James-Younger gang
Encyclopedia
Gang
A gang is a group of people who, through the organization, formation, and establishment of an assemblage, share a common identity. In current usage it typically denotes a criminal organization or else a criminal affiliation. In early usage, the word gang referred to a group of workmen...
of American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
outlaw
Outlaw
In historical legal systems, an outlaw is declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, this takes the burden of active prosecution of a criminal from the authorities. Instead, the criminal is withdrawn all legal protection, so that anyone is legally empowered to persecute...
s that included Jesse James.
The gang was centered in the state of Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
. Membership fluctuated from robbery to robbery, as the outlaws' raids were usually separated by many months. At various times, it included the Younger Brothers (Cole
Cole Younger
Thomas Coleman "Cole" Younger was an American Confederate guerrilla during the American Civil War and later an outlaw with the James-Younger gang...
, Jim
Jim Younger
James Hardin "Jim" Younger was a notable American outlaw and member of the James-Younger gang. He was the brother of Cole, John and Bob Younger-Life:...
, John
John Younger
John Harrison Younger was an American outlaw, the brother of Cole, Jim and Bob.-Biography:He was the 11th child of Henry Washington Younger and Bersheba Leighton Fristoe's 14 children and their 5th son, the fourth to survive into adulthood.In July, 1862, his father was shot and killed while on a...
, and Bob
Bob Younger
Robert Ewing "Bob" Younger was an American criminal and outlaw, the younger brother of Cole, Jim and John Younger , he was a member of the James-Younger gang.-Life:...
), the James Brothers (the infamous Jesse James
Jesse James
Jesse Woodson James was an American outlaw, gang leader, bank robber, train robber, and murderer from the state of Missouri and the most famous member of the James-Younger Gang. He also faked his own death and was known as J.M James. Already a celebrity when he was alive, he became a legendary...
and his brother Frank
Frank James
Alexander Franklin "Frank" James was a famous American outlaw. He was the older brother of outlaw Jesse James.-Childhood:...
), Clell Miller
Clell Miller
Clell Miller was an outlaw with the James-Younger Gang who was killed during the gang's robbery at Northfield, Minnesota....
, Arthur McCoy, Charlie Pitts, John Jarrette (who was married to Cole's sister Josie), Bill Chadwell (alias Bill Stiles), and Matthew "Ace" Nelson. Contrary to frequent reports, the James brothers and Younger brothers were not related, at least not by blood. Starting in 1879, after the demise of the James-Younger Gang, the James brothers committed further crimes with Clell Miller's brother Ed
Edward T. Miller (outlaw)
Edward T. Miller was a Missouri born outlaw and a younger brother of outlaw Clell Miller.Little is known about Miller, except that he took part in several robberies with Jesse James, especially after the downfall of Jesse's James-Younger gang...
, the Ford brothers (Robert
Robert Ford (outlaw)
Robert Newton "Bob" Ford was an American outlaw best known for killing his gang leader Jesse James in 1882. Ford was shot to death by Edward O'Kelley in his tent saloon with a shotgun blast to the front upper body...
and Charles
Charles Ford (outlaw)
Charles Wilson "Charley" Ford was an outlaw, and member of the James Gang. He was the lesser known brother of Robert Ford, the killer of Jesse James...
), Bill Ryan, Dick Liddil
Dick Liddil
James Andrew "Dick" Liddil was an American outlaw who was one of the last surviving members of the James-Younger Gang...
, and the Hite Brothers Wood
Wood Hite
Robert Woodson "Wood" Hite was an outlaw and cousin of Frank and Jesse James. He was born around 1850 in Logan, Kentucky to Major George Burns and Nancy Gardner Hite . His mother was the sister of Robert Sallee James, the father of Frank and Jesse James of the James-Younger Gang, making Wood a...
and Clarence.
The James-Younger Gang had its origins in a group of Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
bushwhacker
Bushwhacker
Bushwhacking was a form of guerrilla warfare common during the American Revolutionary War, American Civil War and other conflicts in which there are large areas of contested land and few Governmental Resources to control these tracts...
s who fought in the bitter partisan conflict that wracked the divided state of Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. This group's postwar crimes began in 1866, though it did not truly become the "James-Younger Gang" until 1868 at the earliest, when the authorities first named Cole Younger and both the James brothers as suspects in the robbery of the Nimrod Long bank in Russellville, Kentucky
Russellville, Kentucky
As of the census of 2000, there were 7,149 people, 3,064 households, and 1,973 families residing in the city. The population density was 672.1 people per square mile . There were 3,458 housing units at an average density of 325.1 per square mile...
. It dissolved in 1876, after the capture of the Younger brothers in Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
after the ill-fated attempt to rob the Northfield First National Bank. Three years later, Jesse James organized a new gang and renewed his criminal career, which came to an end with his death in 1882. During the gang's period of activity, it robbed bank
Bank
A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...
s, trains, and stagecoach
Stagecoach
A stagecoach is a type of covered wagon for passengers and goods, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, usually four-in-hand. Widely used before the introduction of railway transport, it made regular trips between stages or stations, which were places of rest provided for stagecoach travelers...
es in Missouri, Kentucky, Iowa, Texas, Arkansas, Kansas, and West Virginia.
