Sep 01, 2023
By: Komal BanchhorOn July 21, 1873, a brazen act of robbery unfolded in Adair, Iowa. The notorious outlaw and American folk figure, Jesse James along with his infamous posse, the James-Younger Gang embarked on their first train heist, per WhizzPast. In a daring move, they used ...
Jesse James remains a captivating figure in American history, often romanticized as a type of Robin Hood or folk hero despite his ruthless actions, including the loss of innocent lives. Let's delve into ten lesser-known secrets and intriguing facets of Je...
Jesse James's upbringing was far from the lawlessness he would later embrace. His father, Robert S. James was a Baptist minister and a hemp farmer. However, his father's quest for gold out West led him away from home and he eventually succumbed to ch...
The James family resided in Missouri, a state divided by the Civil War. They owned slaves and supported the Confederacy. Jesse's upbringing was steeped in the values of the South during this tumultuous period.
At the tender age of 15, Jesse James and his family faced a traumatic encounter with Union soldiers seeking information. The soldiers hung Jesse's stepfather from a tree and he suffered severe mental trauma though he survived the ordeal. This incident ign...
Before he gained notoriety as an outlaw, Jesse faced death twice. In 1864, he was shot in the chest while attempting to steal a saddle from a farmer. The following year, Union soldiers shot him once again. These early brushes with mortality foreshadowed his tu...
Jesse's time as a Confederate guerrilla fighter is shrouded in controversy. Some accounts suggest that he and his comrades may have been involved in the gruesome acts of slaughtering and scalping unarmed Union soldiers. However, the veracity of these clai...
Jesse James raised eyebrows with his choice of a life partner. He married his first cousin, Zerelda "Zee" Mimms, who shared the same name as Jesse's mother. This unconventional union added to the intrigue surrounding his personal life.
Jesse was often called "Dingus." This nickname stemmed from an incident where he accidentally shot off the tip of his finger while cleaning a pistol. Rather than using profanity, he quipped, "That's the dod-dingus pistol I ever saw."
The James gang's reputation as modern-day Robin Hoods owed much to the efforts of newspaper editor John Newman Edwards. Edwards penned favorable articles that painted the gang as noble figures, writing lines like "[the James gang are] men who might h...
Jesse James had a penchant for publicity. He was known to distribute "press releases" at the scenes of his crimes. One such release exaggerated his feats and declared, "The most daring robbery on record." This calculated manipulation of the...