Deadwood: Comparing The Lead Characters And Their Real World Counterparts
1. Seth Bullock
Much of Seth Bullock's backstory in the series is true to life. He was from Ontario, Canada and he served as a law man in Montana, but there was one glaring exception... his family situation. The series portrays Bullock as married to his brother's widow and raising his nephew as a son. History on the other hand records that Martha Bullock was Seth's wife and had been his sweetheart since childhood with no mention of his brother.
As in the series, whether he was as reluctant as the show makes it out is unclear, Bullock quickly found himself wearing a badge in Deadwood serving as Camp/Town Marshall, Lawrence County Sheriff, and eventually U.S. Marshall. Another thing that the series seems to fail to make clear is the passage of time. Bullock and Star were only in Deadwood for one day when Wild Bill Hickok was killed!
Finally, Bullock generally didn't have to resort to the violence present in the series when enforcing the law. In fact, he never killed anyone as Lawrence County Sheriff and instead could rely on an ability to “outstare a mad cobra or a rogue elephant” to keep the peace.