James Bowie (April 10, 1796 – March 6, 1836), nicknamed Jim Bowie, was an American pioneer and soldier who took part in the Texas Revolution and died at Fort Alamo. Bowie is also known for the style of knife he carried, which is now known as the Bowie knife. Stories about his personality have made him one of the most colorful characters in Texas history.
He was born in Kentucky and spent most of his life in Louisiana. For many years he was a land speculator, but most of his doings were found to depend on forged title deeds. James Bowie first made his fortune in the smuggling of slaves, which developed after 1807 the United States Congress banned the slave trade. He became with his brother John Bowie one of the main clients of the pirate Jean Lafitte who had settled in the mouth of the Mississippi, taking advantage of the still vague status of Louisiana after its redemption from France in 1803.
Its reputation began in 1827 with the famous "Combat on the sandbank". This affair, which had started with a duel between two other men, degenerated into a melee during which Bowie, wounded by a bullet and stabbed, killed the sheriff of the parish of the Rapids with his large knife. . This episode, along with other feats Bowie performed with this knife, resulted in the Bowie knife's vast popularity.
In 1830, Bowie moved to Texas, where he was granted citizenship of Mexico and married the daughter of the provincial deputy governor. Bowie traveled extensively in the early years of his marriage and searched for the San Saba mine. With the beginning of the Texas Revolution Bowie enlisted in the Texas Militia, and commanded an army at the Battle of Concepcion and the Grass Fight. In January 1836, he arrived at Fort Alamo, where he led the troops of adventurers attracted by the promise of a distribution of land equivalent to 19 km² per individual until an illness had bedridden him. He died on March 6 along with the other Alamo defenders. Despite the conflicting accounts of his death, the most common (and probably the most truthful) claim that he was killed on his bed, leaning against the wall, defending himself with his pistols and his famous knife.