The Broad Sword
From the beginning of the American Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, the state of Missouri officially stayed with the Union. Missouri, however, had been the center of much of the agitation leading up to the outbreak of the war, and was home to dedicated partisans of both sides. Well before the end of 1861, local Unionists and secessionists began to battle each other across the state, and guerrilla warfare erupted between Confederate partisans and the more organized Union forces. By early 1862, the Unionist provisional government mobilized a state militia to fight increasingly organized and deadly Confederate partisans. This conflict (fought largely, though not exclusively, between Missourians themselves) raged until after the fall of Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
and the surrender of General Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
, costing thousands of lives and devastating broad swathes of the countryside.
The James and Younger brothers belonged to slave-owning families with ties to the South. Zerelda Samuel, the mother of Frank and Jesse James, was an outspoken partisan of the South, though the Youngers' father, Henry Washington Younger
Henry Washington Younger
Henry Washington Younger was a businessman and father to the Younger outlaws Cole, Jim, John and Bob. He was the father of fourteen children...
, was believed to be a Unionist. Cole Younger's initial decision to fight as a "bushwhacker," or Confederate, is usually attributed to the death of his father at the hands of Union forces. He and Frank James are both believed to have fought under one of the most famous bushwhacker leaders, William Clarke Quantrill, though Cole eventually joined the regular Confederate army. Jesse James began his guerrilla career in 1864, at the age of sixteen, fighting alongside Frank under the leadership of Archie Clement and "Bloody Bill" Anderson
William T. Anderson
William T. "Bloody Bill" Anderson was a pro-Confederate guerrilla leader in the American Civil War.Anderson was known for his brutality towards Union soldiers, and pro Union partisans, who were called Jayhawkers. Anderson participated in Quantrill's raid on Lawrence, Kansas on August 21, 1863...
.
At war's end, Frank James surrendered in Kentucky; Jesse James attempted to surrender to Union militia but was shot through the lung outside of Lexington, Missouri
Lexington, Missouri
Lexington is a city in Lafayette County, Missouri, United States. The population was 4,453 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Lafayette County. Located in western Missouri, Lexington lies about 40 miles east of Kansas City and is part of the Greater Kansas City Metropolitan Area...
; he was nursed back to health by his cousin, Zerelda Zee Mimms, whom he eventually married. Cole Younger returned from a mission to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Quantrill and Anderson had both been killed. The James brothers, however, continued to associate with their old guerrilla comrades, who remained together under the leadership of Archie Clement
Archie Clement
Archie Clement , a.k.a "Little Arch", was a pro-Confederate guerrilla leader in the American Civil War, known for his brutality towards Union soldiers and pro-Union civilians in Missouri.-Little Archie, the bushwhacker:...
. It was likely Clement who, amid the tumult of
Reconstruction in Missouri, turned the guerrillas into outlaws.
The early years: 1866 to 1870
On February 13, 1866, a group of gunmen carried out the first daylight, peacetime, armed bank robbery in U.S. history, when they held up the Clay County Savings Association, stealing some $60,000 in cash and bonds. The state authorities suspected Archie Clement of leading the raid, and promptly issued a reward for his capture. In later years, the list of suspects grew to include Frank James, Cole Younger, John Jarrette, Oliver Shepard, Bud and Donny Pence, Frank Greg, Bill and James Wilkerson, Joab Perry, Ben Cooper, Red Mankus and Allen Parmer (who later married Susan James, Frank and Jesse's sister). The outlaws also killed George Wymore, a bystander on the street outside the bank. On June 13, 1866 two members of Quantrill's Raiders were freed by a raid in Independence Missouri in which the jailer Henry Bugler was killed; the James are believed to have been involved.That crime began a string of robberies, many of which were linked to Clement's group of bushwhackers. The hold-up most clearly linked to the group was of Alexander Mitchell and Company in Lexington, Missouri
Lexington, Missouri
Lexington is a city in Lafayette County, Missouri, United States. The population was 4,453 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Lafayette County. Located in western Missouri, Lexington lies about 40 miles east of Kansas City and is part of the Greater Kansas City Metropolitan Area...
, on October 30, 1866, which netted $2,011.50. Clement was also linked to violence and intimidation against officials of the Republican government that now ruled the state. On election day, Clement led his men into Lexington, where they drove Republican voters away from the polls, and secured a Republican defeat. A detachment of state militiamen was dispatched to the town. They convinced the bushwhackers to disperse, then attempted to capture Clement, who still had a price on his head. Clement refused to surrender, and was shot down in a wild gunfight on the streets of Lexington.
Despite the death of Clement, his old followers remained together, and robbed a bank across the Missouri River
Missouri River
The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...
from Lexington in Richmond, Missouri
Richmond, Missouri
Richmond is a city in Ray County, Missouri, United States. The population was 5,797 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Ray County.-Geography:Richmond is located at...
