Alexander Franklin James (January 10, 1843 – February 18, 1915) was a Confederate
soldier
A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer.
Etymology
The word ''soldier'' deri ...
and
guerrilla; in the post-Civil War period, he was an
outlaw
An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so that anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill th ...
. The older brother of outlaw
Jesse James
Jesse Woodson James (September 5, 1847April 3, 1882) was an American outlaw, bank and train robber, guerrilla and leader of the James–Younger Gang. Raised in the " Little Dixie" area of Western Missouri, James and his family maintained st ...
, Frank was also part of the
James–Younger Gang.
Childhood
James was born in
Kearney, Missouri, to
Baptist
Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul c ...
minister Reverend
Robert Sallee James and his wife
Zerelda (Cole) James. The couple came from
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...
. He was of
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ...
,
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...
and
Scottish descent. Frank was the oldest of three children. His father died in 1851 and his mother remarried Benjamin Simms in 1852. After his death, she married a third time to Dr. Reuben Samuel in 1855, when Frank was 13 years old. As a child, James showed interest in his late father's sizable library, especially the works of
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
. Census records show that James attended school regularly, and he reportedly wanted to become a teacher.
Civil War
The
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...
began in 1861, when James was eighteen years old. The secessionists in
Missouri
Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
, including Governor
Claiborne Fox Jackson, attempted to drive the Union army out of the state, but were eventually defeated. The James family was from the heavily
Confederate western portion of the state. On September 13, 1861, the
Missouri State Guard, including private Frank James, besieged
Lexington, Missouri
Lexington is a city in and the county seat of Lafayette County, Missouri. The population was 4,726 at the 2010 census. Located in western Missouri, Lexington lies approximately east of Kansas City and is part of the Greater Kansas City Metropol ...
. James fell ill and was left behind when the Confederate forces retreated. He surrendered to the Union troops, was paroled, and was allowed to return home. On his arrival, however, he was arrested by the local pro-Union militia and was forced to sign an oath of allegiance to the Union.
After the withdrawal of regular Confederate troops in the fall of 1861, a bitter
guerrilla conflict soon began between bands of pro-Confederate irregulars (commonly known as
bushwhackers) and the Union homeguards. By early 1863, Frank, ignoring his parole and oath of allegiance, had joined the guerrilla band of Fernando Scott, a former saddler. He soon switched to the more active command led by
William Clarke Quantrill.
Union militiamen searching for Fernando Scott raided the Samuel farm and hanged Dr.
Reuben Samuel (though not fatally), Frank's stepfather, torturing him to reveal the location of the guerrillas. Shortly afterward, Frank took part with Quantrill's company in the August 21, 1863
Lawrence Massacre where approximately 200 mostly unarmed civilians were killed.
in
Nelson County, Kentucky
Nelson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 48,065. Its county seat is Bardstown. Nelson County comprises the Bardstown, KY Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included ...
.
There is a report that after his parole, Frank was involved in a gunfight in
Brandenburg, Kentucky with four soldiers that resulted in two soldiers killed, one wounded, and Frank wounded in the hip.
However, there is an alternative account that claims in the of 1865, Frank, who was in Kentucky going to Missouri, was suspected of stealing horses in Ohio and that Frank shot two members of a posse and escaped.
Outlaw/criminal years and retirement
During his years as a bandit, James was involved in at least four robberies between 1868 and 1876 that resulted in the deaths of 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 killing of his brother Jesse in 1882, Frank James boarded a train to
Jefferson City, Missouri
Jefferson City, informally Jeff City, is the capital of Missouri, United States. It had a population of 43,228 at the 2020 census, ranking as the 15th most populous city in the state. It is also the county seat of Cole County and the principa ...
, where he had an appointment with the governor in the state capitol. Placing his holster in
Governor Crittenden's hands, he explained,
Accounts say that James surrendered with the understanding that he would not be extradited to
Northfield, Minnesota
Northfield is a city in Dakota and Rice counties in the State of Minnesota. It is mostly in Rice County, with a small portion in Dakota County. The population was 20,790 at the 2020 census.
History
Northfield was platted in 1856 by John W ...
.
He was tried for only two of the robberies/murders: one in
Gallatin, Missouri, for the July 15, 1881, robbery of the
Rock Island Line train at
Winston, Missouri, in which the train engineer and a passenger were killed, and the other in
Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in ...
, for the March 11, 1881, robbery of a
payroll at
Muscle Shoals, Alabama
Muscle Shoals is the largest city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States. It is located along the Tennessee River in the northern part of the state and, as of the 2010 census, the population of Muscle Shoals was 13,146. The estimated popu ...
