JAMES FARM JOURNAL Published by the Friends of the James Farm VOLUME 26, ISSUES 2 & 3 SPRING/SUMMER 2015 FROM SALT POND ROAD TO PASO ROBLES

n 22 Nov. 1873, the St. Louis Dis- full advantage of his uncle’s home in badly decayed that I was bound to die, and that patch contained a sizeable supple- Harlem, north City, and the rela- the best thing I could do was to go home and die Oment under the title, ‘A Terrible tive comfort of the river.2 Once among my people.” But Jesse had been shot Quintette.’ Penned by John Newman Ed- in Nebraska, Jesse was cared for by his in this same lung before, by George Heis- wards, friend and supporter of both the step-father, Dr. Samuel, but his condition inger in the summer of 1864, and did not James brothers and the Southern Cause, did not improve. Believing he would die, believe he was going to die.4 Nevertheless the article contained details of interviews the family began the long journey back he returned to family in Logan county with five known and uncommon men – to Missouri on 26 Aug. Once again, before heading back to Missouri in No- Arthur McCoy, Cole and John Younger, Jesse was forced to stop in Harlem, be- vember 1867. A month later, he was back and ing nursed there by Doctors Lykins and in Logan county, Ky., before traveling to James. Wood, and by Zee, his cousin. Chaplin, Nelson County, in the early part A small part of this By the spring of 1866, Jesse stated that he of 1868. interview was dedi- was “just able to mount a horse and ride about “In May, 1868, being recommended by Dr. cated to the events of a little,” a statement substantiated by Cole Joe Wood, of Kansas City, to take a sea voy- 15 May, 1865, when Younger, who saw Jesse “early in the sum- age, I went to New York to find a ship going to Jesse and a group mer of 1866” and noticed that “he was still San Francisco. The Santiago de Cuba sailed on of fellow guerrillas suffering from the shot through the lung he had 8th of June and I took passage on her.” Hav- were fired upon while received in the last battle in Johnson county in ing stayed at the home of uncle Drury searching for a pos- May 1865.”3 Woodson James in Paso Robles, Calif., sible place to cross the . “On In June of that year, “although my own wound and having taken full advantage of the the 15th of May 1865,” Jesse is recorded as was still very bad,” Jesse traveled to the aid Continued on page 6 saying, “I was wounded near Lexington, Mo., of his brother, Frank, who had himself in a fight with some cavalry men – been wounded at Brandenburg and was soldiers, I believe, of the Second Wisconsin… then staying at Alexander Sayer’s house IN THIS ISSUE I was in a dreadful fix. A minie ball had gone in Nelson County, Ky. Frank had “got in a President’s Message...... 2 through my right lung and everybody thought fight with four Federal soldiers. Two of these he that the wound would prove mortal.” Jesse had killed, the third he wounded badly, and the fourth Short Savage Life of Bloody Bill. .3 been left for dead by both friend and shot Frank in the point of the left hip.” The April & June Revolver Shoots. . .4 foe and was forced to spend the night in pair left for Logan county in September September 2015 Shoot. . . . . 4 Tabo Creek before being spotted the next before Jesse returned to Missouri alone in day by a passing farmer. The farmer “bor- October. “During the winter of 1866 and ’67 How to Determine Which Historic rowed a carriage from Mrs Early” and hauled I came almost to death’s door,” he recalled. Information is the truth?. . . . .5 the wounded guerrilla into Lexington, “My wound would not heal, and I had several Scouts Visit the James Farm. . .11 where he surrendered with a group of his hemorrhages.” comrades on 21 May 1865.1 Quantrill’s Strategic Rise . . . .13 It was recommended that Jesse seek the On 15 July Jesse started the long journey advice of “celebrated Confederate surgeon, Dr. Outlaw Days...... 15 to Nebraska and the home of his exiled Paul Eve, of Nashville, Tenn. I went there in Revolver Shoot Pictures . . . . 15 family but so severe was his wound that June 1867, and remained under his care for James-Younger Reunion. . . . 15 the trip was made in two stages, taking three weeks. He told me that my lung was so JAMES FARM JOURNAL • VOLUME 26, ISSUES 2 & 3 SPRING/SUMMER 2015

FRIENDS OF FOJF heading in a new direction THE JAMES FARM hope that everyone is enjoy- ing their summer and not Executive Officers suffering too much in the President (Term Expires 2016) Iheat! It’s been an interest- Monte Griffey ing seven months for the Friends of the James Vice-President (Term Expires 2017) Farm Board. Kevin Makel After care- Secretary (Term Expires 2017) ful consid- Linda Tarantino eration, the Treasurer (Term Expires 2017) Board de- Bryan Ivlow cided to not have its An- Board Members nual Friends of the James Class of 2016 Farm Reunion in June. We need- Pam Banner ed some time to step back and Scott Cole re-evaluate the Reunion. We are FOJF Board member Larry Butcher and former To Be Determined in the process of restructuring FOJF Board President Christie Kennard at the An- nual Meeting and Picnic. (Photo by Beth Beckett) Class of 2017 the event for 2016 and will follow with more details as we solidify business. Martin McGrane our plans for next year’s event. Paul Weller The Board can only be as effective as our We have had two very successful Old West members allow us to be. By that, I mean To Be Determined Revolver Shoots. It’s always fun to see fa- we really encourage suggestions and par- miliar faces return and new faces join us at Class of 2018 ticipation from our members as to what Larry Butcher each shoot. In an effort to increase safety at the shoot, we eliminated the metal we can offer that is meaningful. It’s more Kimberly Howard woodpecker targets and replaced them important now, than it has ever been, to To Be Determined with cardboard. We also changed the fee support the James Farm and maintain and Ex-Officio structure so it’s a flat fee that allows each preserve its historical significance. Beth Beckett shooter four targets at each shoot. The Your support as a member and the input Christie Kennard, Vivie Tison “special target” is now included in the fee you provide the Board allows us to focus and isn’t charged separately. We have also on those areas that you feel are most im- & Liz Johnson added an Anna James category for Cap portant to the legend of the James Fam- and Ball and Cartridge. Ladies – it’s your Honorary Members ily. We welcome your comments. You can turn! Betty Barr email me directly or submit them via the Janet Perry After the June Shoot, we held our Annual website at www.jessejames.org. Either way, Meeting, which the Board is required to Michelle Pollard I look forward to hearing from you. David Smith have every year. Members of the Friends of the James Farm are always invited to at- Sincerely, Newsletter Editors tend and voice their opinions. We enjoyed Monte Griffey, President Linda Tarantino, Liaison a BBQ lunch and reviewed the necessary [email protected] Contributors: Michelle Pollard, Liz Johnson & Martin McGrane WHAT’S DIFFERENT ABOUT THIS ISSUE? Contact editors at: You may have noticed this issue is entitled: Spring/Summer 2015. Due to board changes, we didn’t put out a Spring newsletter, so we www.jessejames.org | combined the Spring & Summer issues into one LARGE issue with Newsletter Design/Layout some excellent articles by writers Michelle Pollard, Martin McGrane Liz Johnson ~ Jolly Hill and Liz Johnson. A Fall issue will be published later this year!

