Jesse James: The Outlaw
“Jesse James was an outlaw to most, a hero to others, and to some a terrorist” (Duke 14). Jesse had a decent life up until the start of the Civil War (Duke 18). His family farm was raided, not once but twice; the second time; Jesse, was tortured for information on Frank’s whereabouts with the bushwhackers, also known as guerilla, applied to those who swore no allegiance to either side and often united into bands of outlaws preying on both sides. (Oxford reference). After the second encounter, Jesse decided to leave home and join his brother, Frank, in the war against the Yankees, a term used by Southerners to describe their rivals from the Union, side of the conflict (Yankee National Geographic). Did Jesse James, a Confederate soldier turned outlaw, fake his death, or is this all just speculation?
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Jesse James was an infamous American outlaw with a distinctive appearance. He was about 5’10, had a lean and wiry build, sharp features with piercing blue eyes, and a thick mustache with a full beard. His style of choice was rugged, and he often wore a wide-brimmed hat throughout his criminal career.
While Jesse had been in the war, fighting for the confederacy, he was a guerilla soldier under William “Bloody Bill” Anderson (Historic Missourians). After joining the guerilla unit, he adopted the “plan and attack, flee and hide” lifestyle. On the morning of September 27, 1864, Jesse along with eighty other bushwhackers, led a raid and massacred twenty-two unarmed Union soldiers (Historic Missourians). Throughout his time with his unit, Jesse had sustained two gunshot wounds to his right lung, the second time while surrendering, causing it to collapse. While he was healing from his injuries, the war had officially ended. Although many soldiers on both sides of the Civil War had received pardons for their involvement, Jesse, Frank, and many other guerrilla soldiers did not and they were hunted after the war and treated like common criminals. Jesse experienced this discrimination against him firsthand and took on the attitude that “if he was to be treated like an outlaw then he may as well be an outlaw” (Duke 18-19).
It was now, that Jesse and Frank, had started the James-Younger Gang. This gang consisted of 8 members, Jesse and Frank James, Cole Younger and his two brothers, Bob and Jim, Clell Miller, Charlie Pitts, and Bill Chadwell (Outlaws). Jesses’ criminal career is said to have spanned over 16 years; during this time frame, the gang had allegedly committed 24 robberies; these robberies were not only banks but also stagecoach as well as train robberies (Duke). Throughout all this time Jesse had never been caught. Was it because of all the aliases he used? Or was it just simply luck? Jesse had once said, “We are not thieves; we are bold robbers. I am proud of the name, for Alexander the Great was a bold robber, and Julius Caesar and Napolean Bonaparte” (American Experience). In Jesses’ mind, essentially, he was doing what a great leader should do, protect his comrades and fight for what he believed was right and wrong. Over time people have begun to romanticize Jesse and his endeavors. One example is his role in a book called, Belle Starr By: Deborah Camp. This book implies that Jesse James was obviously smitten with Miss Myra Maybelle Shirley, also known as, Belle Starr the Bandit Queen. Now Jesse was not in love with Belle in the way his comrades were, his feelings toward her were purely out of admiration for her courage and mean streak. According to the book Jesse had said this about Belle Starr; “Belle Starr was less than a man, but more than a woman.”
There has not been any evidence to suggest this could be true; however, there is evidence that Belle was called the female Jesse James and she had often ridden with the James-Younger gang (Belle Starr). Even though the romanticized versions of Jesse give him a tall, dark, and handsome appeal, they are not entirely historically accurate, the fact is, was Jesse James a folklore hero? Or was he a cold-blooded killer? Jesse James was as tenacious as he was rebellious, on one hand, he was determined in whatever he set his mind to and wanted to get it right the first time. On the other hand, he didn’t quite respect all levels of authority, he respected his parents and his commanders, he did not respect the courts or Pinkerton’s he continued to rebel up until his supposed death in 1882.
