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Bowie
Reply by Sue OldsWidow on August 17, 2013 at 11:01
BOWIE KNIFE. In 1838 Rezin P. Bowie, brother of Alamo hero James Bowie,qqv claimed that he made the first Bowie knife while the Bowies lived in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana. He designed it as a hunting knife and gave it to James for protection after his brother had been shot in a fight. Blacksmith Jesse Clifft, who lived on Bayou Boeuf and was a close friend and neighbor of the Bowies in the 1820s, forged the knife according to Rezin Bowie's design. The original Bowie knife was like a butcher knife in profile, with a thin blade but no silver mounts. Bowie wore it in a silver-mounted black-leather sheath. The Bowie knife gained widespread notoriety after the celebrated Sandbar Fight on September 19, 1827, near Natchez. On that date Samuel Levi Wells and Dr. Thomas Maddox engaged in a duel on the first large sandbar above Natchez on the Mississippi state side of the river. After firing pistols at each other without effect, Wells and Maddox shook hands and started off the field. But members of the Maddox group suddenly fired at Wells's followers, who included James Bowie. Bowie fell, shot through a lung. An archenemy, Norris Wright, along with Alfred Blanchard, stabbed him repeatedly with swordcanes. In a final effort Bowie raised himself, grabbed Wright, and sank the big knife into his assailant's heart, killing him instantly. Combatants and eyewitnesses described the "large butcher knife" in letters and interviews, and a legend began. Newspapers across the nation printed lurid and detailed stories of the Sandbar Fight. The public reveled in the prowess of James Bowie and his lethal weapon. In a day when pistols frequently misfired, the Bowie knife was a reliable and effective backup weapon. As its popularity spread, schools were established, especially in the old Southwest, to teach the arts and dodges of Bowie knife fighting. The Red River Herald of Natchitoches, Louisiana, reported, "All the steel in the country it seemed was immediately converted into Bowie knives."
In 1828, some months after the Sandbar Fight, James Bowie made a trip to the East. In Philadelphia he apparently placed his knife in the hands of Henry Schively, a cutler. His brother Rezin wanted a high-quality knife drawn on the lines of the first, complete with a fancy silver sheath. Rezin wore the knife for several years, his initials R. P. B. engraved on the pommel cap. In 1831 he gave the knife to a friend, Jesse Perkins, of Jackson, Mississippi. The Clifft knife is the immediate progenitor of the classier Schively knife. Rezin Bowie basked in the glory surrounding his brother James and the knife. He regularly wore a silver-mounted Bowie, which he eventually presented to a friend, usually an important individual. He had several knives made by Daniel Searles of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in the 1830s. Rezin presented the Searles knife now displayed in the Alamo to H. W. Fowler, United States Dragoons. Fowler's name is engraved on the sheath.
Early Bowie knives do not fit the popular image of the weapon. One thinks of a blade with a concave arch (clip point) cut into the end of the blade, and a cross-guard to protect the hand. Early examples, however, had a thick, heavy butcher-knife-like blade, with a straight back (top) and no clip point or hand guard. The blade varied in length from 8½ to 12½ inches and was sharpened on the true edge. Wooden handles were attached with silver pins and washers. The Searles knives of the 1830s were one-piece ebony, checkered, and decorated with small silver nails. Blacksmiths fashioned most of the subsequent Bowie knives and added rudimentary crossguards to keep the hand from sliding onto the blade. Eventually, they lengthened the guards as protection from an opponent's blade, but the owner often found the extended guards clumsy and cut them off. The clip point, a curve on the top of the blade back of the point, became popular. The clip was often sharpened so that a backstroke would inflict a serious wound. Spear-point Bowie blades also were forged, dagger-shaped, with both edges sharpened. Blacksmith-made Bowies were generally plain and unsigned, had iron or brass mountings, and hardwood, bone, or horn handles. The knife was both a hunting knife and a tool. With it, one could clear a path, hack a sapling, dig a hole, or butcher game. In the siege of Bexarin 1835, Texans used Bowie knives to dig through roofs and walls and engage in hand-to-hand combat with the Mexicans. The knife was not designed or balanced for throwing.