2 Friends of the James Farm • www.jessejames.org JAMES FARM JOURNAL • VOLUME 26, ISSUES 2 & 3 SPRING/SUMMER 2015

The short, savage life of the notorious William T. Anderson

ou can learn a lot about the Civil War in Missouri by look- ing at the photo of William T. Y“Bloody Bill” Anderson that ac- companies this article. He looks haughty and commanding, but most of all he looks dangerous – and he was. Anderson was the leader of one of the most effective (and feared) Confederate guerrilla bands roam- ing Missouri from 1862 until he was killed two years later. His influence, how- ever, on the James Historical sign at the site of the Aug. 14, brothers or certain 1863 Union jail collapse, 1425 Grand Ave., Kansas City. Anderson’s sister, Jo- other ex-guerrillas This photo is believed to be of a young sephine was killed; his sister Mary was lasted far longer – William T. Anderson. Certainly the facial injured. and in the opinion of structure, mouth, nose and eyes resem- some, even into the 20th century. ble photos of Anderson in his 20s. Note pecially in counties that bordered terri- the fancy guerrilla shirt. Anderson, technically, fought under the torial Kansas. Indeed, a large swath of command of William Clarke Quantrill, shotgun fire. Soon afterwards, in re- central and Missouri was known western Missouri’s most notorious guer- venge, young Bill and his brother Jim had as “Little Dixie” in recognition of the fact rilla leader. In reality, though, he and his the neighbor lured into the basement of that so many of residents had come there minions often broke off from the pack, his own general store. There, they locked from the South, including the family of terrorizing, burning, killing and scalping him inside and set fire to the place, burn- Jesse and . Unionists (soldiers and civilians) unfortu- ing him alive. A tough bunch, those An- The regular Confederate army never nate enough to come into range. Their derson’s. held territory in Missouri, except for preferred victims were Union military At loose ends, Bill and Jim Anderson be- only the briefest of times. But because personnel, but even Confederate-sup- gan wandering the unsettled counties of the state’s southern-leaning population porting civilians occasionally felt the heat western Missouri in search of people to was so downright hostile (in their view of their wrath if no other suitable targets rob. In the process, they came under the it wasn’t the Civil War, it was “The War could be found. gaze of Quantrill, who told them to stop of Northern Aggression) the Union was Anderson was in born in 1839 in Ken- robbing southerners or he’d put them out forced to police it heavily with Federal tucky, into a rootless family. His father, of business in a permanent way. They troops and federal . Men and boys also named William, was 19. His mother, got the message and quickly became part (some as young as 12) who wanted to Martha, was only 17. After leaving Ken- of Quantrill’s outfit. fight for the Confederacy couldn’t reach regular Confederate forces to the south, tucky when young Bill was just a baby, Jim Anderson didn’t figure prominently so they joined guerrilla outfits like those the Anderson’s moved to Missouri, then as a Quantrillian, but Bill quickly did. led by Quantrill. to Iowa, then back to Missouri. They He had a lust for fighting, and Quantrill, were living in Council Grove, Kan. in who early in the war had led his unit as 1863 was a pivotal year for guerrilla war- 1860, where the senior Bill was dabbling the captain of a recognized ranger unit fare in western Missouri. Quantrill al- in horse trading (and horse stealing) when of Confederate cavalry, appreciated the lowed Anderson, George Todd and his Martha was killed by lightning. That muscle Anderson brought into the outfit. other leading subordinates to roam at seemed to make him and his near-adult Rather quickly he elevated him to a lead- will, destroying telegraph lines and other sons (young Bill was 21) lightning rods for ership position (a move he would later Union tools of communication, building trouble. Two years later, in a showdown regret). up their own networks of support, and over a dispute with a neighbor (who was killing all the Union and Missouri Mili- At this point, a note about the nature of also his daughter Mary’s former lover), tia soldiers they could find. In frustration the senior Anderson stormed into the the Civil War in western Missouri is war- man’s house where he was greeted by ranted… Missouri was a Union state, but not an entirely enthusiastic one, es- Continued on page 12 Friends of the James Farm • www.jessejames.org 3 JAMES FARM JOURNAL • VOLUME 26, ISSUES 2 & 3 SPRING/SUMMER 2015

April and June Old West Revolver Shoot Results OLD WEST REVOLVER SHOOT Saturday, Sept. 19, 2015 Registration 8 a.m. • Shoot 9 a.m. James Farm, 21216 Jesse James Farm Rd. Kearney, MO 64060 • 816-736-8500

Test your skills on the favorite targets of Buck & Dingus, aka Frank & Jesse, and win a prize! This ain’t no tea dance so shooters are encouraged to dress accordingly.

Cartridge Revolver • Cap & Ball

Fixed sights and dueling stance only Participants in the June 20 shoot pose in vintage clothing on the side porch of the James farmhouse. Cost is $25 per shooter and includes the special target, AND, a year’s he weather for our April 11 shoot Paul Weller – Third Place membership with the Friends of the couldn’t have been better. It was Special Target, Cartridge – James Farm cool enough for the people in Bob Ford PLUS OUR NEW CATEGORY ... Theavy Western garb, but warm (so chosen because April 11 is close to the anniversary enough so that no one was cold. date of Jesse’s death – April 3) ANNA JAMES Having two sets of woodpecker targets Randy Webber – First Place (FOR WOMEN) seems to speed things up. As usual our Terry Barr – Second Place Cartridge Revolver & Cap & Ball shooters helped us set up, move targets Bruce Houston – Third Place and put them away. Visit the website: www.jessejames.org Special Target, Cap and Ball and click on the link for the shoot for The shooters who Les Hunt – First Place rules and regulations came the furthest Ron McCormick – Second Place to participate were: Sponsored by Clay County Parks, Recreation & Bruce Houston – Third Place Historic Sites and the Friends of the James Farm Mike and Patrick Clark. They brought Our next shoot was June 20 and preceded the FOJF Annual Meeting. The Board of us some literature Terry Barr – Second Place Directors provided a complimentary meal from Northfield, Mark Goodloe – Third Place Minn. The Clark’s are for members who came to the meeting, from Anoka, Minn. which included the shooters. Special Target, Cap and Ball Anna James Again, the weather was wonderful. And Kevin King – First Place the morning donuts were great, but the Randy Webber – Second Place This shoot was our first for the Anna James afternoon meal was even better. Les Hunt – Third Place classification. We had two contestants. Standard Course, Cartridge Guns We had a couple of shooters from far Tammy White – First Place away this time. Jim Mason came from Terry Barr – First Place Pam Allison – Second Place Washington, Ill., and Jim Fornoff came Bruce Houston – Second Place Standard Course, Cartridge Guns from Havana, Ill. Dave Triplett – Third Place Randy Webber – First Place Information for our final shoot of 2015 is Cap and Ball Guns Bruce Houston – Second Place above. Randy Webber – First Place Terry Barr – Third Place See you all in September! Les Hunt – Second Place Cap and Ball Guns Bryan Ivlow James Snyder – Third Place Les Hunt – First Place Special Target, Cartridge Bill Allison – Second Place More Shoot photos on page 15 Bruce Houston – First Place 4 Friends of the James Farm • www.jessejames.org JAMES FARM JOURNAL • VOLUME 26, ISSUES 2 & 3 SPRING/SUMMER 2015 How to determine which historic information is the truth

ou’ve been researching an ances- on a chair and turn his back on tor, a person from history and you Charley and Bob Ford?” Ybegin to come across conflicting in- I have an opinion as to why Jesse formation. What do you do? How do you did that, but that’s just my theo- determine what is fact or fiction? ry. It’s not based on fact, and I’m Unfortunately, the answer isn’t always very clear when stating that the black and white. theory is my opinion only. When I first began a history column for I’ve recently come across a dis- the Excelsior Springs Standard in 2011, I crepancy regarding the actual found myself mak- date of the death of William ing loads of mistakes. “Bloody Bill” Anderson that has I took everything I sparked much debate over the found on a subject as years between historians. truth. I got immersed I now write for a different news- in a subject and then paper and had listed Anderson’s made bad judgment death date in a publication as calls and assumptions Oct. 26, 1864. Every periodical, within articles. newspaper and Internet article And it didn’t take long I had read all said he died on for the mistakes to be apparent. Oct. 26. Nevertheless, someone who has studied him thoroughly It was a hard lesson to learn, but one that and then other newspapers would pick up has served me well over the ensuing years. contradicted the date, stating he died on Oct. 27. the story and there you have it – a number I now thoroughly research a subject, take of papers are running the wrong story. the contradicting points and decide how I A flurry of research ensued. I do love a good will present them. mystery, and after all, isn’t genealogical and To be accurate, we have to research as historical research just that? Research, ac- many reports and records as possible As a newspaper columnist, I found I had a – those that at least prove, if not narrow following. People began thinking I was an cumulate information and theorize. But is the mystery solved? For example: down, the facts. Census records are known expert. They look up to you for the right for their mistakes, but often we can find answers and take your word verbatim. In After you’ve done your research and listed those mistakes and see the truth. Names order to serve the public correctly as a the data supporting a death date of Oct. are often misspelled, or even transcribed writer and historian, integrity must come 27 on one side of the page and the data incorrectly. first. supporting a death date of Oct. 26 on the Courthouse records and deeds can often You just can’t form an opinion and make opposite of the page – you must decide which way your theory will go. be relied upon – but can contain mistakes. it fact. But, you can inform the public that Certainly, Cox’s report could contain inac- what you’ve stated is your hypothesis, so In this case, I chose the Oct. 26, 1864 date curacies. But then again, who, if anyone there is no confusion when your article or based on the Official Records of the War of from that day when Anderson was killed, story is read. You can also state the source the Rebellion, written by Lt. Samuel Cox, would have the ability to know the date of your theory to substantiate your opin- where he dates his report as Oct. 27, 1864, correctly? A bushwhacker, camping in the ion. then proceeds to state that everything hap- woods, riding for his life, or a military man When I wrote about Jesse James’ death in pened “yesterday.” (Oct. 26) who has the full support of an army en- my series of articles at that same paper, I Historians still dispute the fact of the date campment. knew I had delved deeply into his char- of death even though an official report As writers and historians, we owe it to acter, visited the St. Joseph house, talked from the Union officer in charge, who was those who read our words and will some- with fellow historians and researched the also a witness, was written describing An- day use our research to determine their farm’s archives. I had plenty of facts to derson’s death. own conclusions – to phrase our findings write about and there was truly no ques- In all my research over the years, I’ve appropriately. tion as to their authenticity. found many newspapers from the 1800s For instance, I’ve decided to stick with the The question still remained, “why did Jesse rarely got everything right. Often one pa- take his gun belt off that fateful day, climb per would get their facts slightly skewed Continued on page 11

