Bowie knife
A Bowie knife is a large hunting knife. It is named after Colonel Jim Bowie. The knife was probably designed by his brother, Rezin P. Bowie.[1] Rezin (pronounced "reason") gave his younger brother (Jim) the knife so he would always have a backup weapon.[2] It became history after the "sandbar fight" on the banks of the Mississippi River in September 1827.[2] This started as a duel but quickly became a fight between the two seconds, Judge Crane and Jim Bowie.[3] Crane pulled out a pistol and shot at Bowie twice.[3] One bullet hit Bowie in the leg the other killed an onlooker. Friends on both sides began shooting and slashing with knives. Bowie was wounded several times but managed to kill one assailant and wound another with what witnesses called a "big butcher knife".[3] This made both Bowie, the knife-fighter, and his knife famous. More than a dozen knifemakers of the time claim to have made the first Bowie knife.[4] But no one knows who made the first one or exactly what it looked like.[4]
Bowie Knife Media
An early Bowie of the type made for Rezin Bowie and commissioned by the Bowies to Searles and Constable. This is a copy of the Fowler Bowie currently displayed at the Alamo.
Kennedy notes that Bowie's knife had a blade Lua error in Module:Convert at line 452: attempt to index field 'titles' (a nil value). long and Lua error in Module:Convert at line 452: attempt to index field 'titles' (a nil value). wide with a cross-guard to protect the user's hands.
A coffin-handled Bowie knife
Two members of the 25th Va Cavalry armed with Bowie knives: left Captain E. Spootswood Bishop; right Daniel Caudill served with the 25th Virginia Cavalry and the 10th Kentucky Cavalry
Confederate cavalryman John Duponte of Dartmouth, Alabama with muzzle-loading shotgun and a "Square D" handle Bowie knife
Newspaper ad for Marbles Ideal hunting knife
Krag Bowie bayonet US stamped, on the reverse date 1900
Sheffield pattern blades are not quite as wide as the Black design but most variations carry a false-edged clip point.
References
- ↑ "Bowie Knife". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 John Bryant. "A Knife Like Bowie's". Texas A & M University. Archived from the original on 30 December 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Judd Hambrick (12 July 2007). "Knife fighter Jim Bowie survives deadly brawl". Southern Memories. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 T. Edward Nickens. "The History of the Bowie Knife". Field & Stream Network. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