Conspiracy
When it comes to Jesse James’ death in 1882, there is a small possibility he did not die. Instead, he faked his death to lead a peaceful life with his wife and children, finally. What people think they know for certain about Jesse James and his family could be entirely false. The main theory is that Bob Ford, a member of the second James Gang, shot and killed Jesse on April 3, 1882. It is known that Jesse did not trust Bob Ford as he said, "Bob Ford I don't trust; I think he is a sneak, but Charlie Ford is as true as steel" (Legends of America). Unfortunately for Jesse, he had no other option but to include these two men in his plans for another robbery; the other members of his gang had all turned themselves in already (Outlaws). The second theory; Jesse was not murdered. Instead, he faked his death to lead a peaceful life in Texas with his wife and children. The reason for this theory dates back to maybe a day or so after Jesse was supposedly killed. The authorities did not believe that the body before them was Jesse. What ended up happening could only be described as a wild goose chase. The authorities did everything in their power to find previous gunmen who had worked with Jesse to identify his body (Duke 27). Two of the men found to identify Jesses’ body by the authorities were in fact two gunmen who had previously ran with Jesse, the third man was a doctor. The first gunmen found was Harrison Trow (Duke 27). It is said that Harrison looked at Jesses' body and simply said, "That's Jesse" and walked away (Duke 27). The second gunmen, George Shepard, declared, "If that was a true picture of the man killed in St. Joseph, it wasn't Jesse James at all" (Duke 27). Just because one person told them it was not Jesse and the other raised their suspicions even more, does not mean it was not Jesse's body, however, there was a third man, and this man was Dr. J. S. Preston, it is unclear how Dr. Preston knew Jesse in his lifetime, but Dr. Preston stated, "If that was Jesse James... I'm the Queen of May" (Duke 27). Jesse James, a Confederate soldier turned Outlaw, turned J. L. Courtney. J. L. Courtney is the name Jesse had potentially taken after his death; the name belonged to one of his cousins, who had also taken another name (Duke 1). Jesse used to keep day journals from 1871 to 1876 (Duke 7). He would document all kinds of information from aliases to daily activities to how much money he had made and how (Duke 111). “The signatures James L Courtney, J. James, and JWJ are all in the diary. On various pages of the diary and on the cover, he signed the name James L. Courtney repeatedly, as if practicing the signature” (Duke 111). One person who knew of Jesse by this name was his great-granddaughter, Betty Dorsett Duke. Betty, her entire life she was told her grandfather was Jesse James (Duke 1). She was not too sure she believed them; so she started looking into her great-grandfather a lot more and ended up finding some clues to corroborate the story, 1.Grandpa paid $800 in gold for a 160-acre tract of land that he purchased from Barron in 1874. 2.When someone would ride up to his house after dark, Grandpa would blow out all the coal-oil lanterns and lie down across the doorway with his pistol cocked. 3. He had gold and silver buried in different locations, and maps with encoded messages documenting their location. 4.George Roming of El Paso personally saw at least 30 bars of gold, weighing 15 to 20 pounds each, stacked on a shelf in Grandpa’s barn (Duke 1). These are just a few of the things she figured out about her great-grandfather (Duke 1). Not only did she find this information but she also found out her grandpa fought for the South during the civil war. However, she got a copy of his military records and he was listed as a Union soldier. Jesse James had a distant cousin, James L. Courtney, this cousin and his family had changed their name from Courtney to Haun, so it is believed that Jesse took James’ old name as his new identity (Duke 1). After Jesse turned into an outlaw, he was setting camp all over the place always meeting new people. At one of his campsites, he met his real wife, Mary Ellen. They had 8 kids and Jesse wanted to be a simple farmer for his family's sake. To achieve this Jesse had to fake his death and take on an alias he knew he would remember and that’s why he became James L. Courtney (Duke 31). Not only did he give up his gang, he made sure his family would be set for life no matter what happened before he did (Outlaws). Jesse had lived to be 96 not 34 like everyone thinks.
Conclusion
Jesse James was a Confederate soldier and an infamous outlaw in the Old West. Not only is his life filled with mystery, but it is also filled with conspiracies concerning his death. The first theory is Bob Ford striking a deal with the Governor of Missouri to murder Jesse, the second is Jesse faked his death to lead a peaceful life with his family. The research Jesses’ great-granddaughter, Betty, found to corroborate this second theory is extensive; there are too many coincidences to ignore that this theory is, in fact, the true story of Jesse James’ death.