Friends of the James Farm • www.jessejames.org 5 JAMES FARM JOURNAL • VOLUME 26, ISSUES 2 & 3 SPRING/SUMMER 2015

SALT POND ROAD Continued from page 1 of two hundred yards he killed the foremost Fed- through the lung was not necessarily as grave an eral and halted long enough under fire to disen- injury as common sense and Jesse’s own account nearby sulphur springs, Jesse returned to cumber himself of his heavy cavalry boots, one would make it seem,” a conclusion bolstered his home in Missouri in October 1868, of which was a quarter full of blood. He fired by the realization that “no witness outside of renewed.5 again and shattered the pistol arm of the second the James family and [Jesse’s] circle of friends So ends Jesse’s narrative of his post-war pursuer, the other three closing up and pressing and defenders ever supported” the idea of his activities before the 1869 robbery and the maimed Guerrilla as ravenous hounds the long recovery.9 At a time when 62 per- murder at Gallatin. It is a tale of pain torn flanks of a crippled stag. James was get- cent of lung wounds proved fatal, the fact and suffering, quite literally supported ting weaker and weaker … when he attempted that Jesse survived at all provides further by a resolute family and bolstered by an to lift his trusty dragoon pistol to halt the near- cause to doubt the severity of the wound; army of concerned physicians. But histo- est trooper, he found it too heavy for his hand. a wound that was not chronicled at the rians have rarely bought into the idea of But reinforcing his right arm with his left, he time, either because Jesse wasn’t famous Jesse’s long recuperation, their acknowl- fired finally at the Wisconsin man almost upon enough to draw such attention, or his edgment of it as “a compelling story, hal- him and killed him in the saddle … Terrified suffering was so slight no one noticed he lowed by tradition” suggesting a distinct at the prowess of one who had been so terribly had been wounded at all. Is it possible condemnation for those who opt for nos- wounded, and who killed even as he reeled along, then that “Jesse James’s multi-year recupera- talgia over common sense when repeat- the militiamen abandoned the chase, and James, tion was a retroactive alibi, manufactured after ing it. This tale, like so many others, must staggering four or five hundred yards further, fell he had become famous to hide his activities in the surely deserve no greater glory than the upon the edge of a creek and fainted.7 years immediately following the war’s end?”10 label of “fact-based narrative greatly ex- was a lot of Those activities, of course, included rob- aggerated.”6 things, but he was not an out-and-out liar. bery. Banks at Liberty, Lexington, Savan- Penned by a man who made fact-based True, he was on a selfless quest to create nah, Independence and Richmond were narrative greatly exaggerated somewhat heroes but his tales always had some ba- all robbed during Jesse’s alleged conva- of a trademark, A Terrible Quintette was sis in fact and in this case the actual fight lescence and none are mentioned by him littered with careless inaccuracies that between bushwhackers and men of the in A Terrible Quintette. “It was to get to the undoubtedly caused little if no concern Wisconsin cavalry can be verified by Ma- question of these robberies,” Jesse explained, to its author. The circumstances regard- jor Davis, who sent a triumphant report “that has caused me to be so minute in introduc- ing each of Jesse’s war wounds, seven in to his superiors on 16 May, 1865, stating ing my career since the close of the war. The number according to this interview, were with confidence“that [Arch Clement] and his first robbery with which our names have been never as dramatically documented than party were fired upon yesterday, six miles out on connected was the robbery of a bank at Russell- within the pages of Edwards’ 1877 book, the Salt Pond Road on the return from the river.”8 ville, Kentucky, which took place on March 20th, Noted Guerrillas or The Warfare of the Border. In customary contradiction to Edwards’ 1868.’” His name not being connected to The following is his version of the 15 assertions of Jesse’s quite remarkable part those earlier robberies does not necessar- May fight – in the 15 May fight stands Davis’ ily mean he was not involved in them, version during which he makes no men- but being wounded just eight months be- Mounted on a superb black horse, a single Wis- tion of him. Such flamboyant recording fore the Liberty robbery of 13 Feb. 1866, consin trooper dashed ahead of the balance and of history by Edwards, and the lack of has long forced historians to acknowl- closed in swiftly upon James, who halted to court contemporary sources to substantiate it, edge that “the seriousness of the wound and the encounter. At the distance of ten feet both has long manifested a distinct possibility his recuperative powers make all the difference fired simultaneously, and when the smoke cleared that the fight did not go quite as Edwards as to whether Jesse could or could not have sur- away the brave Wisconsin man was dead with a had portrayed it. Despite the fact that vived the exertions of the hard riding entailed in dragoon revolver ball through his heart. Scarcely the scar left by the wound, alongside the the robbery.”11 A fact that, according to his had this combat closed, however, before another one inflicted by George Heisinger, can own narrative, could apply to all robber- Wisconsin trooper, equally as resolute as his be plainly seen in death images of Jesse ies before Gallatin. So how serious was stricken comrade, rushed at James firing rapidly, James, and that the existence of a pho- the wound and could he have committed and closing in as he fired. James killed his horse, tograph, which hangs still in the James such physically challenging crimes while and the Federal in turn sent a pistol ball through family home, is large enough to suggest nursing it? James’ right lung, the same lung that had been the family planned to place it next to his before so severely wounded. Then the rush passed When Judge James R. Ross included de- coffin when he finally succumbed to the over him and beyond. Another volley killed his tails of the Liberty raid in his book, I, wound, Edwards’ vision of Jesse’s heroic horse, and as the Johnson county militia galloped Jesse James, he managed to both continue escape, the seriousness of the wound, and by, five fired at him as he lay bleeding under the family lore regarding Jesse’s wound while the distance he traveled under heavy fire, prostrate animal … Extricating himself with at the same time maintained the integrity draws into question the legitimacy of all infinite toil and pain, Jesse James left the road of the Legend. It was a plan that would aspects of the story so that ultimately it for the woods, pursued by five Federals, who fired “reeks of invention.” Perhaps the “bullet Continued on page 7 at him constantly as they followed. At a distance 6 Friends of the James Farm • www.jessejames.org JAMES FARM JOURNAL • VOLUME 26, ISSUES 2 & 3 SPRING/SUMMER 2015

