Jesse James and the Civil War in Missouri

The Final Years (1877–1882)

The Final Years (1877-1882) After the disaster at Northfield, Minnesota, most of the gang members were either dead or in jail. Jesse and Frank decided to stay out,of,sight for a while, and they left Missouri. No one is sure where they lived for the next three years, but they were probably living in Tennessee. What they did during this time is not clear. They may have been involved in trading. cattle. Some writers who have stud, ied the lives of}esse and Frank James think the brothers were trying to get out of the outlaw business. But on the night of October 8, 1879, a gang led by Jesse James robbed a Chicago and Alton Railroad train at the Glen' dale station, near Kansas City. Frank James was not involved with this robbery. He had probably given up the outlaw life altogether by this time. A few months after the Glendale train robbery a story went around that Jesse James had been killed, but the story was not true. Some people think the story may have been made up so that detectives would stop looking for Jesse. By the summer of 1881 Jesse and his family had moved back to Missouri and were living in Kansas City, where Jesse was using the name J. T. Jackson. In the fall of1881 they moved to St. Joseph, and Jesse took the name Thomas Howard. During this time Jesse may have been involved in a train robbery near 61 62 Jesse James and the Civil War in Missouri Winston, Missouri, and another one at a place called Blue Cut near Otterville, Missouri. One interesting story about Jesse James during this time comes from Callaway County, Missouri. Some people in the county believe Jesse lived there for a few months under the name of Johnson, while he was hiding from the law officers trying to find him. He supposedly came to the old Unity Baptist Church southwest of Fulton one day saying he was a traveling singing teacher. The minister of the church put him in charge of the children's Sunday school singing sessions, and he was very popular with the children. But shortly after Jesse began teaching singing as "Brother Johnson" people began asking questions about who he was and where he came from. The prosecuting attorney of Calla, way County decided there was a good chance that "Brother Johnson" was, in fact, the outlaw Jesse James and decided to have him arrested. Someone who liked Jesse heard about the plan and told "Brother Johnson." On the day the sheriff and his deputies came to get "Brother Johnson" they found he had vanished. He was never seen in Callaway County again. No one knows whether or not the story about Jesse in Callaway County is true, but it is true that time was running out for Jesse James. The newly elected governor of Missouri, Thomas T. Crittenden, was determined to rid the state of out' laws. He put up a reward of $5,000 each for the capture ofJesse and Frank James. He hoped this would cause one of the gang members to turn traitor. And that is exactly what happened. One of the newer members ofJesse's gang was a man named Charles Ford. He had a younger brother named Robert, who also claimed he wanted to be part of the gang. Both Charles and Robert Ford had been staying with Jesse and his family in St. Joseph planning another robbery. What Jesse didn't know, however, was that Robert Ford had been in touch with Mis, souri Governor Thomas Crittenden. He was planning to col, lect the reward money by killing Jesse. On the morning of April 3, 1882, Charles and Robert Ford The Final Years (1877-1882) 63 Jesse James was shot in his home in St. Joseph by Robert Ford, April 3, 1882. (State Historical Society of Missouri) 64 Jesse James and the Civil War in Missouri A crowd gathers around Jesse's home in St. Joseph after his death. (Robert L. Dyer collection) were with Jesse in the living room of his house in St. Joseph. Jesse had just taken off his guns. He noticed that a picture on the wall wasn't hanging straight and stepped up on a chair to straighten it. Robert Ford then drew his pistol and shot Jesse in the back of the head, killing him instantly...