OnThisDay in 1865, a legendary shootout between Wild Bill Hickok and Davis Tutt took place in Springfield, Missouri.
Born in 1837, James B. Hickok earned a reputation as a dangerous gunslinger, resulting in the nickname “Wild Bill.” During the Civil War, he served as a scout for the Union.
Wild Bill Hickok was staying in Springfield in the months following the Civil War, and his frequent gambling led to the famed shootout. Davis Tutt, a former Confederate soldier from Arkansas, was a gambler who also resided in Springfield at the war’s end. Tensions between the two boiled over regarding a debt. Tutt claimed that Hickok owed him $35. Hickok claimed it was $25. To cover the difference, Tutt took Hickok’s watch as collateral, an insult that Wild Bill would not let go unanswered. He threatened violence if Tutt continued wearing the stolen watch. Tutt refused to return the watch, leading to the dramatic public showdown.
The shootout itself became the template for the classic Wild West quick-draw duel. Hickok and Tutt stood in the town square, and both men drew and fired their revolvers nearly at once. Tutt’s shot missed. Wild Bill’s did not. He struck Tutt in the chest, and the gambler died at the scene.
Hickok was arrested days after the shootout and stood trial for manslaughter on August 3rd. There was no question as to how Davis Tutt died. The question was whether the shooting was premeditated or if Hickok was reasonably defending himself. After quick deliberations, the jury ruled that Wild Bill was not guilty. The idea that a stolen watch could serve as a justification for homicide fit well in the growing legend of the Wild West.
The story of the shootout spread across the country in an 1867 edition of Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, which turned the gunslinger into a celebrity. In the years following the shootout, Wild Bill served as a marshal in Kansas, got into more shootouts, and, of course, continued to gamble.
In 1876, the Wild West legend met his end at a poker table in the Dakota Territory when another disgruntled gambler, Jack McCall, shot him in the head. The hand Hickok was said to be holding at the time, black aces and eights with a mystery fifth card, is now known as the dead man’s hand.
Source: Missouri State Archvies
Postcard of shootout, courtesy of the State Historical Society of Missouri, John F. Bradbury, Jr. Postcard Collection.
https://digital.shsmo.org/digital/collection/imc/id/82888