SALT POND ROAD Continued from page 6 16 Feb., taking his surgical instruments with him.”16 His surgical skills did make a minor wound appear incapaci- not go unused for long, however, tating and hinted at the possibility that and just “six days later he was Com- Jesse was using the wound as an alibi long mander and Surgeon of the Gate-City before the 1873 interview. In his version, Hospital in Atlanta.” This hospital, Ross had Jesse follow the doctor’s instruc- located in a second rate hotel of tions precisely before the Liberty robbery 32 rooms, was constantly over- so that Jesse was more than well enough crowded with patients and yet to take part in the raid. Then, “for the next despite these difficult conditions, three days I did not drain the pus from my wound. “Eve was able to treat and return to I allowed it to become inflamed and swollen. On duty a high percentage of casualties.”17 the third day, Dr. Lankford arrived and saw with He served on the medical exami- his own eyes what bad shape I was in. He de- nation board and was with the termined that I was unable to walk, even to the army at the battles of Shiloh, Co- outhouse. The concern in his eyes told me that my lumbus, Atlanta and Augusta.18 plan had succeeded because I looked worse than I had just four days before. My alibi was working When the war was over, Dr. Eve perfectly.”12 returned to Nashville before re- moving to St. Louis in 1868 to ac- Of the multitude of Liberty suspects, cept chair of surgery at the Uni- some forty in number, Jesse was never a versity of Missouri. He remained contemporary contender and although there a year before being “obliged he had cause to attack Lexington, the to resign for climatic causes.”19 He re- place where his friend Arch Clement had turned to the University of Nash- Fletch Taylor, Frank and Jesse James. Note been killed, his name was not mentioned ville, where he remained until his how thin Jesse appears. (Photo by C. Gires, after that robbery either.13 His name has Nashville, 1867) death on 3 Nov., 1877.20 never been officially connected to the Sa- By 1873, and the publication of A Ter- vannah robbery, nor does it appear on Jesse James would not have needed to rible Quintette, Jesse stood accused of in- any of the warrants sworn out after the consult such a man with a minor wound, volvement in the Russellville robbery of Richmond robbery.14 Retroactive allega- but is there any evidence to support the 20 March 1868, a crime for which he tions requiring retroactive alibis. idea that he sought the celebrated sur- provided an unsatisfactory alibi. Appar- geon’s help in 1867, two years after his Dr. Paul Eve had been born on a rice ently in Chaplin, Nelson County, home fight on the Salt Pond Road? plantation in Atlanta, Ga., on 27 June of George Shepherd and the place where 1806, and, having graduated in 1828, It is difficult to say with any degree of the latter was arrested for participation in he traveled to Europe in hope of learn- certainty. What is known is that Dr. Eve the crime, Jesse’s alibi appeared more like ing more practical skills from the best was in Nashville at the time Jesse claimed a confession. On 3 March 1875, Detec- surgeons Paris and London had to offer. to have been under his care, and the exis- tive Delos Bligh sent a letter to the Gov- He was an ambulance surgeon during tence of a photograph, taken by C. Gires ernor of Missouri providing details of the the French ‘July Rebellion’ of 1830 and of Nashville in 1867, serves to prove that Russellville robbery. “Jesse and Frank James secured funds for the subsequent upris- Jesse was in the area and potentially suf- were at Chaplin, Nelson Co., Ky. at the time un- ing in Poland. He served as a surgeon in fering from some kind of malady. The able to participate in the affair,” he wrote. Sub- Warsaw, was commissioned Major of the jacket, which Jesse can be seen wearing sequently, it was assumed that the broth- Polish Army and was awarded their high- in other images of later dates, appears ers had been involved in the planning of est honour, the Golden Cross of Merit, hopelessly too big for him and the rest the raid but did not actually take part in for his services.15 of his attire suggests he was considerably it. William Settle, in his book, Jesse James underweight; not necessarily indicative Was His Name, commented that both Four years after the publication of his of a serious lung wound but, under the brothers were “incapacitated by wounds,” greatest work, A Collection of Remarkable circumstances, a credible possibility. Fur- but Jesse’s wound being three years old Cases In Surgery, and as Civil War ripped thermore, details of Jesse’s meeting with and Frank’s bullet in the hip being two, through the , Dr. Eve was Dr. Eve were not exclusively contained Settle wondered if “possibly the injuries that appointed Surgeon General for the Pro- within the columns of A Terrible Quintette. kept them at Chaplin had resulted from bullets visional Army of Tennessee. He spent his In a letter printed by the Nashville Banner shot at bandits.”21 The plot thickened when time “in Nashville hospitals, treating casualties, on 10 July, 1875, Jesse James wrote, “I will Major George B. Hite testified, “I don’t until Forts Henry and Donelson fell in Febru- close by sending my kindest regards to old Dr. Eve think [Jesse] was in the Russellville robbery. He ary 1862” after which he deemed it too and many thanks to him for his kindness to me dangerous to stay and he “fled Nashville on Continued on page 8 when I was wounded and under his care.” Friends of the James Farm • www.jessejames.org 7 JAMES FARM JOURNAL • VOLUME 26, ISSUES 2 & 3 SPRING/SUMMER 2015

SALT POND ROAD Continued from page 7 like any drug, possessed both advantages

22 and disadvantages. Undoubtedly adept at was sick at the time at our house.” Of the 22 suppressing pain, there was also a series wounds doctors expected to find on Jes- of unpleasant side effects some of which se’s body after he was killed in 1882 they actively produced pain. The drug was found just five – the two gunshot wounds also potentially lethal as the patient had to the chest, one wound to the leg sup- no way of determining just how much posed to have been taken at Northfield in morphine he was taking. Grains of the 1876, a wound to the hand which took same size could contain varying amounts off the tip of a finger, and the bullet in the and accidental overdose was so common, back of the head which killed him. If he manufacturers included instructions on was suffering from a wound at Chaplin, it what to do in that event on the side of was of Civil War origin. the bottle. Whether or not Jesse James ac- Demarcus Green Simmons was a doctor cidentally overdosed or attempted suicide in Adairsville, Ky. He was not a member has long been cause for discussion. of the James family, nor can he be char- “I found willing and capable assistants in Frank acterised as friend or ally, but nevertheless and Susie,” the doctor recalled later, “whose he was called early one January morning attentions and ministrations were unremitting in 1868 to the home of Major George throughout the night,” although in light of Hite. He found Jesse James “apparently in the governess’ story, it may be prudent to the embrace of death, in a profound stupor, insen- replace Susie with Mary. “It was impera- sible to his surroundings, except under the influ- tively necessary to combat the narcotic influence ence of the strongest excitement; pulse slow, full Death photo of Jesse James showing of the poison by all sorts of mental and physi- and very forcible, and respiration of that heavy, cal excitement that could be brought to bear,” slow and stertorous nature characteristic of opi- chest wounds from unknown newspaper. (Author’s collection) the doctor continued. “When appeals and um poisoning.” Conveying his story to the circumambulatory stimulants had been used for Nellie[Nancy], a sweet faced girl of twelve; Lucy, pages of the Kansas City Journal of 6 May some hours, till finally he failed to respond to a fair-haired child of ten, and Clarence, or Jeffie, 1882, Dr. Simmons assessed the situation them, then I appealed to Frank to know if there as he was familiarly called, a bright little fellow as follows: was anything or any subject that would, more of six. Besides these, there was Mary, the oldest, “At the time of which I write, Jesse was suffering than anything else be likely to excite him, sug- an old school mate of mine, and last but not least, from the effects of a gunshot wound to his right gesting that unless he kept aroused for some time a nephew of Mrs. Hite – none other than the breast, and from the long continued discharge was longer, till the drug had been partially eliminated notorious Jesse James.”23 rather thin and in feeble health, and was spending from his system, he would necessary die. As the narrative continued it became some time with his uncle, Maj. Geo. B. Hite, who “Then the force of habit manifested itself in a clear that Jesse, a metaphorical light in lived within two or three miles of Adairsville. striking degree. I shall never forget the powerful the room, was either in perfect health or In a fit of despondency, produced partly by his excitement he evinced, and the prompt response Jennie was so over-awed by him that she low state of health, and partly, as I afterward he continued to make when Frank would whisper failed to notice any ill health. What she learned, by his bitter opposition to the prospec- certain warning words to him, as if certain per- did recall, however, was the deep fond- tive marriage of his sister Susie to Allen Palmer, sons who were very obnoxious to him were com- ness Jesse felt for his cousin, Mary. In the whom she afterward married, Jesse determined to ing and it was very necessary to escape or defend governess’ version, it was Mary’s plans to commit suicide, and, impelled by his impetuous to the death.” Whenever Jesse appeared to marry that caused Jesse to spiral into de- nature, lost no time in his efforts at executing his be sinking into “fatal narcotism” Frank spondency, not Susie’s. And while Susie desire. would, for hours, “bring him to his feet.” did not marry Allan Palmer until 1870, The doctor’s assertions that Jesse was Mary E. Hite married Rufus S. Tully, a At 4 a.m., “all efforts to keep him awake proved sick, depressed and unwilling to accept local farmer, on 21 Jan. 1868.24 futile; his pulse had reduced in volume to a mere his sister’s choice in husband has long thread, his breathing was feeble and very slow and The governess’ omissions regarding been the reason behind Jesse’s attempted it seemed the death angel was hanging over him.” Jesse’s physical condition may also have suicide, but Jesse’s apparent dislike of Al- The doctor thought it likely Jesse would been a result of Jesse attempting to con- len Palmer has never been successfully die, but advised they leave him to rest. ceal them, or an unknown acknowledge- justified. A governess called Jennie, who Frank and other members of the family ment that morphine had been providing was employed within the Hite household, kept up the vigil until morning when, at some measure of pain relief. Dr. Sim- recorded her version of events in 1885: 6 o’clock, Jesse roused himself “and rec- mons noticed that “there had been some de- ognized his friends.” By breakfast, he was My charge consisted of Woot, [sic] the old- gree of tolerance to the drug, acquired by a re- est, a boy of sixteen; George, a boy of fourteen; 25 sort to it some weeks previously.” Morphine, Continued on page 9 8 Friends of the James Farm • www.jessejames.org JAMES FARM JOURNAL • VOLUME 26, ISSUES 2 & 3 SPRING/SUMMER 2015

