Billy Dixon
| William "Billy" Dixon | |
|---|---|
William "Billy" Dixon as an Army Scout
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| Nickname(s) | Billy Dixon |
| Born |
September 25, 1850 Ohio County, West Virginia |
| Died | March 9, 1913 (aged 62) Cimarron County, Oklahoma |
| Place of burial | Cimarron County, Oklahoma |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Rank | Civilian Scout |
| Battles/wars |
Second Battle of Adobe Walls Battle of Buffalo Wallow Red River War |
| Awards | Awarded Medal of Honor as a civilian |
| Other work | Hutchinson County Sheriff, Postmaster, and Justice of the Peace |
William "Billy" Dixon (September 25, 1850 – March 9, 1913) was an American scout and buffalo hunter active in the Texas Panhandle. He helped found Adobe Walls, fired a legendary buffalo rifle shot at the Second Battle of Adobe Walls, and for his actions at the "Buffalo Wallow Fight" became one of eight civilians ever to receive the U.S. Medal of Honor.
Dixon was born in Ohio County in west Virginia, on September 25, 1850. Of European and Native American ancestry he was orphaned at age 12 and lived with an uncle in Missouri for a year before setting out on his own. He worked in woodcutters' camps along the Missouri River until he started working at age 14 as an ox driver and a muleskinner for a government contractor in Leavenworth, Kansas.
He was a skilled marksman and occasionally scouted for eastern excursionists brought by the railroads. In 1869 he joined a venture in hunting and trapping on the Saline River northwest of Fort Hays in Kansas.
He scouted Texas as far south as the Salt Fork of the Red River when the buffalo hunters moved into the Texas Panhandle in 1874. He and his group hunted along the Canadian River and its tributaries.
Dixon led the founders of Adobe Walls to the Texas Plains, where he knew buffalo were in abundance. The group of 28 men and one woman occupied the outpost of five buildings 15 miles northeast of Stinnett.
The outpost was attacked on June 27, 1874, by a band of 700-1200 Indians, and that is when Dixon went into the history books for firing "The Shot of the Century" which effectively ended the siege. Although Dixon states in his biography that it was a "scratch shot", he is still honored to this day with competitions in England and the US that attempt to match his skill.
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Wikipedia