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The Lost Cause: The Trials of Frank and Jesse James
The True Story Behind the Legendary Outlaw Gang, a Civil War Vendetta, and the Forgotten Court Documents That Helped Seal Their Fate
On a dreary December 7, 1869, two strangers entered the Daviess County Savings and Loan in Gallatin, Missouri. One of the men asked the cashier for change and then unexpectedly raised a revolver and shot him at point-blank range. Until now, this crime has been considered the first of a string of bank and train robberies committed by Jesse James, his brother Frank, and other gang members. But a story has circulated for more than a century that the case was actually brought to trial by a young Missouri lawyer—and it was through this case that twenty-two-year-old Jesse was first identified as a criminal to the country. But until recently no evidence for such an action could be found. After years of painstaking searches through dusty court archives across Missouri, defense attorney James P. Muehlberger finally discovered the historic documents in 2007. These fascinating and important records reveal that the gunmen were forced to leave behind a magnificent thoroughbred that linked James to the murder and, more intriguing, that the attack was not a bank robbery at all, but a calculated assassination in retribution for a Civil War killing.
The Lost The Trials of Frank and Jesse James is a thoroughly researched, thrilling account of the rise, pursuit, and prosecution of the legendary outlaw gang. Beginning with the newfound evidence of the Gallatin bank teller murder, the author explains how Jesse James attempted to avenge the death of his Confederate partisan leader, “Bloody Bill” Anderson, but shot the wrong man. Having lost his thoroughbred, Jesse stole another horse. Newly minted lawyer Henry McDougal brashly sued Jesse and Frank James for the loss of property, which would hang the murder on their heads. While Jesse professed his innocence and remained at large, his case was taken up by John Newman Edwards, editor of the Kansas City Times . Through Edwards’s pen, the James brothers were transformed from petty criminals to noble outlaws still fighting for Southern honor—the “Lost Cause.” Not fooled by Edwards’s rhetoric and populist appeal, McDougal and others, including Pinkerton detectives and the governor of Missouri, led a behind-the-scenes fight to bring down the gang. As the author explains, they first prosecuted lesser gang members, and by infiltrating the group, the authorities slowly unraveled the gang, with Jesse being shot by a paid informant in 1882. Frank James gave himself up, and in what was called the “trial of the century,” he was exonerated on all charges and retired to become a notable horse racing official until his death in 1915. Combining true crime, western adventure, and the transformation of America into a modern nation, The Lost Cause is engaging, entertaining history.
On a dreary December 7, 1869, two strangers entered the Daviess County Savings and Loan in Gallatin, Missouri. One of the men asked the cashier for change and then unexpectedly raised a revolver and shot him at point-blank range. Until now, this crime has been considered the first of a string of bank and train robberies committed by Jesse James, his brother Frank, and other gang members. But a story has circulated for more than a century that the case was actually brought to trial by a young Missouri lawyer—and it was through this case that twenty-two-year-old Jesse was first identified as a criminal to the country. But until recently no evidence for such an action could be found. After years of painstaking searches through dusty court archives across Missouri, defense attorney James P. Muehlberger finally discovered the historic documents in 2007. These fascinating and important records reveal that the gunmen were forced to leave behind a magnificent thoroughbred that linked James to the murder and, more intriguing, that the attack was not a bank robbery at all, but a calculated assassination in retribution for a Civil War killing.
