Private Investigator Files: Jesse James, Studying the Legend

Perhaps the most famous and glamorized outlaw who ever lived, Jesse James has been known throughout history as a Robin Hood, robbing from the overly-rich railroad tycoons and freely giving to the poor.  He is historical in theme and legend, but, what most people know is only the Hollywood story, and not the real Jesse James.  His tales have been passed from generation to generation and are mythical in proportion and nearly apocryphal in their power to enthrall. 

So, let’s start with the most basic question: how did Jesse James start his life of killing?

Jesse James joined the guerilla outfit of “Bloody Bill” Anderson at the age of sixteen and served, at different times, under Quantrill, Anderson, and George Todd, three of the bloodiest men in the annals of American history.

For two years, Jesse was tutored in every technique of cold-blooded murder, violence, thievery, and arson.  While his past is never an excuse for the epic serial-killer proportions that Jesse James reached in his prime, it is a truth that cannot be denied.

When Jesse had been tutored for a year, and dubbed a full-rank guerilla fighter, he was given the order by George Todd to “kill every male thing that wears a blue uniform” one dark night at Centralia.  Jesse got out his gun with the rest of the gang and started his killing spree, without remorse.  When the massacre was over, Jesse had managed to kill nine men.   This may seem like a small number, but by this time, Jesse James had an impressive record in killings (some thirty men by this time) for a boy of just seventeen.

And that is just the beginning of Jesse James.  In later years, he was to start his own gang of outlaws and terrorize the American West in ways never before seen, and with a cruelty never before imagined.