Jesse James: The Confederate Guerrilla Turned Wild West Outlaw
Library of CongressA young Jesse James.
Like many Wild West outlaws, the life of Jesse James was shaped by the Civil War. Born on September 5, 1847, in Clay County, Missouri, Jesse James was just a young teen when the conflict first broke out in 1861.
Though Jesse was too young to enlist, like his brother Frank James, the Civil War soon showed up at his doorstep. According to PBS, Union militiamen came to the James’ home and roughed up Jesse and his stepfather. Then, Jesse joined a Confederate guerrilla group led by “Bloody Bill” Anderson.
Jesse James — and his brother Frank James — joined Anderson on brutal raids against Union soldiers. In 1864, they participated in a raid on Centralia, Missouri, where guerrillas executed 22 Union soldiers in a “carnival of blood.” Shortly thereafter, Jesse and Frank James helped kill some 100 federal troops who were attempting to catch the guerrilla group.
But once the war ended, Jesse James didn’t hang up his guns. Instead, he and his brother formed the infamous James-Younger gang.
Public DomainThe last known photo of Jesse James alive.
According to Biography, Jesse James and his gang wreaked havoc across the Wild West. They robbed more than 20 banks and trains, stole some $200,000, and murdered anyone who got in their way. While Jesse James often implied that his gang robbed to avenge the fallen South and to give their loot to the poor, there’s no proof they actually distributed any money.
In any case, Jesse James’ criminal ways soon caught up to him. Though he escaped capture during a foiled bank robbery in Northfield, Minnesota, in 1876, the failed heist resulted in the arrests or deaths of many of his gang members. Jesse and Frank James then started to associate with brothers Charlie and Bob Ford — but Bob Ford would betray Jesse James.
On April 3, 1882, Bob Ford, hoping to collect a $5,000 bounty, fatally shot Jesse James as the Wild West outlaw straightened a painting on the wall. In the end, Ford only got a fraction of the reward that he was promised.
