James Butler Hickok, better known as “Wild Bill” Hickok, was one of the Old West’s iconic characters. He was praised as the greatest gunman ever known. It was the speed of his draw, combined with his accuracy that distinguished him.
Hickok’s first fatal gun battle occurred in 1861 at Rock Creek Station, a stagecoach stop in southern Nebraska. Legend has it that Hickok faced off against the McCanles “Gang” and singlehandedly killed eight men in fierce fighting at close quarters. According to historians, though, it is more likely that Hickok killed but a single man. Regardless, the incident helped launch Hickok’s reputation as a gunfighter.
Hickok went on to serve in the Union army during the Civil War and later became a marshal in the frontier towns of Hays City and Abilene Kansas.
While some newspapers boasted that Hickok killed as many as 85 men over the course of his lifetime, it is more likely that he killed less than a dozen. Hickock met an untimely end at the age of 39. He was shot in the back of the head by a disgruntled poker player.
Learn more about “Wild Bill” Hickok in the George Hart papers at UW’s American Heritage Center.