Who is Wild Bill Hickman on Netflix's American Primeval? Character explored in depth 

Netflix's American Primeval is a fictional Western tale based on the Utah War of 1857, where many groups tried to seize control over the untamed Utah territory.

Among these many groups, the most prominent group was the Mormons, headed by their second president, Brigham Young, who ordered the Mountain Meadow Massacre in Episode 1.

American Primeval boasts an ensemble cast of Taylor Kitsch, Betty Gilpin, Dane DeHaan, and Saura Lightfoot-Leon. While almost all of the cast for the show is fictional, it features some real-life people, including Kim Coates' Brigham Young and Alex Breaux's Wild Bill Hickman.

Brigham Young was the second president of the Mormon Church/Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Hickman was baptized into the Church and became a high-ranking member of the Mormon Church, militia, and personal bodyguard to Young.

More on Wild Bill Hickman's character in American Primeval in our story.

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American Primeval's Wild Bill Hickman was a real-life person

As shown in American Primeval, Wild Bill Hickman was Brigham Young's bodyguard, who carried out all his orders to establish the Mormon Church's control over the untamed Utah territory.

After James Wolsey's careless execution of the Mountain Meadow Massacre, Hickman punishes him with a leash on Young's orders, which establishes him as the Mormon leader's right-hand man.

Hickman also followed Young's order to keep the U.S. government out of Utah Territory so that the Mormons could practice unchecked control of the land. As seen in the finale, Hickman accompanied Young in burning Fort Bridger after they bought it from Bridger.

Fort Bridger was an important infrastructure that could be used against the Mormons in a potential war with the US Government. Therefore, Hickman and Young burned the fort down in the finale, a real-life event during the Utah War.

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What happened to Wild Bill Hickman in real life?

Hickman was baptized in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in 1839, following which he served as bodyguard to the first Mormon president, Joseph Smith.

After Young was made the second-ever Mormon president, Hickman continued to serve as his personal bodyguard and followed his commands.

While the Battle of Fort Utah is not featured on American Primeval as it occurred in 1850, it was one of the most important events in Hickman's life, where he was an active part of the militia that carried out the genocide of the Timpanogo tribe.

Hickman beheaded their chief, Old Elk, and hung his head at Fort Utah on Young's orders. In addition, as seen on the American Primeval, he burned down Fort Bridger and many supply trains of the US Government.

Hickman was a polygamist who married nine times, because of which he was excommunicated from the church and later arrested for various murders that he committed on Young's orders. While he later agreed to become a federal witness and testify against Young, the Mormon leader was never convicted of his crimes.

While in jail, he wrote an autobiography defaming Brigham Young along with all the bad deeds and 70 murders that he carried out on his orders. It was later published as Brigham's Destroying Angel: Being the Life, Confession, and Startling Disclosures of the Notorious Bill Hickman, The Danite Chief of Utah by J.H. Beadle. He finally died in Lander, Wyoming, in 1883, approximately twenty-six years after the events of American Primeval.

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