Jesse James and the Civil War in Missouri

The Legend of Jesse James

The Legend of Jesse James Jesse James was well on his way to becoming a legend before he was killed. After he was killed he became even more fa' mous. Part of the reason for his fame was related to the emo, tions stirred up by the American Civil War. The James brothers and the Younger brothers fought on the Southern side as guerrillas during the Civil War. Since many other Missourians also supported the Southern cause during the war, they saw the James gang as a way of getting revenge on those who had supported the Northern side in the war. Another reason for his fame was the angry feeling many people had toward the banks and railroads the James gang robbed. People felt that banks and railroads were taking ad, vantage of them by charging high interest rates and high fees for freight. People in Missouri also believed most banks and railroads were owned by people who had supported the North, ern cause in the Civil War. The writings of John Newman Edwards also played an important part in creating the Jesse James legend. Edwards made a romantic hero out ofJesse James by comparing him to Robin Hood and to the Knights of the Round Table. Edwards also printed many of the popular stories that became such a big part of the Jesse James legend. Soon after Jesse was killed a song about him was written, and this and other songs became popular all over the United 66 The Legend of Jesse James 67 NOrrED GUERRILLAS, OR THE ,VARFARE OF THE BORDER. DEL-;G A HISTORY OF THE LIVES A..'W ADVE~TURES OF QUANTRELL, BILL A~DER OX, GEORGE TODD, DAVE POOLE. FLETCHER TAYLon, PEYTON LO~G, OLL SHEPHERD, ARCH CLDIENTS, JOIIX M.UJP[N, TOCK AND WOOT HILL, W)f. GnEGG, THO:l[A MAUPIN , THE .IDIES DROTIIEHS, TUE YOUN(TER DROTHERS, AHTllt:H McCOY, ll-o NUMEROUS OTIIER WELL K~OWN GUERRILLAS OF TI-IE WEST. DY JOHN N. EDWARD S, Author of "Shelby and Hi Men,"" !Iciby's Expeditioa to Mexico," Etc. ILL U S T RAT E D. John Newman Edwards's book on the guerrillas helped to create their legend: "They had passwords .. . and signals which meant everything or nothing. . . . They could see in the night like other beasts of prey and hunted most when it was darkest." (Robert L. Dyer collection) 68 Jesse James and the Civil War in Missouri States. Some songs say Jesse took from the rich and gave to the poor. Some list the banks and trains he robbed. Most tell about the way he was killed. One song says it was written by "Billy Gashade," but no one knows if there really was a person named Billy Gashade. Here are two verses and the chorus from one of the best~known versions of the song, the one "made by Billy Gashade." Jesse James was a lad that killed many a man. He robbed the Danville train. But that dirty little coward that shot Mr. Howard Has laid poor Jesse in the grave. It was Robert Ford, that dirty little coward, I wonder how he does feel; For he ate of Jesse's bread and slept in Jesse's bed And laid poor Jesse in the grave. CHORUS Poor Jesse had a wife to mourn for his life, His children they were brave; But that dirty little coward that shot Mr. Howard And laid poor Jesse in the grave! -H. M. Belden, Ballads and Songs Collected by the Missouri Folk-Lore Society (University of Missouri Press, 1973) Mr. Howard, you will remember, is the false name Jesse lived under in St. Joseph, just before he was shot. Plays about Jesse James and his gang began to appear in small~town opera houses throughout the Midwest only a few weeks after his death. One popular play that toured all over the country was called The James Boys in Missouri. Another play was called Jesse James, the Bandit King. Popular magazines like the Police Gazette, the New York Detective Library, the Five Cent Wide Awake Library, the Log Cabin Library, and the American Weekly published sensational stories about Jesse James and his gang. The James gang was also the subject of many popular novels and several histories. The Legend of Jesse James 69 One of the earliest biographies of Jesse James was called The Life, Times and Treacherous...