Southerners replaced their swordcanes with Bowie knives, and sought expert cutlers, North and South, to craft fine blades. The cutlers usually were surgical and dental instrument makers in large cities. Most signed their works; Peter Rose and John D. Chevalier were prominent in New York, English & Huber and Clarenbach & Herder in Philadelphia, Reinhardt in Baltimore, Thomas Lamb in Washington, Dufilho in New Orleans, Alfred Hunter in Newark, Marks and Rees in Cincinnati, Daniel Searles in Baton Rouge, and Rees Fitzpatrick in Natchez. Henry Schively also made improved versions in various styles. English cutlers in Sheffield, who had dominated the American cutlery market since colonial times, took advantage of the fascination with the Bowie knife. They capitalized on vivid reports by English journalists of murder and mayhem in America involving the weapon. A trickle of Sheffield Bowie knives in the early 1830s developed into a flood before the Civil War. Bowie knife collections indicate that only about one in ten was American made. English cutlers applied clever motifs and blade etchings that appealed to American tastes and patriotic spirit. Examples include such labels as "American Bowie Knife," "Texas Ranger Knife," "Arkansas Toothpick," "Patriot's Self Defender," "Death to Abolition," "Death to Traitors," "Americans Never Surrender," "Rio Grande Camp Knife," and "I'm A Real Ripper." Handle and guard mountings also carried symbols and slogans with American appeal. Cutlers attached handles of ivory, pearl, tortoise shell, black and gray buffalo horn, India stag horn, and fine woods. Handle pommels of nickel silver featured horseheads, shells, and geometric designs. Manufacturers generally signed their blades and added such distinctive trademarks as I*XL, B4ANY, and XCEED. At the outbreak of the Mexican War in 1846, the Bowie knife was a popular weapon in Texas. Texas Rangersqv under Jack (John Coffee) Hayes and Ben McCullochqqv carried Bowie knives and Colt Dragoon pistols into battle. Knife blades stamped and etched with Mexican War motifs appeared. Zachary Taylor, mounted on Old Whitey, was a favorite subject. Bust etchings included "Old Zach," "General Taylor Never Surrenders," "Palo Alto," and "Buena Vista." Pommels featured a Taylor bust with a patriotic slogan.
In the late 1830s an alarmed public in several Southern states demanded stringent laws to curtail the increasing "rule of the Bowie knife." In January 1838 the Tennessee legislature passed "An Act to Suppress the Sale and Use of Bowie Knives and Arkansas Toothpicks in this State." However, the sale of the knives continued to accelerate, reaching a peak after the Civil War. During that war, crude Bowie knives were popular among Confederate soldiers. Some had large, wide blades, like those of artillery shortswords; most were unmarked. The Confederates considered the knife an essential accoutrement in the early months of the war, but as the conflict wore on the knife was replaced with the bayonet. The knives had hickory or hardwood handles and iron mounts, and were worn in heavy leather sheaths with throats and tips of tin, iron, or brass. Blades had scratch engravings and crude acid etchings, with such patriotic motifs as "Sunny South," "Confederate States Defender," or "Death to Yankees." A few Confederate Bowie knives were made by experienced cutlers and exhibited excellent workmanship. Union soldiers generally wore Sheffield-made Bowie knives.
"In the history of American arms," wrote historian Harold L. Peterson (1958), "three weapons stand out above all the rest: the Kentucky rifle, the Colt's revolver, and the Bowie knife." Each became a part of the "great American Legend." The popularity of the Bowie was established in the 1830s, expanded during the 1840s, and reached its peak in the 1850s. After the Civil War the knife diminished in favor, and by the mid-1870s was relegated to use as a hunting knife. The efficiency, reliability, and wide distribution of Colt revolvers retired the Bowie knife from its prominent role in the nation's history.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Avoyelles Parish Courthouse Records, Marksville, Louisiana. James L. Batson, James Bowie and the Sandbar Fight (Madison, Alabama: Batson Engineering and Metalworks, 1992). Walter W. Bowie, The Bowies and Their Kindred: A Genealogical and Biographical History (Washington: Cromwell Brothers, 1899). Harold Leslie Peterson, American Knives: The First History and Collectors' Guide (New York: Scribner, 1958). Vertical Files, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin. William R. Williamson, Bowie Knife, Dirk and Dagger: Articles (1979).
William R. Williamson
Citation
The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this article.
William R. Williamson, "BOWIE KNIFE," Handbook of Texas Online(http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/lnb01), accessed August 17, 2013. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on
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Reply by Sue OldsWidow on
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Reply by Robert Burris on
This article and others like it, is an example of Arkansas and Texas trying to claim, the Louisiana Bowie Knife.
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Reply by Sue OldsWidow on August 17, 2013 at 10:35
Chris Nolen’s incredible collection of Jim Bowie Knives:
The Bowie Knife…Fact, Myth, LegendBy Major Ian Humphrey
Dan Certo asked me to contact Mr. Chris Nolen of Louisiana to write an article about his on-going quest to create historically accurate replicas of all the various knives attributed to the designs of Jim Bowie. Chris currently has 16 knives in his display and has two additional knives nearing completion.