, on May 22, 1867 in which the Town Mayor and two lawmen were killed. This was followed on March 20, 1868, by a raid on the Nimrod Long bank in Russellville, Kentucky
Russellville, Kentucky
As of the census of 2000, there were 7,149 people, 3,064 households, and 1,973 families residing in the city. The population density was 672.1 people per square mile . There were 3,458 housing units at an average density of 325.1 per square mile...
. In the aftermath of the two raids, however, the more senior bushwhackers were killed or captured. This set the stage for the emergence of the James and Younger brothers, and the transformation of the old Clement crew into the James-Younger Gang.
On December 7, 1869, Frank and Jesse James are believed to have robbed the Davies County Savings Association in Gallatin, Missouri
Gallatin, Missouri
Gallatin is a city in Daviess County, Missouri, United States. The population was 1,789 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Daviess County.-History:...
. Jesse is suspected of having shot down the cashier, John W. Sheets, in the mistaken belief that he was Samuel P. Cox, the Union militia officer who had ambushed and killed "Bloody Bill" Anderson during the Civil War. The notoriety of the crime, a dramatic escape through the midst of a posse a few days later by the James brothers, and letters to the press that followed, written by Jesse, made Jesse James famous. He only grew more famous, and notorious, until his death more than a decade later.
1871 to 1875
On June 3, 1871, Frank and Jesse James, Cole Younger, and Clell Miller robbed the bank in Corydon, IowaCorydon, Iowa
Corydon is a city in Wayne County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,585 in the 2010 census, a decline from 1,591 in the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Wayne County....
. The bank contacted the Pinkerton National Detective Agency
Pinkerton National Detective Agency
The Pinkerton National Detective Agency, usually shortened to the Pinkertons, is a private U.S. security guard and detective agency established by Allan Pinkerton in 1850. Pinkerton became famous when he claimed to have foiled a plot to assassinate president-elect Abraham Lincoln, who later hired...
in Chicago, the first involvement of the famous agency in the pursuit of the James-Younger Gang. Agency founder Allan Pinkerton dispatched his son, Robert Pinkerton, who joined a county sheriff in tracking the gang to a farm in Civil Bend, Missouri. A short, indecisive gunfight ensued, as the gang successfully escaped. On June 24, 1871, Jesse James wrote a letter to the Kansas City Times, claiming Republicans were persecuting him for his Confederate loyalties by accusing him and Frank of carrying out the robberies. "But I don't care what the degraded Radical party thinks about me," he wrote, "I would just as soon they would think I was a robber as not."
On April 29, 1872, the gang robbed a bank in Columbia, Kentucky
Columbia, Kentucky
Columbia is a city in Adair County, Kentucky, United States, just above Russell Creek. The area was settled around 1802 by Daniel Trabue. The post office was opened on April 1, 1806 by John Field, who also ran a local store. The population was 4,014 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of...
. One of the outlaws shot down the cashier, R.A.C. Martin, who refused to open the safe. On September 23, 1872, three men (identified by former bushwhacker Jim Chiles as Jesse James and Cole and John Younger) robbed a ticket booth of the Second Annual Kansas City Industrial Exposition, amid thousands of people. They took some $900, and accidentally shot a little girl in the ensuing struggle with the ticket seller. The crime was praised by Kansas City Times editor John Newman Edwards in a famous editorial entitled, "The Chivalry of Crime." He soon published an anonymous letter from one of the outlaws, believed to be Jesse James, that referred to the approaching presidential election. "Just let a party of men commit a bold robbery, and the cry is hang them. But [President Ulysses S.
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
] Grant and his party can steal millions and it is all right," the outlaw wrote. "They rob the poor and rich, and we rob the rich and give to the poor."
On May 27, 1873, the James-Younger gang robbed the Ste. Genevieve Savings Association in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri
Ste. Genevieve, Missouri
Ste. Genevieve is a city in and the county seat of Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri, United States. The population was 11,654 at the 2000 census...
. As they rode off they fired in the air and shouted, "Hurrah for Hildebrand!" Samuel S. Hildebrand was a famous Confederate bushwhacker from the area, who had recently been shot dead in Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
.
On July 21, 1873, the gang carried out its first train robbery, derailing a locomotive of the Rock Island Railroad
Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad
The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock.-Incorporation:...
near Adair, Iowa
Adair, Iowa
Adair is a city in Adair and Guthrie Counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 839 at the 2000 census.The Guthrie County portion of Adair is part of the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
. Engineer John Rafferty died in the crash. The outlaws took $2,337 from the express safe in the baggage car, having narrowly missed a transcontinental express shipment of a large amount of cash.
