Jesse James

Jesse James was born in 1847. By the time the Civil War broke out in the United States, both Jesse and his brother Frank were old enough to serve. Each chose to serve with the Confederate army. Their military careers would soon come to an end as the two became criminals in the area of the country that would become known as the Wild West.

No one knows what made the son of a preacher turn to a life of violence. Historians do know that, in 1863, the James’s home was attacked by Union troops. Whatever the cause, James became one of the most notorious outlaws of the times, robbing banks, trains, and stagecoaches. James and the men who followed him became known as the James Gang. This gang of outlaws stole an estimated two hundred thousand dollars and harmed countless people.

Eventually, Jesse James’s life of crime came to an end. One of his own men turned against him to collect a reward offered by the Governor of Missouri. Jesse James died at the age of thirty-four, and with his death, the notorious James Gang came to an end.