SALT POND ROAD Continued from page 8 Castro stepped down, giving Blackburn operated mainly in the western Atlantic, full power. This added responsibility may capturing blockade runners, pausing only able to sit and eat a little and “when con- explain why, in 1865, Blackburn sold one when she was brought in for an overhaul sciousness was thoroughly aroused, he expressed half of his interest in the springs to Mr from December 1863 to June 1864. She considerable emotion of joy that he had failed 26 McGreel who, in turn, sold out to Drury captured the steamer, Advance, on 10 in his efforts at self destruction.” It appears Woodson James for $11,000 four years Sept. 1864 and the Lucy in early Novem- the event was never spoken of again and later. Drury’s wife, Mary, who hated La ber. “During December 1864 and January Jesse decided not to mention how close Panza Ranch, relished the move to the 1865 she participated in two attacks which ulti- he came to death in A Terrible Quintette. Paso De Robles Hotel with their chil- mately captured Fort Fisher, N.C., thus bringing Frank left Kentucky, according to Jesse, dren.30 to an end most Atlantic Coast blockade running.” on 25 Jan. 1868, and caught a steamship Paso Robles is recognised as one of Cali- The USS Santiago de Cuba was decom- at New York City for the fol- fornia’s oldest watering places; docu- missioned in June 1865 and, after being lowing day, “which the books of the United 27 ments dating as far back as 1795 com- sold at auction in September, she entered States mail lines of steamers will show.” Jesse ment on it. In 1864, a local reporter service between New York and San Juan made assurances that “Frank was at work commented that the springs could be- de Nicaragua for the Central Ameri- on the Lapousa [La Panza] Ranch in San Luis come the principle watering place for the can Transit Company. She continued Obispo County, California, for J. D. P. Thomp- entire state. People traveled from across the same route for the North American son,” when the Russellville robbery had America to take advantage of the iron or Steamship Company after August 1866 taken place, contradicting Bligh’s ideas sand springs, which bubbled and healed. but changed to the New York to Aspin- that they were both in Chaplin. Jesse fur- The 1882 pamphlet for the springs, pub- wall run in December, 1867. Withdrawn ther believed that his assertions could “be lished by Blackburn and James, adver- in October, 1868, she made one voyage proved by the sheriff of San Luis Obispo, and tised “El Paso de Robles Hot and Cold Sul- to Havre in 1870 and was converted to many others.” Furthermore, Jesse stated phur Springs and the Only Natural Mud Baths a screw steamer in 1877 and then into a that “if D. B. Blackburn [sic] ex-sheriff of in the World.” Although there was no first barge in 1886. She was renamed Marion San Luis Obispo Co. Calif., will say Frank was class accommodation in 1868, no reading and passed out of service in 1899.33 not at work on Mr Thompson’s ranch on that day room, or barber shop, no telegraph office Jesse’s journey on board appears to have in California I will say Frank James is guilty or railroad station, Frank James may well [of the robbery.]”28 been uneventful. Having left New York have seen the effects of the Springs on on 5 June 1868, the Santiago De Cuba ar- Daniel Drew Blackburn was born in Vir- those who stayed there and encouraged rived in Aspinwall, now Colon, Panama, 31 ginia on 8 April, 1816. In June 1857 he his younger brother to join him there. on 14 June. For many the journey was not purchased the Paso de Robles Rancho Jesse had been mistaken when he said he yet over. Opened in January 1855, the 47 with his brother, James H. Blackburn, had been shot by men of the 2nd Wis- mile long Panama Railroad was a neces- and Lazarus Godehaux for $8,000. Lat- consin Cavalry, it being men of the 3rd, sary, but expensive way to get to connect- er, in 1860, the ranch was divided by the and he was equally mistaken when he ing ships on the other side of the Isthmus. firm and Daniel took possession of one said the Santiago de Cuba sailed from The charge for first class passengers was league of the land, which included the 29 New York on 8 June 1868. According to an extortionate $25, with second class springs. contemporary advertisements, the ships passengers paying $10. Personal baggage Drury Woodson James, the James of the North American Steamship Com- was charged at 5 cents per pound and brother’s uncle, had gone to Califor- pany set sail from Pier 46 on the North express at $1.80 per cubic foot. These nia in the 1850s and settled in San Luis River, at the foot of King’s Street, on the rates had been established in 1858 and Obispo county, buying La Panza Ranch 5th and 20th of every month, unless one remained the same for two decades.34 with John D. Thompson. Three years of those days fell upon a Sunday. The Having crossed the Isthmus, the passen- later, California was hit by a devastat- Santiago De Cuba was due to set sail on gers boarded the Oregonian, which left ing drought which threatened the liveli- the 5 June 1868, with the Guiding Star Panama at 8:35 p.m. on 14 June. The 32 hood of every farmer in the area. Drury, following on the 20 June. Oregonian had been built in 1866 by however, was able to use his knowledge The Santiago de Cuba was built in 1856 Lawrence and Foulkes of Williamsburg, of farming in the East to drive the cattle by Jeremiah Simonson at Greenpoint, N.Y., for the Oregon Steam Navigation out of the area and to safety. A much Long Island, for Valiente & Co., for the Company. Weighing in at 3,000 tons, and more difficult task was to protect his live- purpose of being a commercial vessel. A complete with her wooden hull, side pad- stock and family from bandits. The area 1,567 ton, wooden side-wheel steamship, dle wheels and two masts, she could carry around Paso Robles was the home to an she was “purchased by the U.S. Navy in Sep- over 1,000 passengers, 160 of which were army of bandits and in 1858 the local tember 1861, converted to a cruiser and com- accommodated in first class. She first -ar Vigilance Committee made D. D. Black- missioned as SS Santiago de Cuba in November rived at San Francisco on 3 Dec., 1866, burn their sheriff. It was a role which ex- 1861,” proving herself to be a “very success- tended to the entire county when Sheriff ful blockader.” For the next two years, she Continued on page 10 Friends of the James Farm • www.jessejames.org 9 JAMES FARM JOURNAL • VOLUME 26, ISSUES 2 & 3 SPRING/SUMMER 2015

