Rezin Bowie
Encyclopedia
Rezin Pleasant Bowie was an American inventor and designer of the Bowie knife
. He also served three terms in the Louisiana Legislature.
With his brother James, Bowie smuggled slaves and worked as a land speculator. The brothers set up the first steam mill in Louisiana to be used for grinding sugar cane. Bowie took credit for inventing the Bowie knife, which came to prominence when used by James in the Sandbar Fight
in 1827. After James moved to Texas
, Rezin accompanied him on an expedition to find the Lost San Saba
Mine. They did not find the mine, but their adventures in fending off a much larger Indian raiding party became widely known.
In his later years Bowie suffered from poor eyesight. He lived with his wife and daughters on a plantation in Louisiana.
, one of ten children born to Rezin Bowie and Elve Ap-Catesby Jones. Bowie was one of twins, with brother Rhesa. His father had been injured while fighting in the American Revolution
, and, in 1782, married the young woman who had nursed him back to health. The Bowies moved a great deal, first settling in Georgia, where they had six children, and then moving to Tennessee. The year after Bowie's birth, the family moved to Logan County, Kentucky
. By 1796, his father owned 8 slaves, 7 horses, 11 head of cattle, and 1 stud horse. The following year the family acquired 200 acres (80.9 ha) along the Red River
. In 1800, Rezin Bowie sold his property and the family spent two years in Missouri
. They moved to Spanish Louisiana in 1802, settling on the Bushley Bayou in Rapides Parish.
The Bowie family moved again in 1809, settling on Bayou Teche
in Louisiana
before finding a permanent home in Opelousas, in St. Landry Parish, in 1812. Each of their homes was on the frontier, and even as a small child Bowie was expected to help clear the land and plant crops. He and his siblings were educated at home, and learned to read and write in English. With his younger brother James, Bowie learned to speak, read, and write Spanish
and French
fluently. The children were also taught how to survive on the frontier, as well as how to fish and run a farm and plantation.
Bowie converted to Roman Catholicism in 1814 and married Margaret Nevil in the St. Landry Parish
Catholic Church on September 15, 1814. Later that year he and James enlisted in the Louisiana militia in response to Andrew Jackson's
plea for volunteers to fight the British. The War of 1812
ended on December 24, 1814 with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent
, and the Bowie brothers arrived in New Orleans too late to participate in the fighting. Bowie later joined the Avoyelles Battalion, and was commissioned a captain of the Mounted Rifles in 1825, later becoming a colonel.
in 1818. The United States had previously outlawed the importation of slaves, and, to encourage citizens to report the unlawful activity, most southern states allowed anyone who informed on a slave trader to receive half of what the imported slaves would earn at auction. They made three trips to Lafitte's compound on Galveston Island
, where they bought smuggled slaves, then brought the slaves directly to a customhouse and informed on himself. The customs officers offered the slaves for auction, and the Bowies would buy them back. Due to the state laws, they would receive half of the price paid. They could then legally transport the slaves and resell them in New Orleans or areas further up the Mississippi River
. The brothers continued this scheme until they had collected $65,000, then began speculating in land.
In 1825, the two brothers joined with their younger brother Stephen to buy Acadia, a plantation near Thibodaux
. Within two years they had set up the first steam mill in Louisiana to be used for grinding sugar cane. The plantation became known as a "model estate", but on February 12, 1831 they sold it and 65 slaves for $90,000. With their profits, Bowie and James bought a plantation in Arkansas
. In this time period Bowie served in the Louisiana legislature three times.
. James Bowie vowed from then on to carry a hunting knife on his person at all times. The knife he carried had a huge blade that was nine and one-quarter inches long and one and one-half inches wide.
The following year, on September 19, 1827, James Bowie and Wright attended a duel on a sandbar outside of Natchez, Mississippi
, supporting opposing sides. The duel was resolved with a handshake, but other members of the groups, who had various reasons for disliking each other, began fighting. James Bowie suffered several serious injuries, and was repeatedly shot and stabbed, but managed to pull his knife and use it to disembowel Wright, who died instantly.
