James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok
Though best known as a gunfighter, gambler, and lawman, James B. Hickok, otherwise "Wild Bill"--which came from the derisive "Duck Bill", a musing about his Cyrano de Bergerac-like rostrum--was a scout briefly during the Civil War, and before that a Jayhawker. His activities outside of what little law there was in the West may have resulted in his discharge as early as 1862, afterward becoming a scout for General John B. Samborn on the frontier. He would spend the rest of his life a drifter in numerous lawkeeping jobs until his assassination in 1876.
Born: May 27, 1837
Birthname: James Butler Hickok
Birthplace: Homer, Illinois
Father: William Alonzo Hickok
Mother: Pamelia Butler
Wives: Agnes Laker Thatcher (1826-1907)
(Buried: Spring Grove Cemetary, Cincinatti, Ohio)
Martha "Calamity" Jane Cannary (1852?-1903) (unconfirmed)
(Buried: Mount Mariah Cemetery, Deadwood, South Dakota)
Married: 1876
Occupation Before War:
1854 - 1856: Canal boat worker
1856: Joined Jayhawker group Free State Army in Kansas; bodyguard for Sen. James Lane
1858: Constable in Monticello, Kansas; joined Pony Express
Civil War Career:
1861: Guide for Union calvary; killed CSA Col. David McCanles
1862: Scout for Gen. Samuel Curtis at Pea Ridge; Discharged in September
1863: Provost Marshal in Springfield, Missouri
1864: Scout for Gen. John Samborn
1865: Mustered out of service
Occupation After War:
Sheriff of Hays City, Kansas
U.S. Marshal of Abilene, Kansas
Actor in Wild West shows
Peace officer in Deadwood, South Dakota
Died: August 2, 1876
Place of Death: Deadwood, South Dakota
Cause of Death: Shot in back of head
Age at Time of Death: 39
Burial Place: Mount Mariah Cemetery, Deadwood, South Dakota
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