James 'Jim' Bowie (1796-1836) was a frontiersman, land speculator, slave trader, and militia officer who became a legendary figure following the Sandbar Fight in 1827, an event that also made the Bowie Knife famous, and an international hero after his death at the Battle of the Alamo on 6 March 1836.
More about: James 'Jim' BowieDefinition
Timeline
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1796 - 1836Life of James Bowie.
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1814James 'Jim' Bowie enlists in Louisiana Militia to fight in the War of 1812; arrives too late for the Battle of New Orleans and musters out.
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c. 1820 - c. 1826James 'Jim' Bowie engages in the illegal import and sale of slaves.
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19 Sep 1827The Sandbar Fight, which makes James 'Jim' Bowie famous.
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25 Apr 1831James 'Jim' Bowie marries Maria Ursula Veramendi.
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1832James 'Jim' Bowie's wife, children, and in-laws killed by the cholera epidemic.
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1832James 'Jim' Bowie joins the fight for Texas independence.
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1835James 'Jim' Bowie participates in battles of the Texas Revolution in the fall of 1835.
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Jan 1836James 'Jim' Bowie arrives at the Alamo with orders to destroy it; he and Col. Neill decide to fortify it instead.
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Jan 1836James 'Jim' Bowie is sent to the Alamo to destroy it and retrieve anything of use; Bowie refuses and claims the Alamo should be held.
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24 Feb 1836James 'Jim' Bowie falls ill and is bed-ridden for the 13-day siege of the Alamo.
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6 Mar 1836James 'Jim' Bowie is killed at the Battle of the Alamo.