SALT POND ROAD Continued from page 9 that failed to prove he didn’t commit the nia, to within two days of when it set sail, crime. The Santiago de Cuba remained five years after it was retired from that and was purchased by the North Ameri- on his chosen route from December route. It would be to ignore the evidence can Steamship Company on 22 Jan., 1867 to October 1868, just 10 months, of two gunshot wounds in images taken 1867, providing service for them on the and would have been almost impossible in 1882, the letter from Jesse’s wife noting San Francisco to Panama route until mid- to have been selected, within two days of a continued difficulty with the wound in 1868 when she was sold to Pacific Mail 35 its actual sailing date, at random, retroac- 1880, the near fatal morphine overdose Steamship Company. The Oregonian tively. The ruse called for preparation and in 1868, and the referral to a specialist was “fitted up with all modern luxury,” wrote a desperation of character that allowed physician in 1867. It would mean that all a passenger in 1868, “and the state rooms are Jesse to confidently name participants of of those friends and family who reported spacious, and a good table kept. In addition to his lie while knowing none would dare that he had been “shot twice in the same place the usual saloons, there is a smoking room aft on challenge him. ... and continued under the doctor’s care four or the hurricane deck.”36 Such luxury had to be Most likely Jesse was telling a compara- five years, until he went to California in 1868,’” paid for and passage from New York to lied.39 San Francisco, on board a pair of North tive truth when he said his wound was American Steamships, was charged from ‘cured’ by the waters at Paso Robles. But worst of all, it would be to accept that $125 in first class to $40 in third.37 Ro- Time away from Missouri, the lack of those who know us the best must often be mantics, who have long accepted that morphine, and the restorative powers of relegated to those who can be trusted the Jesse’s struggle with old war wounds the sulphur springs must have done won- least, sacrificed on the say so of someone made it impossible for him to take part ders for his body – but these effects would who does not know us at all. in those early robberies, suggest that the not last forever. In a private letter to Mrs. gang handed over a portion of their tak- Robinson, dated 7 Oct. 1896, Mrs. Zee James, Jesse’s widow, provided further ings from the Russellville robbery to pay Notes & Sources for Jesse’s passage to California. Others proof that the wound had lifelong side 1. There are several stories about Jesse’s surrender. Some see the irony in the idea in that if Jesse effects. “If you had met my husband in that believe Jesse surrendered in good faith while others year after we left Humphries county [1880] you believe that, like Jim Anderson and Arch Clement, Jesse wound was insignificant enough for him refused to surrender. Some consider the possibility that to have taken part in those early robber- would hardly have known him. Because when Jesse was unconscious by the time he reached Lexington ies, he would have had the funds to go you knew him he weighed about 35 lb. or 40 and thus any decision to either surrender or refuse to surrender was not made by him. Still more record how but not the need. Traditional wisdom lb. less than he [sic] natural weight. When you Major Rodgers believed Jesse to be so severely wounded suggests the brothers went there to bury knew him he was suffering from a terrible bullet that he wasn’t worth the paperwork. A list of those who wound through the right lung.” surrendered on 21 May 1865 exists and does contain a as yet undiscovered gold and that they J. M. James, one of Shelby’s boys, hailing from Lafayette searched for the grave of their father who A lack of documentation on San Fran- county. The middle initial is incorrect but the other died there in 1850. details may be manipulated to fit Jesse. Most of the cisco passenger lists before 1895 means guerrillas stated they were with Shelby and, if Jesse was At 11.40 a.m., on 21 June, 1868, the Or- finding positive proof that Jesse actually unconscious, then they may have merely recorded his went to California remains impossible. current location as place of birth. Lexington is in Lafayette egonian arrived at Manzanillo. Leaving county. there at 2 p.m. on the same day, all pas- Newspapers list those traveling in first 2. The James/Samuel family was regarded as one of the ten class only, meaning the 133, 5 June, 1868, most dangerous in the county and had therefore been sengers and crew arrived safely in San forced to leave. “In Feb. 1865, the following Clay County Francisco at 7:53 a.m., 28 June, 1868.38 passengers who traveled in the Santiago families were served with notice of banishment from the de Cuba’s second class cabins and the County for ‘treason and notoriously disloyal practices’: According to Jesse, the waters at Paso 278 in steerage remain unknown. And John Ecton’s, Mrs J. H. Ford’s, Wesley Martin’s, Mrs Rupe’s, Robles cured him “in three weeks as if by Dr. Rueben Samuel’s, Kemp M. Wood’s.” Samuel Anderson even these lists proved untrustworthy. Pence, I Knew Frank, I Wish I Had Known Jesse, Edited by a miracle. My wound healed,” he told Ed- The Californian Daily Alta of 29 June Daniel M. Pence, Two Trails Publishing, 2007, p262. wards, “my lung got strong, and from that day 1868, reported that the passenger list for 3. , Cole Younger by Himself, Minnesota Histori- to this I have never felt any inconvenience from it cal Society, 2000, p51-2. the Oregonian, the ship on which Jesse 4. George Heisinger shot Jesse in the chest while the latter in any manner.” This seems unlikely. Per- was traveling and furnished by their New was trying to steal a saddle from the front fence. Michelle haps both Edwards and Jesse were lying Pollard, I Am Generally Where People Least Expect Me To York correspondent, “contained upwards Be, English Westerners’ Society Tally Sheet, Vol. 53, No. 1, – Edwards to provide his readers with of 70 names more than the list furnished by the Autumn 2006. a southern hero, wounded, persecuted, Purser on the arrival of the steamer.” 5. Jesse stated in A Terrible Quintette that he was back in outlawed, but then restored, resilient, Missouri on 28 October. Presumably this was in the year of 1868 as records for the Mount Olivet church show that strong; and Jesse, to provide an alibi for To believe that Jesse James did not travel he was in Missouri in September 1869 requesting his robberies at Liberty, Lexington, Rich- to California on board the Santiago de name be removed from their membership. Family lore, Cuba, however, would be to accept the however, states that Jesse did not return to Missouri until mond and Independence. It was a com- the Spring of 1869, staying almost one year in California. plex smoke screen that far out-performed impossible - that the 15 May 1865 fight This author has been unable to ascertain which time scale the alibi he provided for Russellville or left Jesse relatively unscathed and that, as is correct. 6. T. J. Stiles, Jesse James – Last Rebel of the Civil War, the affidavits he collected after Gallatin a result, he had no need to go. It would be Alfred Knopf, 2001, p155. in which seven months of supposed lo- to disregard the significance of naming a cal intimidation relinquished statements ship, traveling from New York to Califor- Continued on page 11 10 Friends of the James Farm • www.jessejames.org JAMES FARM JOURNAL • VOLUME 26, ISSUES 2 & 3 SPRING/SUMMER 2015

N OT E S & S O U R C E S C o n t i n u e d f r o m p a g e 1 0 of authors, and concludes that “in fact, there is little to link 23. The Kentucky Explorer, August 1992. the James boys with any of the named personalities.” The 24. Ibid; US census – 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900. 7. John Newman Edwards, Noted Guerrillas; or the Warfare of warrant for Richmond listed the following names – Dick 25. Kansas City Journal, 6 May 1882. the Border, Morningside Edition, 1976, p334 -5. Burns, Payne Jones, Ike Flannery, Andy McGuire, John White, 26. Ibid. 8. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official James White and Allen Palmer. Wybrow, Ravenous Monsters, 27. Nashville Banner, 10 July 1875. The assertion that anyone Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Government op. cit., pp10-11. could check the records suggested that Frank used his own Printing Office, Volume 48, Part II, p470. 15. Michelle Pollard, Paul Fitzsimmons Eve – Physician and name during the crossing. 9. Stiles, op. cit., p 155. Adventurer, English Westerners’ Society Tally Sheet, Vol. 60, 28. Nashville Banner, 8 August 1875. 10. Ibid. No. 3, Summer, 2014. 29. Myron Angel, History of San Luis Obispo County, California, 11. Robert J. Wybrow, Ravenous Monsters of Society – The Early 16. The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Exploits of the James Gang, English Westerners’ Society Americans, Vol. IV, edited by Rossiter Johnson and John How- Men and Pioneers, Thomson and West, 1883, pp372-3; publication, London, Vol. 27, No. 2, Summer 1990, p8. ard Brown, The Biographical Society, Boston, 1904, [online]. Online history of Paso Robles. 12. James Randall Ross, I, Jesse James, Dragon Publishing Corp., 17. Harry S. Shelley, The Military Career and Some Urological 30. Ibid. 1988, pp67-8. Works of Paul F. Eve M.D., Journal of the Tennessee Medical 31. Online history of Paso Robles. 13. Robert J. Wybrow, Horrid Murder and Heavy Robbery, English Association, Vol. 70, No. 4, April 1977. 32. New York Tribune, 20 June, 1868. Westerners’ Society publication, London, Vol. 37, No. 1, 18. The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable 33. Department of the Navy, Naval Historical Center, Washington Winter 2003. Arch Clement was killed at Lexington on 13 Americans, op. cit. DC, online library; theshiplist.com. December 1866 by men led by Major Bacon Montgomery. 19. Ibid. 34. Panamarailroad.org; correspondence with Paul Saeli. Donald R. Hale, Little Archie – The Death of Archie Clement, 20. Memoir of Mrs Emma Eve Smith (Dr. Eve’s sister) c. 1878, 35. theshiplist.com. Missouri Civil War Guerrilla, printed by the Blue and Grey copied by Mary E. Miller Eve, 1907, transcribed by Patricia E. 36. Daily Alta, California, 12 January 1866. Book Shoppe, Independence, Missouri, 2001. Kruger, 1994, [online]. 37. Pamphlet – “North American Steamship Co. Opposition to 14. The Savannah bank was robbed on 2 March, 1867, by five or 21. William A. Settle Jnr., Jesse James Was His Name, Bison Monopoly, Through Line to California Via Panama Railroad”. six men. Richmond was robbed by a much larger group two Books, 1977, p38. 38. Daily Alta, 29 June 1868. months later, on 23 May. Robert Wybrow mentions several 22. Mary Christian, George B. Hite’s Libel Lawsuit Against the 39. New York Times, 5 April, 1882. suspects of the Savannah robbery, collected from a variety Courier-Journal. With thanks to Gay Mathis and Paul Saeli.

