Download This Sample
This sample is exclusively for KidsKonnect members!
To download this worksheet, click the button below to signup for free (it only takes a minute) and you'll be brought right back to this page to start the download!
Sign Me Up
Table of Contents
William Frederick Cody gained the nickname “Buffalo Bill” due to his skill in buffalo hunting. Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show became known across the world. He was considered one of the most famous American Old West figures.
See the fact file below for more information on Buffalo Bill or alternatively, you can download our 26-page Buffalo Bill worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.
Key Facts & Information
Early Life
- William Frederick Cody, or “Buffalo Bill”, was born in Le Claire, Iowa Territory on February 26, 1846.
- His father, Isaac Cody, was from Toronto Township while his mother, Mary Ann Bonsell Laylock, was from Trenton, New Jersey.
- Buffalo Bill’s mother moved to Cincinnati to work, and there she met and married Isaac Cody.
- Before the family returned to Midwest, Buffalo Bill spent many years living in his father’s hometown in Mississauga Ontario, Canada.
- His family settled in Kansas Territory, where his father ran a trading post near the Kickapoo Indian Agency.
- During that time, Kansas was swamped between pro and anti-slavery.
- Isaac Cody was invited to deliver a speech against slavery at Rively’s Store.
- The people threatened to kill him if he didn’t stop, and shortly after, a man stabbed him twice with a bowie knife.
- Although Isaac Cody was rushed for treatment, he never fully recovered from his injuries.
- Buffalo Bill’s family were often harassed by the supporters of slavery.
- To protect his father, Isaac Cody stayed away from his home.
- His father’s enemies had known of Isaac Cody’s plan to visit his family. They had plotted to kill him on his way home and when Buffalo Bill discovered this, he went and warned his father.
- Isaac Cody went to Cleveland, Ohio and organized a group of about thirty families to bring back to Kansas and include them in the anti-slavery movement.
- He caught a respiratory infection on his return trip and died from other complications.
- After the death of Buffalo Bill’s father in April 1857, the family became financially unstable; thus, at 11 years old, he started working.
- He became a freight carrier and also became an unofficial member of the scouts of Johnston’s Army where he was assigned to guide the US Army to Utah.
- In 1857, Buffalo Bill killed a Native American who had helped attack the cattle drive which he was working for.
- This saw him be declared as the Great Plains’ youngest Indian fighter.
- At 14, he became a rider for the Pony Express.
- He had several jobs growing up.
- Contrary to Buffalo Bill’s claims, he was said to have never ridden the Pony Express but to have worked for its parent company, Russell, Majors and Waddell.
- His supposed real job was to carry messages while riding a horse while traveling three miles away from Leavenworth to the telegram station.
- During the American Civil War, Buffalo Bill wanted to enlist as a soldier in the Union Army but was rejected due to his young age.
- Buffalo Bill enlisted as a teamster in Company H, 7th Kansas Cavalry and ranked as a private at only 17 years old.
- He served and was discharged in 1865.
- In 1866, in Junction City, Kansas, he was reunited with his friend Wild Bill Hickok.
- He served in the American Civil War and worked as a civilian scout in Fort Ellsworth in Kansas.
- In 1867, he was granted a leave of absence and started buffalo hunting to supply those who worked on the construction of the Kansas Pacific Railway within meat.
- This continued until 1868 when he had a hunting contest with William Comstock.
- In over a year and a half, he was able to kill 4,280 buffalos and became known as the champion buffalo killer of the Great Plains.
- In 1868, Buffalo Bill returned to Army service.
- He was assigned by General Philip Sheridan as the Chief of Scouts for the 5th Cavalry Regiment.
- He also became the Third Cavalry’s Chief of Scouts.
- In January 1872, General Philip Sheridan assigned Buffalo Bill and Lieut. Col. George Armstrong Custer to become scouts and accompany Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia for the hunting expedition set up by US President Ulysses Grant.
- In the same year, Buffalo Bill was also awarded of the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions as an army scout in the Indian Wars.
- It was revoked in 1916 because Congress had decided to create a ranking of the medals, with Medal of Honor being the highest military honor that could be given.
- It was stated that the awardees were not technically members of the military officers or enlisted men, and they were classified as civilians.
- They did not meet the requirements so they were removed of the honor.
- Buffalo Bill’s relatives objected and fought for over 72 years to ask for Congress to reconsider.
- It was only in 1989 that the Medal of Honor was restored to Buffalo Bill by the US Army.
Marriage
- He married Louisa Frederici and they had four children together.
- The couple got married on Louisa Frederici’s family farm in Arnold Missouri on March 6, 1866.
- While they were living in Rochester, New York, two of his children died.
- In 1904, Buffalo Bill filed for divorce after 38 years of marriage.
Wild West Show
- In 1869, Ned Buntline met Buffalo Bill, who was 23 years old at the time.
- Ned Buntline had written a story that was based on Buffalo Bill’s adventures and published in Street and Smith’s New York Weekly, and a novel entitled “Buffalo Bill, King of the Bordermen”.
- Another author who transformed Buffalo Bill into a Western folk hero was Prentiss Ingraham.
- Buffalo Bill had been convinced to star in Buntline’s drama entitled The Scouts of the Prairie in 1872.
- His acting was not that polished but he was considered one of the greatest showmen in the world.
- In 1883, Buffalo Bill, with the help of producer and partner Nate Salsbury, created his own show entitled “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West”.
- It was a circus-like attraction that toured for about three decades in the United States and Europe.
- He became world-famous and had tour shows in locations including the United States, Great Britain, and Continental Europe.
- Buffalo Bill continued his show until 1916.
- He remained popular worldwide but, due to his poor investments, he lost the great fortune he had gained through his career.
Death
- Buffalo Bill was last publicly seen two months before his death.
- He died on January 10, 1917.
- He was baptized by Father Christopher Walsh as a Catholic the day before his death and also received a full Masonic funeral.
- After some conflicts as to where he was supposed to be buried, his sister Mary Decker, finally decided to bury him on June 3, 1917 at Lookout Mountain in Golden, Colorado on the edge of the Rocky Mountains, overlooking the Great Plains.
Buffalo Bill Worksheets
This is a fantastic bundle that includes everything you need to know about Buffalo Bill across 26 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about Buffalo Bill who was considered one of the most famous American Old West figures.
Complete List Of Included Worksheets
- Buffalo Bill Facts
- Identification
- Choose the Right One
- True or False?
- Matching Type
- Interview
- Qualities
- Logo
- Poster Promotion
- Acrostic Poem
- Script and Story
Link/cite this page
If you reference any of the content on this page on your own website, please use the code below to cite this page as the original source.
Link will appear as Buffalo Bill Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, October 7, 2021
Use With Any Curriculum
These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.