By Cameron Tarpley

James Bowie

Early Years

Land Speculator

Bowie Knife

Texas

The Alamo

April 10, 1796-March 6, 1836

James Bowie was born on April 10, 1796. He was born in Kentucky but spent most of his life in Louisiana. He had 10 brothers and sisters.

At age 15 he left home. He settled in Rapides Parish. He sawed planks of lumber and floated them down the bayou for sale.

In 1819, he joined an expedition led by James Long to free Texas from Spanish controlling them. They captured Nacogdoches and then declared Texas an independent republic.

Early Years

After his father died he joined his brother in becoming land speculators. They didn’t have enough money to buy land so they joined pirate Jean Laffite in 1818. He was involved in illegal slave trade. They quit when they had $65,000. They began speculating land. He was known for his dishonesty. He also lied about his wealth.

After that they joined their younger brother Stephen to buy Acadia, a plantation near Alexandria. They set up the first steam mill in Louisiana to grind sugar cane.

Land Speculator

Bowie had a feud with Norris Wright, the sheriff of Rapides Parish. The two were on opposite sides of the political party. They met on a street in Alexandria. Wright fired a shot at Bowie. Then Bowie tried to kill him with his bare hands but friends stopped the fight. Bowie always carried a knife after that. It was said that Bowie’s brother had given him the knife. This knife is now known as the Bowie Knife.

A year later the two had a duel on a sandbar outside of Natchez, Mississippi. Bowie was shot in the hip and stabbed by Wright. When Wright tried to get the blade out of Bowie’s chest, Bowie killed Wright with his knife.

Bowie Knife

In 1828 Bowie decided to move to Texas. Bowie was elected a commander of the Texas Rangers. He became a Mexican citizen on September 30, 1830. He married 19 year old Ursula Maria Veramendi. She was the daughter of his business partner. The couple built a house in San Antonio and had 2 children. His wife and 2 children died of cholera. From then on he drank very heavily . After that he joined a small army in Louisiana and Austin quickly named him colonel.

Texas

Bowie planned to lead volunteers to defend the Alamo. He became sick and had broken his hip so he couldn’t lead the volunteers. Travis became the sole commander. Travis drew a line in the sand asking for anyone willing to die for the cause to cross the line. Everyone crossed but Bowie. Bowie then asked to be carried over the line. Bowie perished with the rest of the Alamo defenders on March 6, 1836. Santa Anna burned the bodies. When people heard of the burned bodies they called out “Remember the Alamo.”

The Alamo

http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/James_Bowie

http://latinamericanhistory.about.com/od/TexasIndependence/p/Biography-Of-Jim-Bowie.htm

http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fbo45

Sources