SATURDAY, SEPT. 12 in downtown Richmond, MO BEGINNING AT 9 A.M. The Friends of the James Farm, plus Frank James (AKA Gregg Higginbotham) and Cole Younger (Dave Bears) will have a table at Outlaw Days. There are events scheduled throughout the day including 2 reenactments of the May 23, 1867 Hughes & Wasson Bank Robbery, allegedly committed by the James-Younger gang. There will be kids games, craft vendors, food vendors, even professional bull riders and bulls. Come and join us, meet Frank James and hear all about his exploits as a guerrilla and outlaw.

HISTORIC INFO. Continued from page 5 Oct. 26, 1864 date of death for that of An- The Scouts Meet Frank and Cole derson, but from henceforth the following phrase will be attached to it: “According to the official report by Lieutenant S.P. Cox, of the 33rd regiment enrolled Missouri Militia, of the War of the Rebellion, William “Bloody Bill” Anderson was killed Oct. 26, 1864.” We have an obligation as writers to always state our sources. Footnotes are also impor- tant as an explanation, citing sources and showing the integrity of your research. If you don’t want to bother with footnotes, be sure to cite your sources at the end of an article. We can’t just say, “all the newspapers said this or that” – list them. We can’t say, “this or that historian believed ‘this truth’” – list the historian, his/her sources – and why you came to that conclusion. We can’t side with the Union just because we’re Union lovers. We can’t side with the Confederacy just because our ancestors were southern sympathisers. We have to rise above that and show a level of integ- Recently, a group of Boy Scouts visited the Jesse James Farm & Museum. In rity that best serves those who will read our addition to the museum and farmhouse tour, the boys got to hear all about the research. James-Younger Gang from Frank and Cole themselves. (Photo by Beth Beckett)

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ANDERSON Continued from page 3 rattled, Zerelda wasted no time in ordering Jesse to and retaliation, Union forces had begun leave home. rounding-up female relatives of known guerrillas and holding them in makeshift Let’s pause for a moment of clear prisons on the charge of aiding and abet- conjecture. Anderson’s mother’s ting their rebel kin by smuggling arms maiden name was Martha and ammunition. Thomason. Zerelda Samuel’s mother was married to a man Two of Anderson’s sisters, Josephine and named Robert Thomason. Co- Martha, were being held under guard incidence? Possibly. Maybe (along with a number of other guerril- even probably. But there it is. la’s sisters and wives) in a ratty old brick And then there’s this … Ander- building on Grand Avenue in downtown son’s mother was born in Hop- Kansas City. Under mysterious circum- kins County, Ky. So was Robert stances, the building collapsed, killing Thomason. 15-year-old Josephine Anderson and crippling Martha. To my knowledge, research has never constructed a For Anderson, that was the breaking clear link between the fami- point. Ever afterwards, he seemed to lies of Martha and Robert live only for killing Yankees. His own Thomason, but the cir- men said he would ride into battle weep- cumstantial suggestion of ing and frothing at the mouth. On at a blood relationship is in- least one occasion he used a dispatch to teresting. And if there was a newspaper to warn Unionist civilians such a connection, would against resisting him and his men: “If you that help explain why Jesse proclaim to be in arms against the guerrillas,” James, a downy-cheeked Anderson at the peak of his guerrilla career, looking the memo warned, “I will kill you. I will lad of only 15, might be so appropriately, like a pirate. hunt you down like wolves and murder you. You readily accepted into the known that guerrillas often wore cap- cannot escape.” ranks of a notorious brigand like Ander- tured Union uniforms, the better to dis- 1863 was also the year 16-year-old Jesse son? Was he sent there, at least initially, guise themselves in advance of a raid or James began riding with Anderson’s unit, for his own protection? If so he would ambush. perhaps under the command of another have had a lot to learn, and he got plenty Anderson himself took charge of what Anderson sidekick, one-armed Fletch of opportunities. The raid on Lawrence, happened next. He asked the assembled Taylor. The impetus was this … Earlier Kan. by a merged force of about 400 Federals if there was an officer or a ser- that summer a squad of Missouri Federal guerrillas under the rather tenuous com- geant among them. One man stepped militia had reined-up outside the James/ mand of Quantrill, would have been one forward, a sergeant from Iowa named Samuel cabin and ordered Jesse’s mother, of his first, but it’s said that Quantrill felt Goodman, and perhaps much to his Zerelda, and his stepfather, Dr. Reuben he was too young to go. About a year surprise he was spared when Anderson Samuel, outside, where they were rudely later, however, came another chance. ordered his young subordinate Archie interrogated. Frank James, Jesse’s older In late September of 1864, Anderson Clements to “muster these men out.” brother was by then campaigning with and his men, roaming central Missouri Later that same day the guerrillas lured Quantrill, and they wanted word of his without much in the way of Federal op- a Union force into a grassy swale just whereabouts. They reserved their harsh- position, rode into the little Boone Coun- south of town where, predictably, nearly est treatment for Dr. Samuel. While ty hamlet of Centralia. There they found all of them were slaughtered and many Zerelda looked-on (as did Jesse, from a few stores to rob, loot, burn and pillage. were mutilated. It was in keeping with a nearby cornfield) they threw a noose Then, better yet, they heard the sound of a war that had become almost unimag- around the old man’s neck then looped an approaching train. inably horrific; after another such battle the other end of the rope over an over- Clements pinned a crudely written note hanging branch on a nearby coffee-bean On board were 23 Union soldiers, uni- to a Federal corpse that read, “You have tree. Despite protestations that they formed but on furlough. After Ander- come to hunt bush whackers, now you are skelpt. knew nothing of Frank’s activities, they son’s men had stopped the train, they Clemyent skelped you.” hoisted him off the ground more than ordered the men to disembark and form once (three times is the figure most often a line on the depot platform. Centralia was Anderson’s last big action cited). They rode off, finally, leaving Dr. Ominously, they were told to remove in the field, but in late October, riding in Samuel more dead than alive; thoroughly their uniforms. Some of them must have Continued on page 13

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ANDERSON Continued from page 12 ambush, and witnesses said they thought he’d made his escape. Running from a support of General ’s big fight just wasn’t in Bloody Bill’s DNA, cross-state march that culminated in the however, and he turned to charge back , he’d been ordered to into the fray. It was a decision that cost raise hell with anything Union he could him his life. find, and after skirmishes at Danville and New Florence (mostly against their civil- Federals examining Anderson’s corpse ian defenders) he found himself in the vi- and the contents of his saddlebags got cinity of present-day Orrick, Mo. quite a haul. He was carrying six Colt After arising the morning of Oct. 26 at revolvers, personal correspondence, pho- the home of a supporter, Anderson re- tos of him and his wife (a woman in Tex- portedly groomed himself before a mir- as), military orders, a gold watch, a silver ror and asked of his reflection, “Well how watch, a small Confederate flag and $600 are you this morning, Captain Anderson?” to in gold and treasury notes. The bridle which he replied, “Damn fine, thank you.” of his horse was decorated with a human But if his day was off to a good start, scalp. it certainly wouldn’t end that way. Not The body was thrown in a wagon and Anderson in his death photo, taken in long afterwards he allowed himself to hauled to nearby Richmond, Mo. where Richmond, Mo., shortly after his death. be lured into a Federal ambush. It’s said it was put on display and photos were that the Federals had been informed of growth of trees. Utterly unprepared, taken. He wore a heavily embroidered Anderson’s presence in the area by a lo- they came under a fusillade of fire from guerrilla shirt; his hair was unkempt and cal woman, who upon discovering that a Federal unit that had been sent into the matted with leaves. Someone had shoved she was not his only girlfriend, tipped field expressly to run Anderson and his a Navy Colt revolver into his right hand. them off. men to ground. But he no longer looked dangerous – In any event, with Anderson at its lead, As his followers fired in panic and scram- nothing at all like the warrior he’d been the guerrilla column rode along a trail bled to retreat, Anderson and one other at the start of that day. He only looked whose sides were lined with a dense man rode straight into the heart of the dead.