On November 23, 1873, John Newman Edwards
John Newman Edwards
Major John Newman Edwards, CSA, was famed General Joseph O. Shelby’s adjutant during the American Civil War, an author, a journalist and the founder of the Kansas City Times. He is perhaps best known for contributing to the folk hero status of outlaw Jesse James.-Early life:John N. Edwards was...
published a lengthy glorification of the James brothers, Cole and John Younger, and Arthur McCoy, in a twenty-page special supplement to the St. Louis Dispatch, his new newspaper. Most of the supplement, entitled "A Terrible Quintet," was devoted to Jesse James, the gang's public face, and the article stressed the outlaws' Confederate loyalties.
In January 1874, the outlaws were suspected of holding up a stagecoach in Bienville Parish, Louisiana
Bienville Parish, Louisiana
Bienville Parish is a parish located in the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Arcadia and as of the 2000 census, the population is 15,752....
, and later another between Malvern
Malvern, Arkansas
Malvern is the county seat of Hot Spring County, Arkansas. The city had a population of 10,318 at the time of the 2010 census and is also called the "Brick Capital of the World" because of the three Acme Brick plants in the area...
and Hot Springs, Arkansas
Hot Springs, Arkansas
Hot Springs is the 10th most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas, the county seat of Garland County, and the principal city of the Hot Springs Metropolitan Statistical Area encompassing all of Garland County...
. At the latter, the gang returned a watch to a Confederate veteran, saying, "Northern men had driven them to outlawry, and they intended to make them pay for it." On January 31, 1874, the gang robbed a southbound train on the Iron Mountain Railway
St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway
The St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway was a historic railroad that operated in Missouri, and Arkansas during the late 19th and early 20th centuries....
at Gads Hill, Missouri. For the first of only two times in all their train robberies, the outlaws robbed the passengers; in both instances, their usual target, the safe in the baggage car belonging to an express company, held an unusually small amount of money. On this occasion, the outlaws reportedly examined the hands of the passengers, to ensure that they did not rob any working men. Many newspapers reported this was done by the "Arthur McCoy" gang.
The Adams Express Company
Adams Express Company
The Adams Express Company is a publicly traded diversified equity fund that traces its roots to a 19th century freight and cargo transport company. The Company uses a conservative investment philosophy, and the portfolio is managed with the expectation that it will generate solid returns with...
, which owned the safe robbed at Gads Hill, hired the Pinkerton National Detective Agency
Pinkerton National Detective Agency
The Pinkerton National Detective Agency, usually shortened to the Pinkertons, is a private U.S. security guard and detective agency established by Allan Pinkerton in 1850. Pinkerton became famous when he claimed to have foiled a plot to assassinate president-elect Abraham Lincoln, who later hired...
to capture the outlaws. On March 11, 1874, John W. Whicher, the agent sent to investigate the James brothers, was found shot to death alongside a rural road in Jackson County, Missouri. Two other agents, John Boyle and Louis J. Lull, accompanied by Deputy Sheriff Edwin B. Daniels, posed as cattle buyers as they tracked the Youngers. On March 17, 1874, the trio was stopped by John and Jim Younger on a rural stretch of road near Monegaw Springs, Missouri. Boyle escaped, Lull and Daniels were shot, and John Younger was killed by Lull. Daniels died on the spot, but Lull lived long enough to testify before a coroner's inquest before succumbing to his wounds a few days later.
The Pinkerton deaths added to the growing embarrassment suffered by Missouri's first postwar Democratic governor, Silas Woodson
Silas Woodson
Silas Woodson was the 21st Governor of Missouri, United States, between January 8, 1873 and January 12, 1875. He was notable for being the first Democrat elected to that position since the Civil War. No Republican would reach the office for over 30 years after Woodson's election. He was born in ...
. He issued a $2,000 reward offer for the Iron Mountain robbers (the highest reward usually offered for criminals was $300) and persuaded the state legislature to provide $10,000 for a secret service fund to track down the famous outlaws. The first agent, J. W. Ragsdale, was hired on April 9, 1874. On August 30, 1874, three of the gang held up a stagecoach across the Missouri River
Missouri River
The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...
from Lexington, Missouri
Lexington, Missouri
Lexington is a city in Lafayette County, Missouri, United States. The population was 4,453 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Lafayette County. Located in western Missouri, Lexington lies about 40 miles east of Kansas City and is part of the Greater Kansas City Metropolitan Area...
, in view of hundreds of onlookers on the bluffs of the town. Two of the robbers were identified by a passenger as Frank and Jesse James. The acting governor, Charles P. Johnson, dispatched an agent selected from the St. Louis police department.
The gang next robbed a train on the Kansas Pacific Railroad near Muncie, Kansas
Muncie, Kansas
Muncie is a neighborhood in Kansas City, Kansas on the north bank of the Kansas River. Rail lines run through it. On December 8, 1874, the James-Younger Gang are believed to have robbed a Kansas Pacific Railroad there of $30,000....
, on December 8, 1874. It was one of the outlaws' most successful robberies, gaining them $30,000. A new addition to the gang, William "Bud" McDaniel, was captured by a Kansas City police officer after the robbery, and later was shot during an escape attempt.
