Wild Bill Hickok was an American frontiersman who helped bring order to the frontier West. Hickok was one of the early “Heroes of the West” known for his skills as a gunfighter, scout, and professional gambler. Born and raised on a farm in rural Illinois, he grew up to be a tough teenager who often picked up fights with other boys. Following a violent fight with a boy named Charles Hudson, Hickok thought that he had killed his opponent and thus fled from Illinois to evade arrest. He moved west and joined General James Lane's ‘Free State’ (antislavery) forces in Kansas. During this time, he also worked as a stagecoach driver. When the ‘American Civil War’ broke out, he joined the ‘Union Army’ and worked as a spy. By this time, he had become a remarkable marksman and a skilled professional gambler. His exploits during the war greatly added to his reputation and he was catapulted to the status of a legendary hero of the West. After the war, he was appointed sheriff in Hays City. He was then made marshal of Abilene, Kansas. Hickok helped establish law and order in these cities which further strengthened his reputation as a folk hero.
Expand
Birth Place
LaSalle County, Illinois, United States
Also Known As
James Butler Hickok
Place Of Death
Deadwood, South Dakota, United States
Father
William Alonzo Hickok
Mother
Polly Butler Hickok
Spouse(s)
Agnes Thatcher Lake (m. 1876)