Bowie knife
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A Bowie knife is a pattern of fixed-blade fighting knife created by Rezin Bowie in the early 19th century for his brother James Bowie, who had become famous for his use of a large knife at a duel known as the Sandbar Fight.
"Bowie knife"
Damascus knife in a very modern Bowie knife design
An early Bowie of the type made for Rezin Bowie and commissioned by the Bowies to Searles and Constable. This is a copy of the Fowler Bowie currently displayed at the Alamo.
Kennedy notes that Bowie's knife had a blade 9+1⁄4 inches (23 cm) long and 1+1⁄2 inches (3.8 cm) wide with a cross-guard to protect the user's hands.
James Bowie
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James Bowie was a 19th-century American pioneer, slave smuggler and trader, and soldier who played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution. He was among the Americans who died at the Battle of the Alamo. Stories of him as a fighter and frontiersman, both real and fictitious, have made him a legendary figure in Texas history and a folk hero of American culture.
Antonio López de Santa Anna, president of Mexico, led the Mexican Army into Texas.
The Alamo, c. 1847