On the night of January 25, 1875, the Pinkertons surrounded the James farm. Frank and Jesse James had likely been there earlier, but had already left. The Pinkertons threw an iron incendiary device into the house, which exploded when it rolled into a blazing fireplace. The blast nearly severed the right arm of Zerelda Samuel, the James boys' mother (the arm had to be amputated at the elbow that night), and killed their 9-year-old half brother, Archie Samuel
Archie Samuel
Archie Peyton Samuel was the half brother of American outlaws Frank James and Jesse James.Born in 1866, he was the last child born to Zeralda James Samuel and her third husband Dr. Reuben Samuel...
. On April 12, 1875, an unknown gunman shot dead Daniel Askew, a neighbor (and former Union militiaman) who had provided the Pinkertons with a base for their raid. Allan Pinkerton now abandoned the chase after the James-Younger Gang.
September 7, 1875, The gang ventured to Huntington, West Virginia
Huntington, West Virginia
Huntington is a city in Cabell and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia, along the Ohio River. Most of the city is in Cabell County, for which it is the county seat. A small portion of the city, mainly the neighborhood of Westmoreland, is in Wayne County. Its population was 49,138 at...
, to rob the bank there. Two new members, Tom McDaniels (brother of Bud) and Tom Webb, participated. McDaniels was killed by a posse and Webb was caught. The other two, Cole and Frank escaped. Webb, a confederate veteran, was at Lawrence with Frank and Cole.
Also in 1875, the two James brothers moved to the outskirts of Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, probably to save their mother from further raids by detectives. Once there, Jesse James began to write letters to the local press, asserting his place as a Confederate hero and martyr to Radical Republican vindictiveness.
1876
On July 7, 1876, Frank and Jesse James, Cole, Jim, and Bob Younger, Charlie Pitts, Bill Chadwell, and Hobbs Kerry robbed the Missouri Pacific RailroadMissouri Pacific Railroad
The Missouri Pacific Railroad , also known as the MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers, including the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway , Texas and Pacific...
at the "Rocky Cut" near Otterville, Missouri
Otterville, Missouri
Otterville is a city in Cooper County, Missouri, United States. The population was 476 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Otterville is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land.-Demographics:...
. Kerry, a raw recruit, was arrested soon after and he readily identified his accomplices.
The Rocky Cut raid set the stage for the final act in the history of the James-Younger Gang: the famous Northfield, Minnesota
Northfield, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 17,147 people, 4,909 households, and 3,210 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,452.2 people per square mile . There were 5,119 housing units at an average density of 732.1 per square mile...
raid. The target was the First National Bank of Northfield, located far outside of the gang's usual territory, which previously had included only the South and the Border States. The bank itself was not unusually rich. According to public reports, required of all national banks, it was a perfectly ordinary rural bank, though rumors persisted that General Adelbert Ames, son of the owner of the Ames Mill in Northfield and recentlt deposed resonstruction governor of Mississippi, had deposited $50,000 in the Northfield bank. Shortly after the robbery, Bob Younger declared that they had selected it because of its connection to two Union generals and Radical Republican politicians: Benjamin Butler
Benjamin Franklin Butler (politician)
Benjamin Franklin Butler was an American lawyer and politician who represented Massachusetts in the United States House of Representatives and later served as the 33rd Governor of Massachusetts....
and Adelbert Ames
Adelbert Ames
Adelbert Ames was an American sailor, soldier, and politician. He served with distinction as a Union Army general during the American Civil War. As a Radical Republican and a Carpetbagger, he was military governor, Senator and civilian governor in Reconstruction-era Mississippi...
the son-in-law of the hated butler. General Ames had just stepped down as governor of Mississippi, where he had been strongly identified with civil rights and voring rights for freedmen, and had recently moved to Northfield, where his father owned the mill on the Cannon River and a large amount of stock in the bank. One of the outlaws "had a spite" against Ames, Bob said. Cole Younger said much the same thing years later and recalled greeting "General Ames" on the street in Northfield just before the robbery.
The gang attempted to rob the bank in Northfield about 2 p.m. on September 7, 1876. Northfield residents had seen the gang members leave a local restaurant near the mill shortly after noon, and they testified in Faribault at the Younger brothers' trial that they smelled alcohol and that gang members were obviously under the influence when they greeted General Ames near the mill.
Leaving the restaurant where they had eaten fried eggs. three of the outlaws crossed the bridge by the Ames Mill and entered the bank; the other five stood guard outside, two or three riding up and down Division Street shooting their guns to frighten people off the street. Local citizens soon realized a robbery was in progress and several took up arms from local hardware stores. Shooting from behind cover, they poured a deadly fire on the terrorist outlaws, killing Miller and Chadwell, and wounding the Younger brothers (Bob suffered a shattered elbow. Jim was shot in the jaw) Nicholas Gustafson, a Swedish immigrant was killed by a stray bullet. Inside the bank, cashier Joseph Lee Heywood
Joseph Lee Heywood
Joseph Lee Heywood was the acting cashier at the First National Bank of Northfield, Minnesota when the James-Younger Gang attempted to rob the bank...
refused to open the safe and was murdered for resisting. The consensus is that Frank James was the shooter. The infamous bank robbery failure is celebrated every year in Northfield as Defeat of Jesse James Days. - a celebration of victory over criminal thugs like the James-Younger Gang.
