The James-Younger Gang - Terrorism in the Heartland

OLD WEST LEGENDS

The James-Younger Gang - Terror in the Heartland

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Quantrill Raiders During the Civil War, both the James and Younger brothers had followed William Quantrill's lead in a band of ruthless bushwhackers, getting a taste for violence in the bitter conflict that wracked the divided state of Missouri.

Robbing banks, trains and stagecoaches for ten years, the gang’s postwar crimes began in 1866 but wasn’t called the James-Younger Gang until 1868, when authorities determined that Cole Younger, Jesse and Frank James were involved in the crime spree. The gang soon became the most famous in America’s history and included numerous outlaw members that fluctuated from one crime to the next.

Many of the members of the gang met during the Civil War, most riding with Quantrill's Raiders. Missouri was a divided state, with most residents supporting the southern cause, but the state actually declaring for the Union. The gang of bushwhackers were involved in a number of conflicts, most in Missouri, but also in surrounding states, as well. Before, during and after the Civil War, both the James and Younger brothers were outspoken partisans for the south.

When the war was over, these men who had largely fought in guerilla bands were embittered and continued to associate with their old war comrades. In the midst of the tumultuous Reconstruction in Missouri, the former soldiers turned outlaws.

Their first robbery occurred on February 13, 1866, when the gang stormed the Clay County Savings Association in Liberty, Missouri taking over $60,000 in cash and bonds. It was the first daylight, peacetime, armed bank robbery in U.S. history and when the outlaws were making their escape, gunfire erupted and an innocent 17 year-old boy, by the name of George Wymore, was killed.

Missouri authorities suspected that a known Confederate guerilla leader named Archie Clement was the leader of the group and soon a price was put on his head. Fearless, however, Clement next led the gang in robbing the Alexander Mitchell and Company Bank in Lexington, Missouri, on October 30, 1866, making off about $2,000. However, after Clement began to lead the gang in intimidating Missouri residents in order to sway their votes against the Republican Party in an upcoming election, the Missouri State Militia got involved and he was killed on December 13, 1866.

Despite the loss of their leader, the outlaws remained together and continued their crime spree for the next decade, allegedly involved in the following robberies:

Date	Robbery	City	Amount
February 13, 1866	Clay County Savings Association	Liberty, Missouri	$62,000.00
October 30, 1866	Alexander Mitchell and Co. Bank	Lexington, Missouri	$2,000.00
March 2, 1867	Judge John McClain Banking House*	Savannah, Missouri	Unknown
May 22, 1867	Hughes and Wasson Bank	Richmond, Missouri	$4,000.00
March 20, 1868	Nimrod Long Banking Co.	Russellville, Kentucky	$14,000.00
December 7, 1869	Davies County Savings Bank	Gallatan, Missouri	$700.00
June 3, 1871	Ocobock Brothers' Bank	Corydon, Iowa	$6,000.00
April 29, 1872	Bank of Columbia	Columbia, Kentucky	$600.00
September 26, 1872	Kansas City Exposition Ticket Office	Kansas City, Missouri	$10,000.00
May 27, 1873	St. Genevieve Savings Bank	St. Genevieve, Missouri	$4,100.00
July 21, 1873	Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad	Adair, Iowa	$6,000.00
January 15, 1874	Stagecoach	Hot Springs, Arkansas	$3,000.00
January 31, 1874	Iron Mountain Railroad	Gad's Hill, Missouri	$12,000.00
April 7, 1874	Stagecoach	Austin-San Antonio, Texas	$3,000.00
August 30, 1874	Two Stagecoachs*	Waverly-Lexington, Missouri	Unknown
December 7, 1874	Tishomingo Savings Bank*	Cornith, Mississippi	$10,000.00
December 8, 1874	Kansas Pacific Railroad	Muncie, Kansas	$55,000.00
September 5, 1875	Huntington Bank	Huntington, West Virginia	$10,000.00
July 7, 1876	Missouri Pacific Railroad	Otterville, Missouri	$15,000.00
September 7, 1876	First National Bank	Northfield, Minnesota	$0

* Some historians question whether this robbery was really made by the James-Younger Gang

The attempted robbery in Northfield, Minnesota would spell the death of the James-Younger Gang, though a later gang would be formed simply called the James Gang. After taking the train to Minneapolis in early September, 1876, the group split up, with one party going to Mankato and the other to Red Wing, on either side of Northfield. After scouting the area, they attempted to rob the bank on September 7, 1876. Jesse and Frank James, along with Bob Younger, went inside the bank and while Cole and Jim Younger, Bill Chadwell, Clell Miller, and Charlie Pitts stood guard outside.

Inside the bank, the three outlaws demanded that the vault be opened and the money surrendered. However, Joseph Lee Heywood, the bank clerk on duty, refused to do so and was shot and killed. Hearing shots, Northfield Northfield citizens realized that a robbery was in progress and taking up arms they began to shoot at those outside, killing Miller and Chadwell and hitting Cole Younger in the thigh. In the meantime, Jesse, Frank and Bob Younger fled from the bank, and Bob was shot in the right elbow. Returning the fire, the gang killed Nicholas Gustavson, a Swedish man who was caught in the crossfire.

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The Northfield, Minnesota bank building still stands today.

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