. Among others, former Confederate General
Joseph Orville Shelby testified on James's behalf in the Missouri trial. He was acquitted in both Missouri and Alabama. Missouri accepted legal jurisdiction over him for other charges, but they never came to trial. He was never extradited to Minnesota for his connection with the Northfield Raid.
His ''New York Times'' obituary summarized his arrest and acquittal:
In the last thirty years of his life, James worked a variety of jobs, including as a shoe salesman in Nevada, Missouri and then as a
burlesque
A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects. theater ticket taker in
St. Louis. One of the theater's spins to attract patrons was their use of the phrase "Come get your ticket punched by the legendary Frank James." He also served as an
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile ...
telegraph operator
A telegraphist (British English), telegrapher (American English), or telegraph operator is an operator who uses a telegraph key to send and receive the Morse code in order to communicate by land lines or radio.
During the Great War the Royal ...
in
St. Joseph, Missouri. James took up the lecture circuit, while residing in
Sherman, Texas. In 1902, former Missourian
Sam Hildreth
Samuel Clay Hildreth (May 16, 1866 – September 24, 1929) was an American Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame trainer and owner.thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...
horse trainer
A horse trainer is a person who tends to horses and teaches them different disciplines. Some of the responsibilities trainers have are caring for the animals' physical needs, as well as teaching them submissive behaviors and/or coaching them for e ...
and owner, hired James as the betting commissioner at the Fair Grounds Race Track, in
. He returned to the North Texas area where he was a shoe salesman at Sanger Brothers in
Dallas
Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...
. The ''Tacoma Times'' reported in July, 1914, that he was picking berries at a local ranch in Washington state, and planned to buy a farm nearby. He was also part of a Chicago investment group which purchased the Fletcher Terrell's Buckskin Bill's Wild West Show, third in size after the
Buffalo Bill
William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), known as "Buffalo Bill", was an American soldier, bison hunter, and showman. He was born in Le Claire, Iowa Territory (now the U.S. state of Iowa), but he lived for several years ...
and
Pawnee Bill shows.
In his final years, James returned to the James Farm, giving tours for the sum of 25 cents. He died there at age 72 on February 18, 1915. He left behind his wife Annie Ralston James and one son.
[ He is interred in Hill Park Cemetery, in the western portion of ]Independence, Missouri
Independence is the fifth-largest city in Missouri and the county seat of Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson County. Independence is a satellite city of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the largest suburb on the Missouri side of the Kansas City metro ...
.
Portrayals
* 1939, Henry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor. He had a career that spanned five decades on Broadway and in Hollywood. He cultivated an everyman screen image in several films considered to be classics.
Born and ra ...
in the film ''Jesse James
Jesse Woodson James (September 5, 1847April 3, 1882) was an American outlaw, bank and train robber, guerrilla and leader of the James–Younger Gang. Raised in the " Little Dixie" area of Western Missouri, James and his family maintained st ...
'' as well as the 1940 sequel '' The Return of Frank James''.
* 1941, Al Taylor in ''Jesse James at Bay
''Jesse James at Bay'' is a 1941 American Western film directed by Joseph Kane starring Roy Rogers and George "Gabby" Hayes.
Plot
When Jesse learns that crooked banker Krager is cheating settlers, he and his gang rob trains to obtain cash for ...
''.
* 1946, Tom Tyler in the film '' Badman's Territory''
* 1949, Tom Tyler in ''I Shot Jesse James
''I Shot Jesse James'' is a 1949 American Western film directed by Samuel Fuller about the murder of Jesse James by Robert Ford and Robert Ford's life afterwards. The story is built around a fictional rivalry between Ford and his eventual kill ...
'', an account from Robert Ford's viewpoint, and the first western directed by Samuel Fuller
Samuel Michael Fuller (August 12, 1912 – October 30, 1997) was an American film director, screenwriter, novelist, journalist, and World War II veteran known for directing low-budget genre movies with controversial themes, often made ou ...
.
* 1950, Richard Long in '' Kansas Raiders'', about his time spent with Quantrill's Raiders.
* 1954, Richard Travis in '' Stories of the Century''.
* 1957, Jeffrey Hunter
Jeffrey Hunter (born Henry Herman McKinnies Jr.; November 25, 1926 – May 27, 1969) was an American film and television actor and producer known for his roles in films such as ''The Searchers'' and ''King of Kings''. On television, Hunter ...
in '' The True Story of Jesse James
''The True Story of Jesse James'' is a 1957 American Western drama film adapted from Henry King's 1939 film ''Jesse James'', which was only loosely based on James' life. It was directed by Nicholas Ray, with Robert Wagner portraying Jesse James ...
''.
