James Butler Hickok (May 27, 1837 – August 2, 1876), better known as Wild Bill Hickok
Posted on 07/21/2007 10:00:37 AM PDT by DogByte6RER
On This Day In History
July 21, 1865: Wild Bill Hickok fights first western showdown
In what may be the first true western showdown, Wild Bill Hickok shoots Dave Tutt dead in the market square of Springfield, Missouri.
Hollywood movies and dime novels to the contrary, the classic western showdown--also called a walkdown--happened only rarely in the American West. Rather than coolly confronting each other on a dusty street in a deadly game of quick draw, most men began shooting at each other in drunken brawls or spontaneous arguments. Ambushes and cowardly attacks were far more common than noble showdowns.
Nonetheless, southern emigrants brought to the West a crude form of the "code duello," a highly formalized means of solving disputes between gentlemen with swords or guns that had its origins in European chivalry. By the second half of the 19th century, few Americans still fought duels to solve their problems. Yet, the concept of the duel surely influenced the informal western code of what constituted a legitimate-and legal-gun battle. Above all, the western code required that a man resort to his six-gun only in defense of his honor or life, and only if his opponent was also armed. Likewise, a western jury was unlikely to convict a man in a shooting provided witnesses testified that his opponent had been the aggressor.
The best-known example of a true western duel occurred on this day in 1865. Wild Bill Hickok, a skilled gunman with a formidable reputation, was eking out a living as a professional gambler in Springfield, Missouri. He quarreled with Dave Tutt, a former Union soldier, but it is unclear what caused the dispute. Some people say it was over a card game while others say they fought over a woman. Whatever the cause, the two men agreed to a duel.
The showdown took place the following day with crowd of onlookers watching as Hickok and Tutt confronted each other from opposite sides of the town square. When Tutt was about 75 yards away, Hickok shouted, "Don't come any closer, Dave." Tutt nervously drew his revolver and fired a shot that went wild. Hickok, by contrast, remained cool. He steadied his own revolver in his left hand and shot Tutt dead with a bullet through the chest.
Having adhered to the code of the West, Hickok was acquitted of manslaughter charges. Eleven years later, however, Hickok died in a fashion far more typical of the violence of the day: a young gunslinger shot him in the back of the head while he played cards. Legend says that the hand Hickok was holding at the time of his death was two pair – black aces and black eights. The hand would forever be known as the "dead man’s hand."
James Butler Hickok (May 27, 1837 – August 2, 1876), better known as Wild Bill Hickok
Wild Bill's final poker hand (i.e., "Dead Man's Hand")
I thought it was a full house of aces and eights. Ok, time to check snopes.com...
5.56mm
A few more links about Wild Bill Hickok:
http://www.historynet.com/magazines/wild_west/3026831.html
http://www.theoutlaws.com/outlaws8.htm
Wild Bill Hiccup Ping!
;-)
Funny homepage photo!
That is a tall tale. Hickock’s 38s could barely shoot 75 yards.
5.56mm
“Nonetheless, southern emigrants brought to the West a crude form of the “code duello,” a highly formalized means of solving disputes between gentlemen with swords or guns that had its origins in European chivalry. By the second half of the 19th century, few Americans still fought duels to solve their problems. Yet, the concept of the duel surely influenced the informal western code of what constituted a legitimate-and legal-gun battle.”
It would have been great if this code was in place a few summers ago when then Senator Zell Miller challenged Chris Matthews to a duel.
Watch it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmog5E1kdkU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1id5ZntaKk&mode=related&search=
According to “The Straight Dope” the fifth card was the deuce of spades.
Hello, bad writing.
Hickock had served in the Union forces, Tutt was ex-Confederate.
This would be a problem - except that Hickock didn’t use a .38.
He, like many others, carried a brace of Colt Model 1851 Navy revolvers. They’re .36 caliber cap and ball revolvers. His were unique in that they were modified to have no triggers. To fire, he simply pulled back the hammers while drawing and released when the weapons were on target; he claimed this was much faster than the standard weapon.
The effective range of the 1851 was greater than what most people could actually shoot with - the ballistic performance of his .36s was somewhere between the .380 ACP and the .38 Special. Effective hits with the .36 have been recorded as far out as 125 yards. The problem was the sight radius of the gun tended to make it difficult to use. That said, Hickock had highly customized guns, probably with improved sights.
Another problem with your idea is that Hickock was observed to hit targets 50-60 yards away as practice on a regular basis. General Custer commented that the man had a supreme mastery of firearms. Hickock often demonstrated his prowess with firearms in public, so many people observed his skills.
See: http://www.bbhc.org/pointsWest/PWArticle.cfm?ArticleID=129
As with many misconceptions with the Old West (and other historical periods), more recent experimentation and research has shown that people really could have been that good.
Nice, thanks.
http://www.theoutlaws.com/outlaws8.htm
...On 2 August 1876, Wild Bill Hickok sat playing poker in the Number Ten Saloon in Deadwood. He was older, slower, and suffering the early stages of blindness, so he normally sat with his back to the wall, where he could study the room. On this day, his back was to the door. He was shot and killed with a bullet to the back of his head by a drunken stranger named Jack McCall, who may have lost $110 to Hickok in a card game the day before. McCall would claim that Hickok had shot and killed his brother in Abilene, and there is a record of one Lew McCall being shot to death by a lawman. The hand that Wild Bill held, two pairs — black aces and black eights — has gone down in history as the “Dead Man’s Hand.” Legend claims his fifth card was the Jack of Diamonds, but some maintain it was the Queen of Diamonds. Calamity, on learning of Bill’s death, stormed all over Deadwood looking for McCall.
Thanks for the details...
Just another example of that old “southern code” roaring out of...
Troy Grove, Illinois.
Complete with commendable service as a Union teamster and scout.
(For those who care, Joseph Rosa’s recent bio of Hickok examines the Springfield incident in some detail, making good use of court records, etc.)
Mr. niteowl77
Should expect so. Somebody can't do that should pack a rifle instead. Anyway, the circumstances of the shootout are murky.
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