When most people think of the “Bowie knife,” an image of a massive clip point blade with double guard comes to mind. What I have learned over the years is that this may not be completely accurate. Chris’s display and hard work proves this point by showing numerous knife designs that can all be traced back to Jim Bowie.
Chris has been collecting knives for over 40 years, and has always been interested in Bowie Knives. As a young man he would buy knives made by Case, Schrade-Walden, Edge, and the German made Knives. As he got older he was able to afford handmade knives by such great bladesmiths like Jerry Berry, John Fitch, Reggie Barker, Jimmy Lile, Daniel Certo, Bo Randall, Mark Banfield, Robert Blasingame, and many many more great artists. Chris always remained interested in the large Bowies and the history of the Bowie Knife and the Bowie family. In 2007 Chris had the pleasure of meeting Joseph Musso, and with his help, he decided to research all the known knives associated with the Bowie Family; and have close replicas made of each knife. Chris learned very quickly that investigating this project was like reading a good murder mystery without the final chapter. Chris contacted seven major Museums: The Alamo, The Historical Arkansas Museum, The Mississippi Historical Museum, the Witte Museum, The Waco Ranger Museum, The San Jacinto Museum, and the Bob Bullock Museum in Austin, TX where he learned that there were many knives associated with the Bowies, and there are many stories as well, but nothing from Jim Bowie in his own hand. Chris goes on to explain that as a matter of fact, in all his writings, Jim Bowie never mentions a knife of any sort. The only thing that proves he owned a knife is a store receipt from 1823 (which Chris has a picture of!). On the other hand, there are tons of stories about Jim's knife from family members and friends, as well as the media of the day. After the Sandbar Fight in 1827 the Bowie Knife Fad went crazy! From England to all over the world, everyone wanted a knife like Jim Bowie's.
In 2008 Chris had done enough research to conclude that there were 18 knives he would have built as replicas of The Bowie Knife...Fact ~Myth ~ Legend. There are currently 16 knives already made with 2 in the final stages of being completed. He started out with Robert Blasingame as his Bladesmith, and he built the first 11 replica knives. Sadly to say, Robert passed away in April 2010 with cancer. He was a dear friend to Chris and great artist. Chris is finishing the project using Tim Ridge of Swamp Fox Knives, Mark Banfield, and Rich McDonald who are all outstanding artists in their own right.
The knives are described by Chris as follows (Left to right in the display):*The Caiaphas Ham Knife: Ham was a known friend of the Bowies. He was with Jim and Rezin Bowie at the San Saba Indian fight and left Louisiana with Jim Bowie in 1830 to move to Texas. The knife was made by Lovelle Snowden, and given to Ham by Rezin Bowie. The original is housed in the Long Barrack at the Alamo in San Antonio.
*The Jesse Clifft Knife: Clifft was a blacksmith residing in Avoyelles Parish, and is believed to have worked on the Bowie Plantation. In 1838 Rezin Bowie did a response in the Planters Advocate, to the infamous PQ’s remarks about Jim Bowie. In his response he stated that he made the original Bowie Knife that Jim used in 1827 to kill Norris Wright on a sandbar outside Natchez Mississippi. It was described as having a 9 1/4 inch straight blade with an oak handle. One of Rezin's direct decedents later added that Clifft actually made the knife under Rezin's supervision. The original is long lost to the ages. The replica in the display is Chris’s version of that knife.
*The Bart Moore Knife: This knife was given to the Great Great Grandfather of Bart Moore, Sheriff James Moore to retire a debt of $5. It has been handed down through family, and is currently on display at the Historical Arkansas Museum in Little Rock. The knife has been tested, and dates back to the 1830s and is believed to have been made by James Black of Washington Ark. It has J. Bowie scratched on one side of the 8 1/2 inch blade and an acorn on the other.
*The Barrera~Campbell Knife: This knife was one of 2 knives given to Augustine Barrera in 1835 by Jim Bowie. It was made by Broomhead and Thomas, and was given in pay for some silver work Barrera did for Bowie. The knife was handed down through the family and ended up with Dr. Charles Campbell, Barrera's Grandson. It was photographed in 1916, and posted in the San Antonio news. Later the knife was donated to the Witte Museum, but was mysteriously lost. Chris’s replica is from a design drawn by Joe Musso from the photo of the knife. The other knife was lost to the ages.