* 1959, Jim Davis in '' Alias Jesse James''
* 1960, Robert Dix in ''Young Jesse James
''Young Jesse James'' is a 1960 American Western film directed by William F. Claxton and written by Orville H. Hampton and Jerry Sackheim. The film stars Ray Stricklyn, Willard Parker, Merry Anders, Robert Dix, Emile Meyer and Jacklyn O'Donnell. ...
''.
* 1965–66, Allen Case in ''The Legend of Jesse James
''The Legend of Jesse James'' is a 1980 country music concept album written by English songwriter Paul Kennerley, based on the story of American Old West outlaw Jesse James.
The album features Levon Helm singing the role of Jesse James, J ...
''.
* 1972, John Pierce in ''The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid
''The Great Northfield, Minnesota Raid'' is a 1972 American Western film about the James-Younger Gang distributed by Universal Pictures. It was written and directed by Philip Kaufman in a cinéma vérité style and starring Cliff Robertson. The ...
''.
* 1977, John Bennett Perry in an episode of ''Little House on the Prairie
The ''Little House on the Prairie'' books is a series of American children's novels written by Laura Ingalls Wilder (b. Laura Elizabeth Ingalls). The stories are based on her childhood and adolescence in the American Midwest (Wisconsin, Kansas, ...
''.
* 1980, Stacy Keach in '' The Long Riders'', which featured four sets of real brothers playing sets of brothers in the gang.
* 1980, country singer Johnny Cash
John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his c ...
in the concept album, ''The Legend of Jesse James
''The Legend of Jesse James'' is a 1980 country music concept album written by English songwriter Paul Kennerley, based on the story of American Old West outlaw Jesse James.
The album features Levon Helm singing the role of Jesse James, J ...
''.
* 1984, Nick Benedict in an episode of '' The Dukes of Hazzard''.
* 1986, country singer Johnny Cash
John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his c ...
in ''The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James
''The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James'' is a 1986 American biographical Western television film directed by William A. Graham and starring Kris Kristofferson. The main cast is made up of country music all-stars, including Johnny Cash, June ...
'', directed by William A. Graham.
* 1992, Jamie Walters
James Leland Walters Jr. (born June 13, 1969) is an American actor and singer, best known for his roles on ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' and '' The Heights'' and singing lead vocal on " How Do You Talk to an Angel".
Career
Walters was born in Boston ...
in the American Western TV show, ''The Young Riders''.
* 1994, Bill Paxton in '' Frank & Jesse''.
* 1995, Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Simon Nimoy (; March 26, 1931 – February 27, 2015) was an American actor, famed for playing Spock in the '' Star Trek'' franchise for almost 50 years. This includes originating Spock in the original ''Star Trek'' series in 1966, th ...
in the made-for-TV movie '' Bonanza: Under Attack''.
* 2001, Gabriel Macht in '' American Outlaws''.
* 2007, Sam Shepard in '' The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford''
* 2010, James Brolin
James Brolin (, born Craig Kenneth Bruderlin; July 18, 1940) is an American actor. Brolin has won two Golden Globes and an Emmy. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on August 27, 1998. He is the father of actor Josh Brolin.
He ...
in True Grit
True Grit may refer to:
Fiction
* True Grit (novel), ''True Grit'' (novel), a 1968 novel by Charles Portis
** True Grit (1969 film), ''True Grit'' (1969 film), a film adaptation by Henry Hathaway, starring John Wayne
** True Grit (2010 film), ''Tr ...
* 2018, Robert Carradine
Robert Reed Carradine ( ; born March 24, 1954) is an American actor. A member of the Carradine family, he made his first appearances on television Western series such as ''Bonanza'' and his brother David's TV series, '' Kung Fu''. Carradine's fi ...
in ''Bill Tilghman and the Outlaws''.
References
Further reading
*Copland, Aaron and Perlis, Vivian: ''Copland - 1900 Through 1942'', St. Martin's/Marek, 1984.
*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
*Wellman, Paul I. ''A Dynasty of Western Outlaws''. 1961; 1986.
External links
Official website for the Family of Frank & Jesse James: Stray Leaves, A James Family in America Since 1650
* ttp://www.theoutlaws.com/outlaws6b.htm An examination of the James Legendbr>Summary of the Battle of Wilson's Creek where Frank fought
A site devoted to the Missouri Partisan Rangers and their history
{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Frank
1843 births
1915 deaths
People from Kearney, Missouri
American people of English descent
American people of Scottish descent
American people of Welsh descent
People of Missouri in the American Civil War
Outlaws of the American Old West
American bank robbers
Confederate States Army soldiers
Bushwhackers
James–Younger Gang
Missouri State Guard
American folklore
Gunslingers of the American Old West
Train robbers
19th-century American criminals