PRESENTATION OUTLINE
James Bowie was born in what is now Simpson County, Kentucky on April 10,1796. In Febuary 1800 he and his family moved to Madrid, and in May 2, 1801 he and his brother swore allegiance to the Spanish government. And in 1809 his family moved to south eastern Louisiana. Bowie got rich fairly early in his life going into businesses with his brothers like sugar milling, land speculation, and slave trading
The Bowie knife was most likely not invented by Bowie himself but by his brother, Rezin. It is believe that he design this knife after he almost died in a knife fight. Bowie knives are usually 9-15 inches in length and have a curved, double edged tip, for effective stabbing capabilities. Some believe it to be the perfect weapon for close quarter hand to hand combat. The Bowie knife is now a vastly popular knife still today with many different variations through the years.
On September 19, 1827, Samuel Levi Wells III and Dr. Thomas Harris Maddox had agreed to fight bringing along several friends each. After both Thomas and Samuel bother missed two shots the dropped the matter and ended the duel. Seconds after the end of the duel a fight then broke out between the friends each side had brought. Bowie was shot three times and stabbed with a sword cane. Despite these injuries it is said that he "fought like a demon" and killed one of his enemies with a massive knife now known as the "Bowie Knife".
It was believe that Bowies end of actively commanding his garrison was because he fell from a platform while repositioning a cannon, but now it is believed that on Febuary 24, 1836 Bowie collapsed of pneumonia that had most likely advanced into tuberculosis. Because of this he was not able to command his troops at the battle of the Alamo and on march 6, 1836 during the battle he was shot several time in the head while on his cot. One of Bowies oldest friends, Caiaphas K. Ham, described him as "a clever, polite gentleman...attentive to the ladies on all occasions...a true, constant, and generous friend...a foe no one dared to undervalue and many feared."
