Jesse James: The Man Who Killed During The Civil War

Jesse James was a well known gang leader, bank robber, and train robber. He was a member of the notorious gang named the James-Younger gang. Jesse James was born on September 5, 1847 in Clay County, Missouri. Jesse and his older brother Frank lost their father in 1849. The father, Reverend Robert James, abandoned his family and disappeared and was thought to go to the California gold fields. Their mother remarried twice and rumors have it that their new stepfather treated Jesse and Frank in a bad way and. It might have been that the violent and unstable family life that made Jesse and Frank into the criminals they were. “Regardless, it is certain that the brothers first learned to kill during the Civil War. As Confederate sympathizers, both Jesse and Frank joined William Quantrill’s vicious Missouri

It demanded attention. It resulted in the death of unarmed civilians. And it didn't go according to plan. In this case Jesse had snatched a collection of worthless paper from the bank, and the man he killed wasn't the intended target.” This bank robbery proves that even the best can make mistakes. He not only didn’t hit a score but he ended up hurting innocent people. It was not the last time Jesse and his gang made mistakes during a robbery, but every robbery just seemed to give Jesse a taste for more and more. After bank robberies Jesse and his gang switched to train robberies because it was smarter. They got to choose the location and it caught people off guard. In the trains they usually caught cash shipments and emptied the safe and left the people alone rather than hurting them. This gave them a better image with the public. Besides the fact of a criminal Jesse had a good side. Jesse came from a family of farmers and was well educated. His mother’s name was Zerelda Cole James and his father was named Reverend Robert James and he