The surviving outlaws rode out of town toward Dundas. After several days of dodging the pursuing Minnesotans, who had joined posses and picket lines by the hundreds, the gang had only reached the western outskirts of Mankato. They decided to split up. (Despite persistent stories to the contrary, Cole Younger told interviewers that they all agreed to the decision.) The Youngers and Pitts remained on foot, moving west, until finally they were cornered in a swamp called Hanska Slough, just south of west of Madelia, Minnesota
Madelia, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,340 people, 911 households, and 571 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,876.4 people per square mile . There were 1,000 housing units at an average density of 801.9 per square mile...
. In the gunfight that followed, Pitts was killed and the Youngers wounded further. The Youngers surrendered, and pleaded guilty to murder in order to avoid execution. Frank James and his accomplice secured horses and fled west across southern Minnesota, turning south just inside the border of the Dakota Territory
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
. In the teeth of hundreds of pursuers and a nationwide alarm, Frank and Jesse James escaped, the infamous James-Younger Gang was no more.
Thirteen Swedish families lived in the Millersburg area in 1876, including Peter Gustafson who was recently joined by his brother Nicolaus and nephew Ernst from Sweden. West of Millersburg that morning, Peter Youngquist and four Swedish neighbors harnessed his mules and headed for Northfield to sell farm produce. Riding with the Youngquist party was 30 year-old Nicolaus Gustafson. It was Thursday, September 7, 1876.
The Swedes arrived in Northfield about 1:00 pm and set up their vegetable wagon along the Cannon River near 5th Street. About 2:00 pm, they heard gunshots. Nicolaus Gustafson ran to the intersection of Division and 5th a block away, where he was shot in the head as the bank was being robbed. Gustafson died four days later. A Swede named John Olson was an eyewitness to the Gustafson shooting and testified against Cole Younger.
The bank robbery failed because of the bravery of several local citizens and the uncharacteristic behavior of some gang members. witnesses stated that three of the Northfield bank robbers had been drinking whiskey shortly before the robbery.
During the attempted robbery, Nicolaus Gustafson and acting bank cashier Joseph Heywood were murdered; two gang members were killed by Northfield residents; six escaped. The surviving gang members left Northfield by the Dundas road and headed west for Millersburg. Three were badly wounded and about 4:30 pm, the gang reached the Cushman Hotel in Millersburg where they watered their horses and bandaged their wounds. They were recognized from their stay in Millersburg the night before and had out-paced their pursuers as a massive manhunt was organized.
On September 23, 1876, the Younger brothers were taken to the Rice County jail in Faribault. On November 16, a grand jury issued four indictments — two for the first-degree murders of Joseph Heywood and Nicholas Gustafson, one for bank robbery, and one for assault with deadly weapons on the wounded bank clerk. The Younger brothers pled guilty on November 20, 1876 and were sentenced to life terms in the state penitentiary at Stillwater.
Bob Younger died in prison in 1889 from tuberculosis. After much dispute, Cole and Jim Younger were paroled in 1901 on condition they remain in Minnesota. Jim committed suicide while on parole in St. Paul. Cole Younger received a pardon in 1903 on condition he leave Minnesota and never return. Back in Missouri, he joined a “Wild West” show with Frank James and died there in 1916. Jesse, was shot and killed by one of his own gang members in 1882 and the brutally violent James-Younger Gang ceased to exist after the Northfield tragedy.
Nicolaus Gustafson was buried in Northfield because the Millersburg Swedes had no cemetery in 1876. After his death, the Swedes determined to establish a church and burial ground. Peter Youngquist and Carl Hirdler donated an acre of land adjacent to their homes overlooking Circle Lake and in 1877 John Olson was hired to build the Christdala Church two miles west of Millersburg. Today the church is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and historical markers in front of the church tell the story of Nicolaus Gustafson and the founding of Christdala.
Aftermath
Having successfully escaped, the James brothers went to Nashville, TennesseeNashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, where they spent the next three years living peacefully. Frank in particular seems to have thrived in his new life, farming in the Whites Creek area. Jesse, however, does not appear to have adapted well to ordinary pursuits.
Accordingly, he gathered up new recruits and returned to a life of crime. On October 8, 1879, Jesse led his new men in robbing the Chicago and Alton Railroad near Glendale, Missouri
Glendale, Missouri
Glendale is a city in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 5,925 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Glendale is located at ....
. Unfortunately for Jesse, one of the raw recruits, Tucker Basham, was captured by a posse. He told authorities of how he had been recruited by Bill Ryan.
