Wild Bill Hickok threatens the friends of Davis Tutt after defeating
Tutt in a duel.

In what may be the first true western showdown on this day in 1865, Wild Bill Hickok shoots Dave Tutt dead in the market square of Springfield, Missouri.

Hollywood movies and dime novels notwithstanding, the classic western showdown–also called a walkdown–happened only rarely in the American
West. Rather than coolly confronting each other on a dusty street in a deadly
game of quick draw, most men began shooting at each other in drunken
brawls or spontaneous arguments. Ambushes and cowardly attacks were
far more common than noble showdowns.

The first story of the shootout was detailed in an article in Harper’s Magazine
in 1867, making Hickok a household name and folk hero.

James Butler (Wild Bill) Hickok (1837-1876)

Davis “Dave” Tutt was born during
1836 in Yellville, Arkansas.