Newspapers picked up the story, which became known as the Sandbar Fight
. Bowie's fighting prowess and his knife were described in detail.
There is disagreement among scholars as to whether the knife used in this fight was the same kind of knife now known as a Bowie knife
. Many different accounts exist of who designed and built the first Bowie knife. Some claim that James Bowie designed it and others attribute the design to noted knifemakers of the time. However, in a letter to The Planter's Advocate, Bowie claimed to have invented the knife, and many Bowie family members and "most authorities on the Bowie knife tend to believe it was invented by" Bowie. His grandchildren, however, claimed that Bowie merely supervised his blacksmith, who actually created the knife.
After the Sandbar Fight and subsequent battles in which James Bowie successfully used his knife to defend himself, his knife became very popular. Many craftsman and manufacturers made their own versions of the knife, and many major cities of the Southwest had "Bowie knife schools", which taught "the art of cut, thrust, and parry." His fame, and that of his knife, spread to England, and by the early 1830s many British knife manufacturers were producing Bowie knives, shipping many of them to the United States for sale. The design of the knife continued to evolve, and it is generally agreed to have a blade 8.25 inches long and 1.25 inches wide, with a curved point. It had a "sharp false edge cut from both sides" and a cross-guard to protect the user's hands.
in 1830 and became fascinated with the story of the "lost
" Los Almagres Mine, said to be west of San Antonio near the ruin of Santa Cruz de San Sabá Mission. The mine had been operated by the local Indians before being seized by the Spanish. After Mexico won independence from Spain
, government interest in the mines waned. A number of hostile Indian tribes roamed the area, including Comanche
, Lipan Apache, and Karankawa
, and without government troops to keep the tribes at bay, mining ceased. It was believed that after the Mexican citizens left the area, the Lipan Apaches took over the mines.
On November 2, 1831, Bowie accompanied his brother and nine others on a search for San Saba. Six miles (ten kilometers) from their goal the group realized that they were being followed by a large Indian raiding party and stopped to negotiate. The attempts at parley failed, and Bowie and his group were forced to fight for their lives for the next thirteen hours. When the Indians finally retreated Bowie had reportedly lost only one man, while over forty Indians had been killed and thirty more wounded.
In 1832, Bowie began having trouble with his vision. Accompanied by his brother James, he travelled to New York
, Philadelphia
, and Washington, D.C.
to seek medical treatment. While in Philadelphia, the publisher of the Saturday Evening Post persuaded Bowie to write an account of the San Saba fight, which was reprinted in 1833 in the book Atkinson's Casket or Gems of Literature, Wit and Sentiment.
. While there, Bowie, along with General John Wilson, acquired the papers of Captain Vicente Sebastian Pintado, the royal surveyor for the Spanish government. Pintado had kept his surveys and records of deeds and grants in the Louisiana Territory
as his personal property and refused to sell them to the United States
. After Pintado's death, his widow sold the papers to Bowie and Wilson for $24,500 (the United States declined to pay the high price). Bowie wanted the papers to help him in his land speculation dealings, but it is unknown whether he derived any benefits from them.
Bowie died in New Orleans on January 17, 1841, leaving his wife and three daughters. He was originally buried in the San Gabriel Catholic Church cemetery, but in the 1850s his body was disinterred and reburied at St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery in Port Gibson, Mississippi
, the home of his daughter Elve.
Bowie knife
A Bowie knife is a pattern of fixed-blade fighting knife first popularized by Colonel James "Jim" Bowie in the early 19th Century. Since the first incarnation was created by James Black, the Bowie knife has come to incorporate several recognizable and characteristic design features, although its...
. He also served three terms in the Louisiana Legislature.
