Sandbar Bowie?

[Jim McDougall]

The actual title here concerns the 'actual' type knife used at the legendary 'Sandbar' fight, which took place on a sandbar in the Mississippi river between Vidalia and Natchez Mississippi on Sept.19th, 1827.

Actually a duel with pistols between two men, with Bowie as second to one, and there were a total of 15 men present. There were distinct political and other differences between both factions of these men. When shots were fired without consequence, dissent broke out among the rest of the men, and a huge free for all ensued.
Bowie himself was shot and stabbed 5 times, with a sword cane actually lodged in him as the fight went on. Though wounded, he killed his attacker with his large knife, and severely wounded several others. At the end of the chaos, there were two killed and four badly wounded.

It seems that James' brother Rezin knew he was going to the 'meeting' (dueling was illegal, which may have been part of the choice of location) and gave him a large knife 'just in case'. The knife is believed made by Daniel Searles of Baton Rouge, who made several knives for Rezin. As with many knives of the time, it was likely made from a file, and looked like a large butcher knife, no guard.

With all the sensationalizing in news, the fight brought Bowie instant fame, and men ordering frontier knives from makers all wanted , 'a knife LIKE Bowies's'. Soon makers began adding that caption to large bladed knives, though the eponym BOWIE knife actually was not that widely known during most of the century.
Even the Alamo was not the center of Bowie knife fame, though a number of examples by mid to latter 19th c. had 'Remember the Alamo' motto on blades.

In "Man at Arms" (Vol. 25,#2, 2003) "A Biased British View of the Bowie", by F.J.Wilkinson ;
Regarding an article written in 1843 in a British magazine:
"...the writer concludes that in the future, whenever there is mention of the Bowie knives it is as well to remember they were probably manufactured by a British mechanic and sold by British merchants. A moral ending to an article that gives a brief but fascinating look at one aspect of life in America. It is perhaps of interest to note that James Bowie is not mentioned at all and neither is the Alamo, despite the anti Mexican feelings expressed. Even the famous fight at Natchez is credited to Rezin".

To reiterate my earlier post, the knife pictured is the one said to have been given to actor Edwin Forrest by Jim Bowie according to descendants of Bowie,
There is so much hyperbole surrounding the Bowie knife by writers from later in 19th through 1940s when Thorpe wrote "The Iron Mistress" and the Alan Ladd movie; then the Alamo movies that fact and fiction are hopelessly entwined.