*The Noah Smithwick Knife: Noah was a well know blacksmith in Texas and told his daughter, as she prepared for her upcoming book, Birth of a Nation - That Jim Bowie brought him a knife that he had reworked and set in silver with an Ivory handle for Noah to make a copy of it, so he would not degrade the original. Noah asked Bowie if he might make more copies, and sell them. Permission was granted, and Smithwick made and sold Bowie knives for $20....The original, or any copies are lost to the ages. Chris’s replica is his idea of the knife with ivory handles adorned in silver with a 10 inch blade and distinct clip point.
*The Jesse Robinson Knife: This big brass-back knife was given as a gift to Jesse Robinson from Jim Bowie according to the descendants of Jesse Robinson. The original was sold to Steve Miller, and he had replicas made of the knife by Robert Blasingame. It was on display at the Bob Bullock Museum in Austin, but removed and sold to Phil Collins along with a rifle, patch knife, and possibles bag. Jesse Robinson was a Texas Ranger, and was married to the infamous Sally Skull. Chris’s replica is an exact copy of the original, and was made by Robert Blasingame while he had the original in his shop.*The Madame Candelaria Knife: She was supposed to have been one of Bowie's nurses in the Alamo when he fell ill on the second day of the siege. Chris traced her back through census reports, and she was real, and she had an Inn, but accounts of her in the Alamo are very suspect. She reported to Sam Houston, and gave the small knife to him. The original is housed in the San Jacinto Museum. It was made by W&S Butcher, and has a 6 1/2 inch blade with a stag handle.
*The Musso Brass-Back Knife: This knife is believed to have been the knife Bowie had at the Alamo. It was found in an antique piece of furniture, and later sold to Musso by an art dealer. He was cleaning the knife in 1980, and discovered the JB on the guard, and sent the knife to DuPont for tests. It was proven to have come from the Southwest portion of Arkansas and built in the early 1800s. It was used as the model for the 2004 Alamo Movie, and is owned by Joseph Musso.
*The Iron Mistress: This knife was built for the 1952 Movie of the same title, starring Alan Ladd. Chris included the knife in his collection because of its influence on collectors, and it brought forth the current Bowie craze. The knife was used in The Last Command, John Wayne's Alamo, Disney's Crockett series and the TV Series about the Life and Times of Jim Bowie, starring Scott Forbes. The original is also owned by Joe Musso.*The Bowie # 1: Very interesting knife made by James Black around 1830. This knife is believed by some experts to have been one of two knives made for Jim Bowie. It has a 13 inch blade, and is designed to fight with being held upside down. It is inscribed Bowie # 1 on the escutcheon, and has some very ornate silver work on the handle.
The original is housed in the Historical Museum in Little Rock Ar.
* The James Black Knife: Black most likely made many knives for the Bowies. The most famous was the Thomas Tunstall Bowie which was given to him by Rezin Bowie. We know that Black knew the Bowies due to his business partner; Elisha Stewart who was married to John Bowie's daughter. The original is housed in the Saunders Museum in Berryville Arkansas. Chris’s replica is a general idea of the knives of James Black.*The Huber Steel Knife: This is the knife that Lucy Leigh Bowie described that Jim Bowie designed for his men in Texas.Henry Huber was a well known maker of fine cutlery in Philadelphia, and it is believed that Jim and Rezin could have had the knife built upon their visits to the area. The knife has a resemblance to the Barrera~Campbell knife as well as a knife housed at the Witte Museum that was picked up on the battlefield at San Jacinto, six weeks after the Alamo fell. The original is in a private collection.
*The Schively~Perkins Knife: This knife is believed to be a copy of the knife Jim used at the sandbar fight. It was made by Henry Schively of Philadelphia. It has a 10 inch blade with a checkered handle, and fine silver trim. It was later given to Jesse Perkins, and was donated to the Mississippi Historical Museum in Jackson, Mississippi where it resides today. Chris’s replica is almost a mirror copy of the knife, even to the inscriptions on the blade and pommel. It was made by the late great Robert Blasingame.
*The Searles~Fowler Knife: Daniel Searles was one of the most famous bladesmiths in the country for that time. He lived and worked in Baton Rouge LA. The knife belonged to Rezin Bowie, and has a unique shape for a bowie knife of that era. The handle is ebony, and it has raised checked panels on the handle with silver pins. There is a gold plate on the spine of the knife with the maker's mark on it. It was given to Henry Fowler of the Texas Dragoons in the mid 1830s. The original is housed in the Chapel of the Alamo.