With his brother James, Bowie smuggled slaves and worked as a land speculator. The brothers set up the first steam mill in Louisiana to be used for grinding sugar cane. Bowie took credit for inventing the Bowie knife, which came to prominence when used by James in the Sandbar Fight
Sandbar Fight
The Sandbar Fight, aka Vidalia Sandbar Fight, was an 1827 brawl featuring Jim Bowie which first showcased his knife, which later became known as the Bowie knife. The brawl occurred at the conclusion of a duel, and resulted in Bowie being seriously injured...
in 1827. After James moved to Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, Rezin accompanied him on an expedition to find the Lost San Saba
San Saba, Texas
San Saba is a town located in Central Texas. It was settled in 1854 and named for its location on the San Saba River. The population was at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of San Saba County...
Mine. They did not find the mine, but their adventures in fending off a much larger Indian raiding party became widely known.
In his later years Bowie suffered from poor eyesight. He lived with his wife and daughters on a plantation in Louisiana.
Early years
Rezin Bowie was born September 8, 1793, near Gallatin, TennesseeGallatin, Tennessee
Gallatin is a city in and the county seat of Sumner County, Tennessee, United States, along a navigable tributary of the Cumberland River. The population was 23,230 at the 2000 census. Named for U.S...
, one of ten children born to Rezin Bowie and Elve Ap-Catesby Jones. Bowie was one of twins, with brother Rhesa. His father had been injured while fighting in the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
, and, in 1782, married the young woman who had nursed him back to health. The Bowies moved a great deal, first settling in Georgia, where they had six children, and then moving to Tennessee. The year after Bowie's birth, the family moved to Logan County, Kentucky
Logan County, Kentucky
Logan County is a county located in the southwest area of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population was 26,573. Its county seat is Russellville...
. By 1796, his father owned 8 slaves, 7 horses, 11 head of cattle, and 1 stud horse. The following year the family acquired 200 acres (80.9 ha) along the Red River
Red River (Mississippi watershed)
The Red River, or sometimes the Red River of the South, is a major tributary of the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers in the southern United States of America. The river gains its name from the red-bed country of its watershed. It is one of several rivers with that name...
. In 1800, Rezin Bowie sold his property and the family spent two years in Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
. They moved to Spanish Louisiana in 1802, settling on the Bushley Bayou in Rapides Parish.
The Bowie family moved again in 1809, settling on Bayou Teche
Bayou Teche
The Bayou Teche is a waterway of great cultural significance in south central Louisiana in the United States. Bayou Teche was the Mississippi River's main course when it developed a delta about 2,800 to 4,500 years ago...
in Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
before finding a permanent home in Opelousas, in St. Landry Parish, in 1812. Each of their homes was on the frontier, and even as a small child Bowie was expected to help clear the land and plant crops. He and his siblings were educated at home, and learned to read and write in English. With his younger brother James, Bowie learned to speak, read, and write Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
fluently. The children were also taught how to survive on the frontier, as well as how to fish and run a farm and plantation.
Bowie converted to Roman Catholicism in 1814 and married Margaret Nevil in the St. Landry Parish
St. Landry Parish, Louisiana
St. Landry Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is at the heart of Acadian/Cajun culture and heritage in Louisiana. The parish seat is Opelousas. According to the 2010 census, the population of St. Landry Parish is 83,384.St...
Catholic Church on September 15, 1814. Later that year he and James enlisted in the Louisiana militia in response to Andrew Jackson's
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...
plea for volunteers to fight the British. The War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
ended on December 24, 1814 with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent
Treaty of Ghent
The Treaty of Ghent , signed on 24 December 1814, in Ghent , was the peace treaty that ended the War of 1812 between the United States of America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
, and the Bowie brothers arrived in New Orleans too late to participate in the fighting. Bowie later joined the Avoyelles Battalion, and was commissioned a captain of the Mounted Rifles in 1825, later becoming a colonel.
