Frank James

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Frank James
Frank James
Born January 10, 1843
Clay County, Missouri, USA
Died February 18, 1915

Alexander Franklin James (January 10, 1843 – February 18, 1915) was an American outlaw and older brother of Jesse James.

Contents

[edit] Childhood

He was born in Kearney, Clay County, Missouri to Baptist minister Reverend Robert Sallee James (July 7, 1818 – August 18, 1850) and his wife Zerelda Cole (January 29, 1825 – February 10, 1911), who had moved there from Kentucky. Frank was the first of three children.

As a child, Frank developed an interest in his late father's sizeable library, particularly in the works of his favorite author William Shakespeare. Census records show that Frank attended school throughout his childhood, and he reportedly wanted to become a teacher.

[edit] In the Civil War

In 1861, when Frank turned eighteen years old, his life was permanently altered by the outbreak of the American Civil War. Missouri, where Frank and his family lived, was soon caught up in the war. Though a majority of Missourians probably did not want the state to secede from the Union, a significant number nevertheless had pro-Confederate sympathies (including the outspoken Zerelda Cole). This would lead eventually to the formation of rival state governments with different allegiances. Missourians also would serve in the armies of both sides during war. In Frank's case, he joined the Missouri State Guard on May 4, 1861, opposing the Union troops who intended to gain control of the divided state.

The State Guard's first major engagement was the Battle of Wilson's Creek, on August 10, 1861. The state force fought under Major General Sterling Price and alongside with the Confederate troops of Brigadier General Ben McCulloch (in all about 12,000 men), against the Army of the West under Union Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon, totalling 5,400 men. Lyon was killed leading a charge, and his army, now under Major General Samuel D. Sturgis, retreated to Springfield, Missouri. The battle cost the Confederates 1,095 men and the Union 1,235 men, and allowed the victorious Confederates to advance farther north.

On September 13, 1861, Sterling Price's State Guard, including Frank James, besieged the state capital at Lexington, Missouri, garrisoned by 3,500 men of the Union army, under Colonel James A. Mulligan. On September 20, Price's men finally attacked, and by the early afternoon Mulligan and his men had surrendered. The Confederates had lost only 100 men, while the Union forces' losses were estimated at 1,774 men. The Battle of Lexington was the second major victory of the State Guard, and the Confederates took control of Southwestern Missouri by October.

However, Frank James fell ill and was left behind when the Confederate forces later retreated. He surrendered to Union forces, was paroled and was allowed to return home. There he was arrested by the local pro-Union militia. He was released when he signed a statement of allegiance to the Union.

A bitter guerrilla conflict was soon being waged across the state between bands of Confederate irregulars (commonly known as bushwhackers) and the Federal forces. By early 1863, Frank had joined a guerrilla band led by a former saddler named Fernando Scott. Before long he had switched to the infamous William Clarke Quantrill, attacking both the Union forces and their civilian Union supporters in western Missouri.

The warfare was savage, with atrocities committed by both sides. Militiamen searching for Frank and Fernando Scott's band, for example, raided the Samuel farm and briefly (and not fatally) hanged Dr. Reuben Samuel, torturing him to reveal the location of the guerrillas. Shortly afterward, Frank joined Quantrill's band in the August 21, 1863 Lawrence Massacre.

[edit] Outlaw years and retirement

For the career of the James brothers after the Civil War, see Jesse James.
Jesse and Frank James, 1872
Jesse and Frank James, 1872

During his years as a bandit, Frank was involved in at least four shootouts between 1868 and 1876, resulting in the deaths of four bank employees or citizens. The most famous incident was the disastrous Northfield, Minnesota raid on September 7, 1876, that ended with the death or capture of most of the gang.

Five months after the murder of his brother Jesse in 1882, Frank boarded a train to Jefferson City, Missouri, where he had an appointment with the Governor in the state capitol. Placing his holster in Governor Crittenden's hands, he explained,

"I have been hunted for twenty-one years, have literally lived in the saddle, have never known a day of perfect peace. It was one long, anxious, inexorable, eternal vigil." He then ended his statement by saying, "Governor, I haven't let another man touch my gun since 1861."

Frank was tried for one of the many crimes he was accused of -- a Federal payroll robbery in Alabama -- and was found not guilty.

The last thirty years of Frank James's life saw him work in a variety of jobs, including as a shoe salesman and then as a theater guard in St. Louis - one of the theatre's spins to attract patrons was their use of the phrase "Come get your ticket punched by the legendary Frank James." In 1902, former Missourian Sam Hildreth, a leading thoroughbred horse trainer and owner, hired James as his betting commissioner at the Fair Grounds Race Track [1] in New Orleans.

[edit] References

  • Settle, William A., Jr.: Jesse James Was His Name, or, Fact and Fiction Concerning the Careers of the Notorious James Brothers of Missouri, University of Nebraska Press, 1977
  • Yeatman, Ted P.: Frank and Jesse James: The Story Behind the Legend, Cumberland House, 2001
  • Stiles, T.J.: Jesse James: Last Rebel of the Civil War, Alfred A. Knopf, 2002

[edit] External links

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