*The Edwin Forrest Knife: Forrest was a well known actor of the day, and became friends with Jim Bowie. It was told that Bowie and Forrest would visit the many pubs and bars of New Orleans while Forrest was visiting, and Jim gave Forrest the famous knife which was located in a trunk years later. It has a 12 inch blade with a checkered handle, and has a small clip point. The original is in a private collection.
*The Juan Padillo Knife: According to legend Juan was a pirate with John Laffite's group, and became employed by the Bowie's during their years trading slaves. He stated that the knife was given to him by Bowie, and he later gave it to a cattle farmer in Texas. The original is lost to the ages, and Chris had the replica made the from Juan’s description in a letter.*The 2 knives being built that will complete the display are the Juan Seguin Knife, and the Lovelle Snowden Knife.
*Juan Seguin Knife: Legend says Bowie gave it to Seguin as he left the Alamo with one of Travis' messages. There is a lot of controversy about the knife due to a test run by the Waco Ranger Museum which proved that the silver solder shield atop the spine of the blade with Searles mark was done after 1860 while Searles died in 1860. The owner retrieved the knife and will not discuss it futher.
* The Snowden Knife: This knife was described by John Bowie and Caiaphas Ham as being the blade Jim Bowie had with him early in his life, and at the Sandbar Fight...It will be completed this summer, and the original is long lost to the ages........
I cannot thank Chris Nolen enough for taking the time out of his busy schedule to provide the information on his incredible collection. You can tell he shares a true passion for the Bowie knife and wants to do his part to help explain the fact, myth, and legend behind one of the great symbols of American spirit. -
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Reply by Sue OldsWidow on
Civil war bowies
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Reply by Sue OldsWidow on
This video adds a lot to the history of the bowie knife. The appraisal of Samuel Bell Bowie Knife 1860 from Antique roadshow on PBS
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Arkansas Made: History of the Bowie Knife
Learn about the 175-year history of the bowie knife orArkansas Toothpick, Arkansas's most famous weapon. The story of Jim Bowie, as well as the history and art of bladesmithing are told in the museum's Knife Gallery.
Jim Bowie
The exhibit includes more than 100 historical and modern knives and is the official exhibit for the American Bladesmith Society. The knives are from the museum's permanent collection and on loan from knife makers and collectors. Representing the work of master craftspeople who created exquisite weapons, the knives are made with precious metals, gemstones, damascus steel, and intricate designs.
Arkansas and the History of the Bowie Knife
Arkansas was on the edge of the United States in the 1830s, and when Americans thought of a "rough and tumble" place where people might even pick their teeth with big knives, they thought of Arkansas. Washington, Arkansas, was the home of James Black, a blacksmith who became well known for the knives he made. Black's knives were copied by cutlers in Sheffield, England, and sold in America as the "Arkansas Toothpick." As early as 1835, the "Arkansas Toothpick" and the "Bowie Knife" were tied together as two terms used for the knives that were then popular.
A Knife for Jim Bowie
Jim Bowie became known for his ability to fight with knives after the "Sandbar Duel" in Mississippi in 1827. In this fight he used a knife which was given to him by his brother. According to many sources, James Black made a knife for Jim Bowie. Some people called this the first bowie knife, the first knife actually made for Jim Bowie. By the time Jim Bowie died at the Alamo in 1836, the term Bowie knife was established as the name for the knives popular at the time.
Bowie No. 1
The Historic Arkansas Museum acquired Bowie No. 1 several years ago through an auction of the collections of two prominent Texas knife collectors. Bowie No.1 is a knife well known in collecting circles as an important early bowie knife.
Although James Black did not put a maker's mark on his knives, curatorial analysis has determined that Bowie No. 1 was made by James Black.
Compare the Carrigan Knife, with an ownership history going straight back to James Black, andBowie No.1. Was this the legendary knife that James Black made for Jim Bowie?
Historic knives show the variety of shapes and sizes of knives used in the South during the antebellum period for "defensive purposes." The Civil War became the last hurrah for the bowie knife, as Confederate soldiers, especially, armed themselves for battle. As the war progressed the knife proved of less value than rifles, bayonets, revolvers and the bowie knife lost its status as an important southern icon.
In the 1950s the bowie knife witnessed something of a revival, as Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie were featured in books and movies. A poster from the Alan Ladd movie Iron Mistress is featured in this section of the exhibit.
The American Bladesmith Society (ABS) represents another aspect of the revival of interest in the bowie knife, as artisans preserve the art of the forged blade. The ABS Hall of Fame is a part of the museum's Knife Gallery, and the work of ABS bladesmiths is on display.
Please see our Historic Arkansas Museum knife collection.