Land speculator
Shortly before Bowie's father died in 1818 or 1819 he gifted Bowie and his brother James each 10 servants, horses, and cattle. For the next seven years the brothers worked together to develop several large estates in Lafourche Parish and Opelousas Parish. Louisiana was gaining population rapidly, and the brothers wished to take advantage of rising land prices by speculating in land but did not have the capital required to buy large tracts. To raise money they entered into partnership with pirate Jean LafitteJean Lafitte
Jean Lafitte was a pirate and privateer in the Gulf of Mexico in the early 19th century. He and his elder brother, Pierre, spelled their last name Laffite, but English-language documents of the time used "Lafitte", and this is the commonly seen spelling in the United States, including for places...
in 1818. The United States had previously outlawed the importation of slaves, and, to encourage citizens to report the unlawful activity, most southern states allowed anyone who informed on a slave trader to receive half of what the imported slaves would earn at auction. They made three trips to Lafitte's compound on Galveston Island
Galveston Island
Galveston Island is a barrier island on the Texas Gulf coast in the United States, about 50 miles southeast of Houston. The entire island, with the exception of Jamaica Beach, is within the city limits of the City of Galveston....
, where they bought smuggled slaves, then brought the slaves directly to a customhouse and informed on himself. The customs officers offered the slaves for auction, and the Bowies would buy them back. Due to the state laws, they would receive half of the price paid. They could then legally transport the slaves and resell them in New Orleans or areas further up the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
. The brothers continued this scheme until they had collected $65,000, then began speculating in land.
In 1825, the two brothers joined with their younger brother Stephen to buy Acadia, a plantation near Thibodaux
Thibodaux, Louisiana
Thibodaux is a small city in and the parish seat of Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, United States, along the banks of Bayou Lafourche in the northwestern part of the parish. The population was 14,431 at the 2000 census. Thibodaux is a principal city of the Houma–Bayou Cane–Thibodaux...
. Within two years they had set up the first steam mill in Louisiana to be used for grinding sugar cane. The plantation became known as a "model estate", but on February 12, 1831 they sold it and 65 slaves for $90,000. With their profits, Bowie and James bought a plantation in Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
. In this time period Bowie served in the Louisiana legislature three times.
Bowie knife
One afternoon in 1826, Bowie's brother James was attacked by the sheriff of Rapides Parish, Norris Wright, after a confrontation in AlexandriaAlexandria, Louisiana
Alexandria is a city in and the parish seat of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River in almost the exact geographic center of the state. It is the principal city of the Alexandria metropolitan area which encompasses all of Rapides and Grant parishes....
. James Bowie vowed from then on to carry a hunting knife on his person at all times. The knife he carried had a huge blade that was nine and one-quarter inches long and one and one-half inches wide.
Natchez, Mississippi
Natchez is the county seat of Adams County, Mississippi, United States. With a total population of 18,464 , it is the largest community and the only incorporated municipality within Adams County...
, supporting opposing sides. The duel was resolved with a handshake, but other members of the groups, who had various reasons for disliking each other, began fighting. James Bowie suffered several serious injuries, and was repeatedly shot and stabbed, but managed to pull his knife and use it to disembowel Wright, who died instantly.
Newspapers picked up the story, which became known as the Sandbar Fight
Sandbar Fight
The Sandbar Fight, aka Vidalia Sandbar Fight, was an 1827 brawl featuring Jim Bowie which first showcased his knife, which later became known as the Bowie knife. The brawl occurred at the conclusion of a duel, and resulted in Bowie being seriously injured...
. Bowie's fighting prowess and his knife were described in detail.
There is disagreement among scholars as to whether the knife used in this fight was the same kind of knife now known as a Bowie knife
Bowie knife
A Bowie knife is a pattern of fixed-blade fighting knife first popularized by Colonel James "Jim" Bowie in the early 19th Century. Since the first incarnation was created by James Black, the Bowie knife has come to incorporate several recognizable and characteristic design features, although its...
. Many different accounts exist of who designed and built the first Bowie knife. Some claim that James Bowie designed it and others attribute the design to noted knifemakers of the time. However, in a letter to The Planter's Advocate, Bowie claimed to have invented the knife, and many Bowie family members and "most authorities on the Bowie knife tend to believe it was invented by" Bowie. His grandchildren, however, claimed that Bowie merely supervised his blacksmith, who actually created the knife.
