Results: Jesse & Frank James Part Two - Jesse was many things, including being a sometimes kind man, a dapper dresser, and a prankish charmer, he was also a cold-blooded murderer, robber, horse thief, and terrorist. He and his gang were legendary dangerous men.

Both Frank and Jesse were part of the battle south of Centralia, though it is disputed that they took part in the massacre of unarmed soldiers earlier in the day. Did you know that Jesse is said to have killed Union Major Johnson and is "credited" with taking the lives of seven other men on that tragic day.

In the late Spring of 1865, Jesse rode into Lexington, Missouri carrying a white flag. He was shot in the chest when he attempted to surrender by occupying Union troops. Afterward, he went to Rulo, Nebraska to recuperate from his wound before returning to Missouri. Are you surprised Jesse tried to surrender?

Jesse was known as a very reliable young man, always dressing well, reading his bible and regularly attending church. He never swore or took the Lord's name in vain, preferring when he was angry to make up his own swear words. His favorite was "Dingus", which his brother Frank quickly nicknamed him. Jesse was living in Kansas City, Missouri with his aunt in 1865, when he fell in love with his cousin, Zerelda Mimms. Were you aware that Jesse married his first cousin?

The first James-Younger bank robbery occurred on February 13, 1866, at the Clay County Saving Association Bank in Liberty, Missouri. The first daylight robbery during peacetime, the gang made off with over $60,000 in cash and bonds. As they made their escape, gunfire erupted and an innocent 17-year-old boy, by the name of George Wymore, was killed. Jesse justified much of his actions by his hatred of the Industrial North, feeling as if he were continuing the fight through his outlaw activities. Beginning in 1866, the gang robbed their way across the western frontier for the next fifteen years. For the next several years, the gang continued in their crime spree robbing 8 more banks and a Kansas City Ticket office before robbing their first train. Not limiting who they robbed or killed, sometimes innocent bystanders were wounded or lost their lives while witnessing one of their crimes. During these years, the gang was constantly trailed by the Pinkerton Detective Agency. Did you know Pinkerton's was established in 1843 as Railroad Detectives and Guards for Stage Coaches?

Despite their criminal and often violent acts, James and his partners were much adored. In 1866 and 1867 John Newman contributed to the fame of the outlaws by writing glorifying articles and "dime novels." Journalists, eager to entertain Easterners with tales of a wild West, exaggerated and romanticized the gang's heists, often casting James as a contemporary Robin Hood. While James did harass railroad executives who unjustly seized private land for the railways, modern biographers note that he did so for personal gain. Any humanitarian acts were more fiction than fact. Yet many, many Books, Songs and 50 Feature Films were made romanticizing an American Outlaw who was bold, bad and brave, a legend of the Wild West. Have you seen any of the films about the James Boys?