Bandits and Outlaws

Jesse James

Jesse James, the Robin Hood of the west. Jesse believed he was doing no harm, taking the money from the banks and giving it to the poor, revenge for the Civil War.
Jesse James is probably best known for the Massacre of 150 unarmed people in Kansas, 1863 as part of the guerrilla group during the Civil War. As a bandit after the Civil War, by 1868 Jesse had joined a gang which robbed banks. Jesse did not really become famous until the robbery of Daviess County Savings Association in Missouri, 1869.

Jesse came to believe he could only trust two men, Bob and Charley Ford and to asked then to move in with him. On one rare occasion when Jesse was not wearing his gun, Bob and Charley drew their guns to shoot him as they had been working undercover to bring him down. Bob was the fasted and shot Jesse in the back of the head. The idea that these men where working for the chief executive of Missouri, Thomas T. Crittenden, shocked the public and made Jesse James a legend.

Films:
Jesse James, 1939. Directed by Henry King. http://imdb.com/title/tt0031507/
Alpha Dog, 2006. Directed by Nick Cassavetes. http://imdb.com/title/tt0426883/
The True Story pf Jesse James, 1957. Directed by Nicholas Ray. http://imdb.com/title/tt0051114/

Books:
Stiles, T, J. Jesse James: The Last Rebel of The Civil War. Vintage paperbacks, 2004.
Dalton, Brad. The True Story of Jesse James. iUniverse.com(USA), 2001.