The Outlaw Jesse James: jessejames

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Jesse James full name is Jesse Woodson James. He was born in Missouri, of Reverend Robert and Zerelda James, on September 5, 1847. By the time Jesse was eight, his mother had remarried twice more. From the third marriage, Jesse gained two stepbrothers and two stepsisters, in addition to the two natural brothers he had. He was skilled with horses and a natural leader. He was never a very skilled marksman.

In 1861, Jesse’s brother Frank left home to fight for the rebel cause. Jesse wanted to join him, but it wasn’t until 1863 when he joined Quantrill’s raiders. Quantrill didn’t really want him, but “Bloody” Bill Anderson took Jesse under his wing. Somehow Jesse acquired the nickname of Dingus. He was part of the Centralia massacre in 1864. He is also known to have been a spy for the rebel army. Jesse was wounded towards the end of the Civil War. He took a bullet through one of his lungs. His cousin Zerelda Mimms nursed him back to health. His recuperation was slow.

Frank and Jesse had talked about forming a gang with Cole Younger, but Jesse was not with them when they committed their first robbery in February of 1866 at Liberty, Missouri. Jesse didn’t join them until October. Frank and Cole Younger got about $57,000 from that job. But it wasn’t until March 1867 that they pulled their first job together. They tried to rob a bank at Savannah. All three aimed at the bank president, but all were poor shots, and only one bullet barely grazed him. This job failed. Two months later a man and his fifteen-year-old son were found dead, thought to have been killed by Jesse. He was very attached to his mother and usually hid out at her house after pulling a job.

In March of 1868, the James brothers and Younger brothers robbed the banking house of Nimrod & Cin in Russellville, Kentucky. In 1869, they robbed a Richmond, Missouri Bank. That same year they robbed the Daviess Savings Bank at Gallatin, Missouri. On April 29, 1872, five men, including the James, robbed a bank in Columbia, Kentucky.

Jesse is thought to be the mastermind behind robbing railroad express cars. Their first target was the Chicago and Rock Island express near Adair, Iowa, on July 21, 1873. They stopped the train by removing a portion of the track. Jesse killed the engineer during that robbery. They got $2,000 from the safe and the valuables of the passengers. Two months later Frank and Jesse stole $10,000 from a Kansas City fairground. By that time the Pinkertons were after them. Pinkerton


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-- posted by corey9