Frank james

Jesse James and his brother Frank served for the Confederate Army before embarking on criminal careers in the Old West. The James brothers made a name for themselves as bank and train robbers, leading the James-Younger gang.

Where was jesse james born

Jesse and his brother Frank James were educated and hailed from a prestigious family of farmers. In the summer of , the James farm was brutally attacked by Union soldiers. Some historians accuse Jesse and Frank of being cruel to Union soldiers, while others argue that it was the brutal treatment the brothers received that turned them to a life of crime.

Either way, they rebelled against harsh postwar civil legislation and took the law into their own hands.

Jesse james: last words

They began robbing trains, stagecoaches and banks that were owned or operated by a Northern institution. There has been speculation that the boys and their gangs were like Robin Hood, robbing the rich and giving to the poor, but there is no evidence for that. Most likely, they kept the money for themselves. From to , the James Gang was the most feared band of outlaws in American history, responsible for more than 20 bank and train robberies and the murders of countless individuals who stood in their way.

They were legends in their own time, popular in Missouri for actively trying to further the Confederate cause. On December 7, , the gang robbed the Gallatin, Missouri, bank. From that robbery to the end of their careers, members of the James Gang had a price on their heads, dead or alive. In , Jesse married his longtime sweetheart and first cousin, Zerelda, and had two children.

Both James brothers were known as good family men who loved their wives and spent time with their children, but they still continued their life of crime. Though protected by their community, they were always on the move.