The Lost The Trials of Frank and Jesse James is a thoroughly researched, thrilling account of the rise, pursuit, and prosecution of the legendary outlaw gang. Beginning with the newfound evidence of the Gallatin bank teller murder, the author explains how Jesse James attempted to avenge the death of his Confederate partisan leader, “Bloody Bill” Anderson, but shot the wrong man. Having lost his thoroughbred, Jesse stole another horse. Newly minted lawyer Henry McDougal brashly sued Jesse and Frank James for the loss of property, which would hang the murder on their heads. While Jesse professed his innocence and remained at large, his case was taken up by John Newman Edwards, editor of the Kansas City Times . Through Edwards’s pen, the James brothers were transformed from petty criminals to noble outlaws still fighting for Southern honor—the “Lost Cause.” Not fooled by Edwards’s rhetoric and populist appeal, McDougal and others, including Pinkerton detectives and the governor of Missouri, led a behind-the-scenes fight to bring down the gang. As the author explains, they first prosecuted lesser gang members, and by infiltrating the group, the authorities slowly unraveled the gang, with Jesse being shot by a paid informant in 1882. Frank James gave himself up, and in what was called the “trial of the century,” he was exonerated on all charges and retired to become a notable horse racing official until his death in 1915. Combining true crime, western adventure, and the transformation of America into a modern nation, The Lost Cause is engaging, entertaining history.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published May 24, 2013
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About the author
James P. Muehlberger
3 books2 followersJim Muehlberger is a Kansas City-based lawyer and author. His first book, The
Lost Cause: The Trials of Frank and Jesse James,
was favorably reviewed in the New York Times Book Review. The Kansas City Star named it one of the top 100 books of 2013.
His second book, The 116: The True Story of Abraham Lincoln's Lost Guard, is scheduled to be published Dec 7, 2015.
http://www.shb.com/professionals/m/mu...
His second book, The 116: The True Story of Abraham Lincoln's Lost Guard, is scheduled to be published Dec 7, 2015.
http://www.shb.com/professionals/m/mu...
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 31, 2020
Very good account of Frank and Jesse James' notorious crimes, both during the Civil War and after. The book focuses largely on the literal court trials that involved the James. I liked how the author discussed how Kansas especially figured into the way Missouri was during this time period. Very readable. My only small complaint is a slight lack of biographical detail about the James aside from their court cases.
April 6, 2018
Finishing the book just 1 day after Jesse James death, it really made me thinking about the pre and post civil war life style. Especially since so much of his life took place very close to where I grew up puts a lot of things in perspective, and the book does a great job of telling the tale. It gets a little dry during the tail end of it, but still a fascinating read.
September 28, 2018
Fascinating reading through the eyes of an attorney. The author does much to counter the myth surrounding the James brothers. They were thieves and robbers who succeeded, in part, because of the Southern sympathies in the area where they lived and worked. The book is incredibly well researched and documented.
September 6, 2015
An evidence-based, factual recitation of the James Gang that proves they were criminals (albeit successful); not fighting for the wrongs of the Civil War.
January 24, 2025
Excellent book - great read.
August 23, 2013
The book started out strong with a riveting description of the events leading up to the Civil War. I will admit that my grasp of early American history is tenuous at best so this was very interesting to me. The impetus of the racist and infantile "Southern mentality" which still exists today, was outlined through historical moments. It really raises the question (though I realize it's a bit absurd): "Why didn't we just let them secede?" Ultimately, the author proves that Jesse James, and criminals like him, were not victims of any circumstances but merely greedy young men who wanted pretty things and good times. The author, being a lawyer, gets bogged down in courtroom descriptions, losing his otherwise relatively solid narrative, and that is also where he lost me at times.
July 21, 2014
A little bit of overstatement in the title of this book. The "trials" of Jesse James pretty much consist of one default judgment. I'm not even a litigator, but I won a default judgment in small claims court once for a friend and I can tell you it was not the stuff of legend. But it's an interesting read otherwise, and it's good to have someone finally pop the James balloon a little bit. The message that Jesse & Frank James were not heroes, and in fact were nothing more than a couple of crappy little bullshit men, deserves to be spread far and wide.
December 9, 2013
I'm a sucker for anything about outlaws and The Lost Cause didn't disappoint. Written by an attorney, it's filled with fascinating details about the James brothers, much of it culled from legal records. Through these records, the author builds a strong case for Jesse James being nothing more than a cold-blooded killer who with the help of a particular journalist manipulated the media so that he became a hero to many rather than the true villain he was.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews