Butler was amused when told a young woman had accepted
his challenge. But Phoebe Ann won the contest. She also
captured Butler's heart. They were married in 1882.
Butler abandoned his career to manage hers. As "Annie
Oakley" she joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show,
performing into the 1920s.
Annie died in 1926. Her heartbroken husband died 18
days later. Their happy marriage had lasted 44 years.
Irving Berlin immortalized this most American of love
stories with his 1946 musical Annie Get Your Gun |
