NATCHEZ, Miss.- The statue depicting the legendary fight that led to the coining of the “Bowie Knife” makes its way to the Natchez Visitors Center (Photo courtesy of Natchez Democrat). The year was 1827. The fight between Jim Bowie and Major Norris Wright happened on a Mississippi Sandbar close to Natchez. After being shot and stabbed, Bowie drove his knife through the chest of Norris Wright and killed him. This moment shot Bowie’s name into the history books and into Natchez lore forever.
The statue was donated by Mike Worley, owner of the Dunleith Historic Inn, and is a life size statue of the two bodies in the sculpture placed on a metal frame, done by award-winning artist Roy Butler.
“At that point in time in history, this was considered, to some degree, the Western outpost of Eastern civilization,” said Kevin Kirby, CEO of the Natchez Convention and Visitors Bureau. “It was delegated in the national press as a representative of the wild west… The far reaches of the colonies. So, it captured national attention relative to here, a duel taking place in the waning days of the first quarter of the nineteenth century.”
The statue was unveiled at the Natchez Visitors Center Tuesday.
You can listen to the interview with Kevin Kirby HERE:
