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Results: Jesse & Frank James Part One - The James boys were outlaws, bank and train robbers, Confederate guerrilla during the Civil War, and leader of the James–Younger Gang. Were Jesse & Frank James modern day Robin Hoods or deadly outlaws?

Published on 05/31/2021
By: fsr1kitty
2335
Education
When Jesse James was still alive, America already loved him, for, in him, there was adventure in an otherwise dull, slowly-turning-scientific age. Late in America’s second century, the man rebelled against a society that he didn’t like and became a folk hero. In the mid-1860’s journalists, eager to entertain Easterners with tales of the Wild West, exaggerated and romanticized the gang’s heists.
1.
1.
Frank & Jesse James father Robert James became the pastor of a small Baptist Church outside of Kearney. Reverend James was a well-liked and respected man in the community who helped found William Jewel College in Liberty, Missouri. In early 1850, the Reverend James was asked to serve as chaplain on a wagon train of local men headed west to California in search of gold. On April 12th he left the farm in Zee's (Mrs. James) care and headed west with the intent of preaching to the crowds of gold miners who had gathered there. The minister never made it back to Missouri. Shortly after arriving in California on August 1, 1850, the Reverend contracted a fever, as a result of drinking contaminated water. On August 18, 1850, the minister died of cholera at a Placerville, California gold camp and was buried in an unmarked grave. Did you know Years later Jesse would go in search of his father's resting place but was unsuccessful?
Yes
7%
162 votes
No
69%
1590 votes
Undecided
7%
160 votes
Not Applicable
17%
388 votes
2.
2.
In 1861, when Frank turned 18, any thoughts of pursuing a higher education came to an end when Missouri became rife with the conflict and violence of the Civil War. Missouri was torn in two directions – the majority of the state's settlers came from the south, yet her economy was linked directly to the north. Though Missouri voted against secession from the Union, there were a significant number of people with Confederate sympathies in the state. Did you know the divide led to the formation of two separate governments with different allegiances?
Yes
17%
401 votes
No
56%
1278 votes
Undecided
9%
209 votes
Not Applicable
18%
412 votes
3.
3.
The James family, on both the paternal and maternal sides, had been slave-owners for years which formed their allegiance. Missourians would serve in the armies of both sides of the war until its end in 1865; Frank joined the Missouri State Guard on May 4, 1861, fighting for the Confederacy. While in the Missouri State Guard, Frank served in the Battle of Lexington where an estimated 1,774 Union troops lost their lives. A large victory for the State Guard, the Confederates took control of Southwestern Missouri in October 1861. At some point, after the battle, Frank returned home, presumably because of injury or illness. There he was arrested by a local militia of Union supporters. Did you know he was released when he signed a statement of allegiance to the Union?
Yes
9%
208 votes
No
65%
1500 votes
Undecided
8%
173 votes
Not Applicable
18%
419 votes
4.
4.
by July 1862 he had instead joined the Missouri Partisan Rangers of William Clark Quantrill. Quantrill's Raiders were Confederacy supporters who used Guerrilla tactics. They were active in the Border War between Missouri and Kansas and were attacking both the regular Union army and various militia of Union supporters active in the two states. Quantrill's raids gained the attention of other desperados. By 1863, Quantrill recruited others who joined his company including "Bloody" Bill Anderson, the James brothers, and the Younger Brothers. In the summer of 1863, Quantrill set his sites on Lawrence, Kansas – the location of his most infamous destruction. Early on the morning of August 21, 1863, Quantrill along with his murderous force of about 300, descended on the still sleeping town of Lawrence. Their reign of terror at 5:00 a.m., looting and burning as they went, bent on total destruction of the town, then less than 3,000 residents. By the time it was over, they had killed approximately 180 men, and left Lawrence nothing more than smoldering ruins. Frank James and Cole Younger were with Quantrill during the raid. Did you know Jesse was said to have bragged about it later? The conflict is known as the Lawrence Massacre.
Yes
11%
250 votes
No
63%
1439 votes
Undecided
8%
177 votes
Not Applicable
19%
434 votes
5.
5.
Just three months after the Lawrence raid, a party of Union soldiers invaded the Samuel farm looking for information about the location of Quantrill's camp. Jesse, who was just fifteen at the time, was questioned, then horse-whipped when he refused to answer the soldiers' questions. Their Stepfather, Dr. Samuel, who also denied knowing where the raiders' camp was located, was dragged from his house and was repeatedly hanged from a tree in the yard. Somehow, the doctor managed to survive the interrogation. No doubt out of hatred and anger over this event, Jesse later joined "Bloody" Bill Anderson's guerrilla forces, did you know he was sixteen years old at the time?
Yes
10%
223 votes
No
64%
1464 votes
Undecided
7%
166 votes
Not Applicable
19%
447 votes
6.
6.
"Bloody Bill" was a Quantrill lieutenant who led a raid on Centralia, Missouri on September 27, 1864. More than 100 armed guerillas descended upon Centralia, a community of fewer than 100 people, intent upon robbing the train. While waiting for the train, they terrorized local civilians, robbing, and burning stores and killing a civilian who had attempted to defend a young woman. The stage from Columbia came into the community and they robbed the passengers. When the train finally arrived, twenty-four unarmed and wounded Union soldiers were dragged from the train by the frenzied ruffians and were murdered in front of the horrified citizens of the town. The guerrillas then set fire to the Centralia depot, sacked and set fire to the train. Were you aware they sent it on its way, west, with no crew aboard, to later crash and be destroyed?
Yes
8%
178 votes
No
66%
1525 votes
Undecided
7%
160 votes
Not Applicable
19%
437 votes
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