Wild Bill Hickok
James Butler Hickok was born on May 27, 1837, in Troy Grove, Illinois. He began his career as a peace officer in Monticello, Kansas at the age of 21. When the American Civil War broke out, Hickok joined the Union Army in 1861, serving first as a wagon master and then as an agent with the Provost Marshal’s office in Springfield, Missouri. As a detective he caught soldiers not reporting for duty and horse thieves, investigated liquor license fraud, and tracked down counterfeiters. In 1864, Hickok was appointed by General John Sanborn as his personal scout and spy, working in Missouri and Arkansas where guerilla tactics by Union and Confederate forces were often savage. He emerged from war duty as a man both feared and admired. From then on Hickok was known as Wild Bill.