Jim Bowie: Blades, Battles and the Alamo

Jim Bowie is known as a hero of the Alamo, but he made his name in a duel-gone-wrong: He came away with several wounds, but also with a reputation as fearsome knife-fighter. So how did he become a Texan legend? And what's the story behind the Bowie knife?

By illustration by Charles A. Stephens, book written by William O. Stoddard [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons