Going down in history as one of America’s most relentless outlaws, Jesse James robbed banks in Missouri, Kentucky, Minnesota, and Illinois, and caused a great rise in confederate support in his home state. From age 16 until his death, he was one of the Midwest’s most feared criminals.

Born to a minister named Robert James, who passed away when Jesse was young, James decided to take the trodden path of a bushwhacker when Unionists killed his stepfather. He joined his brother Frank on a Unionist military killing spree. They were first denounced as public enemies when they became prime suspects in the Centralia Massacre, in which nearly 25 Union soldiers were killed point blank. During the civil war, the James brothers continued their raids and killings, but after the war, with a bloody trail behind them, they didn’t know where to go or what to do.

After being shot by Union soldiers and eventually regaining his health, Jesse James took part in his first bank robbery with his newly formed gang. They held up and robbed banks in any surrounding state. They pinpointed banks that were mostly involved in supporting the Union’s cause and banks controlled by anyone vaguely related to the North’s military. James even wrote letters that were published by the Editor of the Kansas City Times. Jesse became an instant hero for the confederates’ cause, but was considered a murderer and an outlaw by union soldiers.

The Jesse James Gang began receiving death threats and in January of 1875, townspeople and detectives raided his farm, killed his half brother, and wounded his mother. The James’ decided to move to the outskirts of Nashville, Tennessee where they would be free from lynch mobs and others who wanted them dead. During this time, Missouri nearly passed a bill that would have given the James clan amnesty.

Jesse James never gave up his life of crime. He put together another gang, with members who were not well experienced, and attempted to rob a large bank in Minnesota. While doing so, the bank manager refused to open the safe, which cost him his life. However, the ordeal took so long that an armed crowd had gathered outside to await the outlaws. The gang barely escaped, but a huge manhunt soon followed. Jesse returned to Missouri and lived under a fake name. While there, his longtime friends and gang members were paid by the governor to assassinate James for a large bounty. After James was shot in the back, the two collected their rewards. Legend has it that James escaped to Texas and changed his name. In 1948, Frank Dalton of Texas came forward claiming he was Jesse James. He died at the age of 103.

• Al Capone
• Davy Crockett
• Robert E. Lee
• Abraham Lincoln