On September 3, 1880, Jesse James and Bill Ryan robbed a stagecoach
Stagecoach
A stagecoach is a type of covered wagon for passengers and goods, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, usually four-in-hand. Widely used before the introduction of railway transport, it made regular trips between stages or stations, which were places of rest provided for stagecoach travelers...
near Mammoth Cave, Kentucky
Mammoth Cave National Park
Mammoth Cave National Park is a U.S. National Park in central Kentucky, encompassing portions of Mammoth Cave, the longest cave system known in the world. The official name of the system is the Mammoth-Flint Ridge Cave System for the ridge under which the cave has formed. The park was established...
. On October 5, 1880, they robbed the store of John Dovey in Mercer, Kentucky. On March 11, 1881, Jesse, Ryan, and his cousin Wood Hite robbed a federal paymaster at Muscle Shoals, Alabama
Muscle Shoals, Alabama
Muscle Shoals is a city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States. As of 2007, the United States Census Bureau estimated the population of the city to be 12,846. The city is included in The Shoals MSA. It is famous for its contributions to American popular music.-Geography:Muscle Shoals is located...
, taking $5,240. Shortly afterward, a drunk and boastful Ryan was arrested in Whites Creek, near Nashville, and both Frank and Jesse James fled back to Missouri.
On July 15, 1881, Frank and Jesse James, Wood and Clarence Hite, and Dick Liddil
Dick Liddil
James Andrew "Dick" Liddil was an American outlaw who was one of the last surviving members of the James-Younger Gang...
robbed the Rock Island Railroad near Winston, Missouri
Winston, Missouri
Winston is a village in Daviess County, Missouri, United States. The population was 247 at the 2000 census.-History:The village of Winston is named for General Joseph W. Winston, son of Colonel Joseph Winston, an American Revolutionary War soldier and patriot for whom the city of Winston-Salem,...
for $900. Train Conductor William Westfall and a passenger John McCullough were killed by one of the outlaws. On September 7, 1881, Jesse James carried out his last train robbery, holding up the Chicago and Alton Railroad. For only the second time, the gang held up the passengers when the express safe proved to be nearly empty. With this new outbreak of train robberies, the new governor of Missouri, Thomas T. Crittenden
Thomas Theodore Crittenden
Thomas Theodore Crittenden was a United States colonel during the American Civil War, and served as the 24th Governor of Missouri from 1881 to 1885.-Early life and education:...
, convinced the state's railroad and express executives to put up the money for a vast reward for the James brothers.
Creed Chapman and John Bugler were arrested for participating in the robbery on September 7, 1881. Though they were confirmed as having participated in the robbery by convicted members of the gang, neither was ever convicted.
In December 1881, Wood Hite was killed by Dick Liddil
Dick Liddil
James Andrew "Dick" Liddil was an American outlaw who was one of the last surviving members of the James-Younger Gang...
in an argument over Martha Bolton, the sister of the Fords. Bob Ford
Robert Ford (outlaw)
Robert Newton "Bob" Ford was an American outlaw best known for killing his gang leader Jesse James in 1882. Ford was shot to death by Edward O'Kelley in his tent saloon with a shotgun blast to the front upper body...
, not yet a member of the gang, assisted Liddil in his gunfight. Ford and Liddil, with Bolton as an intermediary, made deals with Governor Crittenden. The authorities soon arrested Wood Hite's brother Clarence, who made a confession but died of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
in prison. Ford, on the other hand, agreed to bring down Jesse James in return for the reward. On April 3, 1882, Ford shot Jesse behind the ear. Bob and his brother Charley surrendered to the authorities, pleaded guilty, and were promptly pardoned by Crittenden.
On October 4, 1882, Frank James surrendered to Crittenden. Accounts say that Frank surrendered with the understanding that he would not be extradited to Northfield, Minnesota
Northfield, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 17,147 people, 4,909 households, and 3,210 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,452.2 people per square mile . There were 5,119 housing units at an average density of 732.1 per square mile...
.
Only two cases came to trial – one in Gallatin, Missouri
Gallatin, Missouri
Gallatin is a city in Daviess County, Missouri, United States. The population was 1,789 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Daviess County.-History:...
for the July 15, 1881 robbery of the Rock Island Line train at Winston, Missouri
Winston, Missouri
Winston is a village in Daviess County, Missouri, United States. The population was 247 at the 2000 census.-History:The village of Winston is named for General Joseph W. Winston, son of Colonel Joseph Winston, an American Revolutionary War soldier and patriot for whom the city of Winston-Salem,...
in which a train crewman and a passenger were killed and other trial was in Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville is a city located primarily in Madison County in the central part of the far northern region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Huntsville is the county seat of Madison County. The city extends west into neighboring Limestone County. Huntsville's population was 180,105 as of the 2010 Census....
for the March 11, 1881 robbery of a United States Army Corps of Engineers
United States Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...
payroll at Muscle Shoals, Alabama
Muscle Shoals, Alabama
Muscle Shoals is a city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States. As of 2007, the United States Census Bureau estimated the population of the city to be 12,846. The city is included in The Shoals MSA. It is famous for its contributions to American popular music.-Geography:Muscle Shoals is located...