After the Sandbar Fight and subsequent battles in which James Bowie successfully used his knife to defend himself, his knife became very popular. Many craftsman and manufacturers made their own versions of the knife, and many major cities of the Southwest had "Bowie knife schools", which taught "the art of cut, thrust, and parry." His fame, and that of his knife, spread to England, and by the early 1830s many British knife manufacturers were producing Bowie knives, shipping many of them to the United States for sale. The design of the knife continued to evolve, and it is generally agreed to have a blade 8.25 inches long and 1.25 inches wide, with a curved point. It had a "sharp false edge cut from both sides" and a cross-guard to protect the user's hands.
Lost San Saba Mine
James Bowie moved to TexasTexas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
in 1830 and became fascinated with the story of the "lost
Lost mines
Lost mines are a popular form of lost treasure legend. The mine involved is usually of a high-value commodity such as gold, silver or diamonds. Often there is a map purportedly showing the location of the mine...
" Los Almagres Mine, said to be west of San Antonio near the ruin of Santa Cruz de San Sabá Mission. The mine had been operated by the local Indians before being seized by the Spanish. After Mexico won independence from Spain
Mexican War of Independence
The Mexican War of Independence was an armed conflict between the people of Mexico and the Spanish colonial authorities which started on 16 September 1810. The movement, which became known as the Mexican War of Independence, was led by Mexican-born Spaniards, Mestizos and Amerindians who sought...
, government interest in the mines waned. A number of hostile Indian tribes roamed the area, including Comanche
Comanche
The Comanche are a Native American ethnic group whose historic range consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado, northeastern Arizona, southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of northwest Texas. Historically, the Comanches were hunter-gatherers, with a typical Plains Indian...
, Lipan Apache, and Karankawa
Karankawa
Karankawa were a group of Native American peoples, now extinct as a tribal group, who played a pivotal part in early Texas history....
, and without government troops to keep the tribes at bay, mining ceased. It was believed that after the Mexican citizens left the area, the Lipan Apaches took over the mines.
On November 2, 1831, Bowie accompanied his brother and nine others on a search for San Saba. Six miles (ten kilometers) from their goal the group realized that they were being followed by a large Indian raiding party and stopped to negotiate. The attempts at parley failed, and Bowie and his group were forced to fight for their lives for the next thirteen hours. When the Indians finally retreated Bowie had reportedly lost only one man, while over forty Indians had been killed and thirty more wounded.
In 1832, Bowie began having trouble with his vision. Accompanied by his brother James, he travelled to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, and Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
to seek medical treatment. While in Philadelphia, the publisher of the Saturday Evening Post persuaded Bowie to write an account of the San Saba fight, which was reprinted in 1833 in the book Atkinson's Casket or Gems of Literature, Wit and Sentiment.
Later years
After returning home, Bowie and his family moved to a plantation in Iberville ParishIberville Parish, Louisiana
Iberville Parish is a parish located south of Baton Rouge in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Its seat is Plaquemine. The 2010 population of the parish was 33,387....
. While there, Bowie, along with General John Wilson, acquired the papers of Captain Vicente Sebastian Pintado, the royal surveyor for the Spanish government. Pintado had kept his surveys and records of deeds and grants in the Louisiana Territory
Louisiana Territory
The Territory of Louisiana or Louisiana Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1805 until June 4, 1812, when it was renamed to Missouri Territory...
as his personal property and refused to sell them to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. After Pintado's death, his widow sold the papers to Bowie and Wilson for $24,500 (the United States declined to pay the high price). Bowie wanted the papers to help him in his land speculation dealings, but it is unknown whether he derived any benefits from them.
Bowie died in New Orleans on January 17, 1841, leaving his wife and three daughters. He was originally buried in the San Gabriel Catholic Church cemetery, but in the 1850s his body was disinterred and reburied at St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery in Port Gibson, Mississippi
Port Gibson, Mississippi
Port Gibson is a city in Claiborne County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,840 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Claiborne County.- History :...
, the home of his daughter Elve.