Quantrill’s strategic rise to guerrilla leader and downfall

Ohio-Born Schoolteacher Seeks say nothing of Mis- a plan that would leave the slaves still in souri. captivity, the Quakers dead and himself Opportunity To Lead Missouri It’s true that Quant- a hero. Confederate Guerrillas In Combat. rill was born in Ohio Quantrill had chalked-up more experi- No Experience, No References. and that he taught ence in duplicity at that point of his life Contact Wm. Quantrill, Lawrence, Kan. school, both there than in any other endeavor. He’d report- and in Kansas. His edly spent a few years wandering western Kansas tenure came gold camps posing as gambler Charley By Marty McGrane during the tumultuous years leading up Hart. And, he may or may not have retty thin to the War Between the States (or the worked as a “detective” for Indian tribes resume, “War of Northern Aggression” as it was in eastern Kansas. most often called in pro-Confederate circles). In Missouri, he told incredulous admirers Pwould Quantrill’s career was hardly on a mete- after the Walker raid that his real name agree. But if oric rise prior to late 1860. But in De- was Charles Quantrell, and that he’d ever a young cember of that year, he led a small party taken their side in the border troubles man was able to of Quakers to the Morgan Walker farm to avenge himself for the murder of his re-invent himself near present-day Blue Springs, Mo. The brother at the hands of pro-abolitionist it was William Quakers thought they were there to liber- Kansas “Redlegs.” Clarke Quantrill, ate Walker’s slaves and lead them to free- Vengeance was just what many Missouri- McGrane perhaps the best- dom in Kansas. Quantrill, though, had ans were looking for. Redlegs, known guerrilla commander in the entire other plans. He’d already told Walker western theatre during the Civil War, to they were coming and he helped engineer Continued on page 14

Friends of the James Farm • www.jessejames.org 13 JAMES FARM JOURNAL • VOLUME 26, ISSUES 2 & 3 SPRING/SUMMER 2015

QUANTRILL Continued from page 13 and units of Kansas militia were staging Far left: almost continuous forays into west-cen- An early tral Missouri, ostensibly to liberate slaves photo that is but more in reality to “liberate” whatever believed to be Quantrill they could carry back across the border – from the money, weapons, clothing, food, liquor … Donnie even musical instruments. More than one Pence Missouri piano found its way west. The Collection. invading Kansans took more than prop- Left: Photo erty, though; they also took lives. People of Quantrill in in western Missouri were frightened and uniform from angry when Quantrill took the stage. the Kansas They saw no one else willing or able to Historical come to their defense. Local military Society. and civilian authorities weren’t helping. If Quantrill would, they were more than happy to let him. Left: Quantrill’s More than anything else, Quantrill was Quantrill knew Lawrence well; he’d grave in Higgins- an opportunist. He parlayed his status lived there before the war. For him, ville’s Confederate Cemetery. Only as a protector of the pro-South south- the raid represented a chance for him to strut his stuff before a com- part of Quantrill is ern citizenry of western Missouri into a buried here. The captain’s commission in the Confederate munity that he thought had jilted remainder of him army. That gave him enormous leverage him in the years before he decided is in a grave in in recruiting local men and boys (some to take advantage of opportunities his hometown of as young as 12) to his cause. With few on the Missouri side of the border. Dover, Ohio. sanctions and not much opposition, dur- For men like Bill Anderson, revenge ing the next few years he led his band in was the motive; only days before, a warm-weather en- attacks against Union army forces and rickety makeshift prison in Kansas campment near Missouri Federal militia. In those early City had collapsed, killing one of Sherman, . years of the conflict, both sides generally his sisters and crippling another. Anderson claimed For most of the others, the raid was observed the niceties of civilized warfare Quantrill had about plunder. In the process of in Missouri. But by 1863 and the emer- “lost his sand” af- looting and burning the town, they gence of charismatic, violent person- ter a showdown alities, such as Bloody Bill Anderson and killed some 150 unarmed men and over a hand of George Todd within his own ranks, things boys. cards. became much worse. Prisoner exchanges Quantrill was too smart to have been en- became the exception more than the rule, tirely comfortable with the idea of raiding Quantrill was more or less a leader with- and both sides practiced the mutilation Lawrence. Besides the military resistance out many followers (although Frank of their victims. Civilians of both Union his men expected to face (but didn’t), he James was one of them) from then until and Confederate persuasions felt naked must have realized what the political fall- after the end of the war. On a foray into in the face of aggression by factions of out could be. There was every chance the Kentucky, the purpose of which remains both sides’ military wings. Whole sec- raid might strike the more formal Con- in dispute, he was shot by (ironically) tions of western Missouri were forcibly federate military structure as an out-and- Unionist guerrillas. He lived, paralyzed, vacated by Union command on a scale out slaughter (which happened) and jeop- for a month or so, and then “died game” practiced nowhere else. ardize his own plans for advancement. as they say in the western movies. He was Quantrill was still the unchallenged “top It’s possible that he was goaded into only 27 years old. dog” among Missouri’s guerrilla bands the affair by “Bloody Bill” Anderson, when in August of 1863 he marshaled who had no plans for advancement fur- All his life, Quantrill had yearned for the an army of more than 400 “bushwhack- ther ahead than killing his next Yankee. spotlight, and he’d played many roles ers” to raid a target that epitomized ev- What’s beyond conjecture is that Ander- in the drama his life became. Perhaps, erything that drove pro-southern Missou- son and the fellow-minded guerrilla lead- at the end, he was satisfied with having rians to anger and despair – Lawrence, er George Todd, virtually stole Quantrill’s become one of the Civil War’s most per- Kan. command the following winter at their plexing, enigmatic characters . 14 Friends of the James Farm • www.jessejames.org JAMES FARM JOURNAL • VOLUME 26, ISSUES 2 & 3 SPRING/SUMMER 2015 ANATOMY OF AN OLD WEST You’re invited to join us! REVOLVER SHOOT

Included in the conference:

 Tour of the James Farm Museum

 Visit Jesse & Zee’s grave.

 Learn more about the James family.

 Learn about the Pinkerton Raid that maimed Jesse’s mother and killed his half brother.

 Learn about early photographic tech- Left: Dan niques and a behind the scenes tour of Carder in the “Outlaws & Confederate Gangsters” exhibit at the Nelson-Atkins Museum which uniform. houses the Hallmark 19th Century Mark your calendars to attend the 2015 Photographic collection. Below: Board National James/Younger Gang Conference  Visit the member & Liberty Bank in Kearney, Missouri October 1, 2 & 3 where the shooter Paul first daylight Join us as we get up close and personal with the James Family story in Weller. bank robbery was attempt- Kearney, Missouri! Learn about Frank and Jesse’s unique place in time ed– by “you know who.” and what contributed to their lives as outlaws.

 Learn about period clothing for The conference costs $89 per person for all the entrance fees, knowledgeable soldiers and everyday people in the speakers, comfy bus transportation tour and the annual banquet. 1860-80’s. Special James/Younger Gang rates are available at the Super 8 in Kearney  Brian Ivlow will present “Guns of the call 816.628.6800 be sure to mention the JYG to get the special rate.. Civil War” He is an expert on Civil The more attendees the more fun and for everyone! War era guns including muzzle loaders and black powder.

 Comfortable bus tour!

 Closing dinner celebration.

 Meet others from across the world who are interested in the James/Younger story! Keep up with the latest news! Conference Contact www.nationaljamesyoungergang.org Kathy Ness 507.581.9600 [email protected] We’re on Facebook too!

Left: A couple who came to the shoot as spectators remind us of what started it all ... The James Gang. Photos courtesy of Beth Beckett, Jesse James Farm & Museum courtesyPhotos Jesse James Farm of Beth Beckett, Above: A young man learns how to shoot. Left: Loading the pistol; four minie balls.

Friends of the James Farm • www.jessejames.org 15 JAMES FARM JOURNAL • VOLUME 26, ISSUES 2 & 3 SPRING/SUMMER 2015

Friends of the James Farm P.O. Box 404 Liberty, MO 64069 www.jessejames.org 816.736.8500

Return Service Requested

YES, I want to renew my membership with the Friends of the James Farm or begin a new membership. I have checked my level of membership in the box and enclosed a check or Membership Levels money order for the amount indicated. (Mark One) Name:  ...... $20 Mailing Address:  Bushwhacker...... $30  Clay County Irregular. . .$50 City/State/Zip: Country:  Road Agent...... $100 Telephone: Email:  Long Rider ...... $250  ...... $500

Please mail membership form and payment to: Is this a renewal?  Yes  No Friends of the James Farm P.O. Box 404 Liberty, MO 64069 You can also scan Outside the continental U.S., QR Code to visit our please add $5 to your membership website. contribution. www.jessejames.org Continued on page 11

16 Friends of the James Farm • www.jessejames.org