.
Frank James
Frank James
Alexander Franklin "Frank" James was a famous American outlaw. He was the older brother of outlaw Jesse James.-Childhood:...
was found not guilty by juries in both cases (July 1883 at Gallatin and April 1884 at Huntsville). Missouri kept jurisdiction over him with other charges but they never came to trial and they kept him from being extradited to Minnesota.
Bob Younger died in prison of tuberculosis at the age of 36 in 1889. Cole and Jim were both paroled in 1901 but Jim could not cope and shot himself to death the next year. He was 54. Cole lived until 1916, when he died at the age of 72. The Youngers remained loyal to the Jameses when they were in prison and never informed on them. They ended up being model prisoners and in one incident helped keep other prisoners from escaping during a fire at the prison. Cole Younger also founded the longest-running prison newspaper in the United States during his stay in Fargo.
Frank James
Frank James
Alexander Franklin "Frank" James was a famous American outlaw. He was the older brother of outlaw Jesse James.-Childhood:...
died in 1915 at age 72.
James-Younger gang in movies
- Bad Men of Missouri (1941)
- The Younger BrothersThe Younger BrothersThe Younger Brothers is a 1949 film directed by Edwin L. Marin. It stars Wayne Morris and June Havoc.-Cast:*Wayne Morris as Cole Younger*Janis Paige as Katie Shepherd*Bruce Bennett as Jim Younger*Geraldine Brooks as Mary Hathaway...
(1949) - Kansas Raiders (1950)
- The True Story of Jesse James (1957)
- The Great Northfield Minnesota RaidThe Great Northfield Minnesota RaidThe Great Northfield Minnesota Raid is a 1972 Technicolor Western film about the James-Younger Gang distributed by Universal Pictures. It was directed by Philip Kaufman in a cinéma vérité style and starred Cliff Robertson as Cole Younger, Robert Duvall as Jesse James, Luke Askew as Jim Younger, R....
(1972) - Frank and JesseFrank and Jesse-Plot:Frank & Jesse is a 1994 western starring Rob Lowe as Jesse James and Bill Paxton as Jesse's brother Frank James. Following the Civil War the two brothers, along with the Younger brothers - Cole Younger and Bob Younger , Bob Ford and Charles Ford , Clell Miller , and Arch Clements...
(1995) - The Long RidersThe Long RidersThe Long Riders is a 1980 western film directed by Walter Hill. It was produced by James Keach, Stacy Keach and Tim Zinnemann and featured an original soundtrack by Ry Cooder. Cooder won the Best Music award in 1980 from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards for this soundtrack...
(1980) - American OutlawsAmerican OutlawsAmerican Outlaws is a 2001 Western film directed by Les Mayfield and starring Colin Farrell, Scott Caan, and Ali Larter.-Plot:The southern army is trying to track down the Yankee army during the civil war...
(2001) - The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert FordThe Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert FordThe Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is a 2007 American Western drama film. The film is directed by Andrew Dominik, with Brad Pitt portraying Jesse James and Casey Affleck as his killer, Robert Ford.Filming took place in rural Alberta and Winnipeg, Manitoba...
(2007)
External links
- Website for the American Experience documentary on Jesse James, broadcast on PBS, with transcript and additional material
- Website for T.J. Stiles's biography of Jesse James, with excerpts of primary sources and additional essays
- Official website for the family of Frank & Jesse James: Stray Leaves, A James Family in America Since 1650
- John Koblas, author of several Jesse James books
- Yesterday's News blog 1901 newspaper interview with Cole and Jim Younger upon their release from a Minnesota prison
- Northfield (Minnesota) Historical Society Bank Raid Wiki
- Defeat of Jesse James Days, held annually the weekend after Labor Day in Northfield, Minnesota.
- The Younger Brothers: After the Attempted Robbery, a podcast by the Minnesota Historical Society on the Younger Brothers' time in Stillwater State Prison.
- Newspapers report the rise, exploits, and fall of Jesse James and the James-Younger Gang
Sources
- B. Wayne Quist: "The History of the Christdala Evangelical Swedish Lutheran Church of Millersburg, Minnesota," Dundas, Minnesota, Third Edition, July 2009, page 19-23, "The Murder of Nicholaus Gustafson;" www.christdala.com
- T.J. Stiles: Jesse James: Last Rebel of the Civil War, Alfred A. Knopf, 2002
- William A. Settle, Jr.: Jesse James Was His Name, or, Fact and Fiction Concerning the Careers of the Notorious James Brothers of Missouri, University of Nebraska Press, 1977
- Ted P. Yeatman: Frank and Jesse James: The Story Behind the Legend, Cumberland House, 2001
- Marley Brant: The Outlaw Youngers, 1992, ISBN 0-8191-8627-9
- Marley Brant: Outlaws: The Illustrated History of the James-Younger Gang by Marley Brant, 1997, ISBN 1-880216-36-1