On January 26, six Pinkerton reinforcements surrounded the farmhouse and tossed a smoke bomb into the house, in an attempt to lure them out. However, Archie Samuel, thinking it was a loose stick from the fire, tossed it "back" into the fireplace and the "bomb” exploded. The blast killed the young boy and wounded Zerelda’s hand so badly; she later had to have it amputated.

Contemporary newspaper reports of the time simply reported the device as a "bomb” and the public was incensed. However, the public wasn’t the only ones who were angry. On April 12, 1875, Dan Askew, the neighbor who had sheltered Jack Ladd, the Pinkerton Spy, was found with a bullet in his brain at his home. Later in the same month, Jack Ladd was also found shot and killed.

After moving around for a while, Jesse and Zee welcomed their first child – Jesse Edward on August 31, 1875 on a leased farm near Waverly, Missouri. Jesse and Zee used the aliases Thomas and Mary Howard. Jesse dyed his light-colored hair dark and grew a beard to conceal his real identity while laying low for many months, and took to farming with his wife. But, not for long. It was at this farm where the plans for the Northfield Minnesota Raid were devised.

The James Brothers, the three Younger Brothers, two Quantrill veterans named Clell Miller and Charlie Pitts and a local outlaw named Bill Chadwell all traveled north, lured by Chadwell's tales of easy pickings in his home state. Right down Jesse's alley, he liked the idea of taking on a northern bank. Planning on making Mankato their first target, Jesse was recognized and they quickly left town.

Riding in pairs, they headed for Northfield, fifty miles to the northeast. Meeting on the outskirts of town on September 6, 1876, they cased the First National Bank, making plans to rob it first thing in the morning.

Two days before Jesse’s 29^th birthday, on September 7, 1876, the James-Younger Gang attempted to rob the First National Bank of Northfield, Minnesota. The attempted robbery was to be the demise of the infamous James-Younger Gang. When ordered to open the safe, bank cashier, Heyman, refused to do so and ducked down.