hickok, also known as "Wild Bill," began as friends. Then in 1996, a second daughter was revealed. Hickok joined the antislavery Free State Army of Jayhawkers and, having already become skilled with a gun as a youth, served as a bodyguard for Gen. James H. Lanes. [33], In September 1865, Hickok came in second in the election for city marshal of Springfield. They traveled to Deadwood, South Dakota, together and were acquaintances, but there is no evidence of a romance (especially on his part). Famous Cowgirls. Jean McCormick was the daughter of Jane "Calamity Jane" Cannary and James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok. In quick succession, Hickok was said to have then killed five members of McCanless gang and knocked out another before three more gang members threw him down on a bed, only to be bested in hand-to-hand combat by the knife-wielding Hickok. He became a deputy U.S. marshal, and on March 28, 1868, he picked up 11 Union Army deserters who had been charged with stealing government property. In 1871 he took over as the marshal of the tough cow town of Abilene, Kansas. His reputation as a gunfighter gave rise to legends and tales about his life. [6] Since the event was outdoors, he could not compel people to pay, and the venture was a financial failure. 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. Also in 1995, he's depicted as a character in an episode of Legend (TV series) by William Russ, possibly most famous for his role in Wiseguy (TV series). Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Alonzo and Polly Hickok moved to Illinois in 1833, finally settling in Troy Grove (known as Homer at the time), LaSalle County, along the banks of the Little Vermillion Creek. [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. Trachoma is often associated with poverty and poor hygiene that allows the bacteria to infect and re-infect eyes; if left untreated, it can cause blindness. At Castle City, Montana in 1893, when Jane was running a restaurant, she had with her the daughter of one of her soldier friends in Texas who probably was Jessie. 22nd August 2017 Hickok and Brinks were charged with murder but found not guilty. Overall, it was reported that Hickok had killed over 100 men during his lifetime. Born in Homer (later called Troy Grove), Illinois, James Butler Hickok . By the end of the night most of the money had been spent, and Jane was roaring drunk. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. The wagon train arrived in Deadwood in July 1876. That winter, writer M.L. Brady, like Varnes, had disappeared from Deadwood and could not be found. Hickok was severely injured, with a crushed chest, shoulder, and arm. [65][66], McCall was summoned before an informal "miners' jury" (an ad hoc local group of miners and businessmen). They performed together until Bill was tragically murdered in 1869. Thus began the reputation that Classmate Mary Connolly remembered Jessie, saying, we all played hopscotch and jumped rope on the playground. But mother and daughter eventually left town again. Hickok is known to have fatally shot six men and is suspected of having killed a seventh (McCanles). This angered the buffalo and panicked audience members, causing the animals to break free of their wire fencing and chase audience members, some of whom were trampled. By 1942 Jessie had changed her story, perhaps at McCormicks urging. The 10th Regiment arrived at Fort Lyon in Colorado in October and remained there for the rest of 1868. This made it difficult for the men to carry the remains to the new site. Hickok left his new bride a few months later, joining Charlie Utter's wagon train to seek his fortune in the gold fields of South Dakota. Calamity Jane! Jessie withdrew from the Academy a short time later, but in January of 1896, Jane was finally able to take her to St. Martins Academy in Sturgis. From William Alonzo and Polly Butler's marriage, they welcomed six children in total, and HIckon is the fourth among them all.

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